Tracks of Thought

About

"Tracks of Thought" is a narrative-driven PC game set on a mysterious train, where all passengers have forgotten something important. Players must resolve conflicts using a card-based battle-of-wits system and make choices that define their character's personality. The game features seven potential companions and a diverse cast of characters to interact with.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

42%

Audience ScoreBased on 24 reviews

humor6 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game features an adorable art style and charming character designs that resonate well with players.
The writing is witty and engaging, providing a fun and wholesome experience, especially with its representation of diverse characters.
The concept of the game is interesting and has potential for meaningful gameplay, particularly in its unique approach to conflict resolution.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs and glitches, including soft locks and uncompleted quests, which severely hinder the gameplay experience.
The combat system is poorly explained and feels underdeveloped, leading to frustration and a lack of motivation to continue playing.
Many players report that the game feels unfinished and lacks polish, with issues such as disappearing items and broken interactions that detract from the overall enjoyment.

story
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
80%
12%
The game's story is marred by numerous bugs and glitches that disrupt quest progression, leading to softlocks and incomplete objectives. While the writing and character interactions are often humorous and engaging, the overarching plot suffers from inconsistencies due to broken quests, leaving players frustrated and longing for a more polished experience. Many players express hope that future updates will resolve these issues, allowing them to fully appreciate the narrative as intended.
- “(In the story, she is, in fact, a complete gremlin, so if anyone was gonna break your game for saving near her, she is the most fitting. I'll also note that my wanting to joke about them shows that the writing and characters really shone, under all the issues.)”
- “Such a lovely game filled with wholesome energy and a fun and engaging story!”
- “Several quests were impossible to complete because key items or key NPCs would despawn.”
- “At times, the overarching plot did not seem to make sense (presumably because certain story quests were broken and thus skipped -- e.g. characters referencing events that never happened in my playthrough), but the moment-by-moment beats often had me laughing.”
- “Half the quests I completed just didn't mark themselves off; the game has a cute little character logbook that keeps NPC names, art, and information straight for you that remained blank my entire playthrough.”
stability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent bugs and soft locks that can disrupt quest progression and even corrupt saves. While some players have reported that many early glitches have been resolved, others still experience frustrating visual and gameplay bugs that detract from the overall experience.
- “Super buggy and you constantly get softlocked during quests and need to reset. There's even been a few times I had to just start a whole new save to stop a bug from occurring.”
- “Cute game, charming writing, wholesome and lots of LGBT representation, but the game is incredibly buggy.”
- “Frustrating bugs and glitches around quest progression still exist.”
graphics
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
33%
33%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their cute and charming art style, with beautiful characters and captivating visuals that enhance the overall experience. However, numerous users report significant technical issues, including bugs and glitches that detract from the enjoyment, leading to frustration and disappointment despite the appealing aesthetic. Overall, while the graphics are a highlight, the execution suffers from various gameplay problems that hinder the experience.
- “The art style is excessively charming, the writing is witty and enjoyable, the music slaps, and I like how your stats and abilities in conflicts are tailored to the decisions you make.”
- “Beautiful characters, captivating graphics, and solid gameplay.”
- “Super cute graphics, interactive and for me a new game concept, LGBTQIA+ friendly, funny, and at the same time quirky characters.”
- “And while I still love the concept and the aesthetic of the game, I'm a bit let down by the execution.”
- “The text formatting breaks sometimes, graphics sometimes mess up like characters clipping into objects or important visual information being obscured by the camera angle, the prompts for interacting with things don't always appear or when they do they are in odd and disjointed spots, the conflict mechanics seem at once disappointingly shallow and also confusing and poorly explained.”
- “Cute art style, bugs!”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is frequently praised for its charm and wit, with players enjoying the engaging dialogue and quirky characters that often elicit laughter. However, the enjoyment is somewhat marred by numerous bugs and glitches that disrupt the narrative flow, leading to moments where the plot feels disjointed or nonsensical. Overall, while the humor is a highlight, it is overshadowed by technical issues that detract from the experience.
- “Despite all these bugs, I continued through the game anyway because I found the characters to be charming and the writing witty and funny.”
- “At times, the overarching plot did not seem to make sense, but the moment-by-moment beats often had me laughing.”
- “The art is super cute, the dialogue is funny and engaging, and the characters are creative and interesting.”
emotional
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its charming writing, adorable art, and wholesome themes, including strong LGBT representation, which contribute to its emotional appeal. However, some players feel that the game's emotional intelligence is lacking, and its numerous bugs detract from the overall experience, leading to confusion, especially for younger audiences. Despite these issues, many appreciate the love and effort put into the game's development.
- “The art is adorable, the writing is just the right amount of silly and irreverent without feeling like it's trying too hard or subtracting from its own emotional moments, and if the minuscule size of the team weren't already an indicator enough, it's clear that buckets of love went into it from start to... well, I can't really say finish, and there's the problem.”
- “Such a lovely game filled with wholesome energy and a fun and engaging story!”
gameplay
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
60%
The gameplay features interesting combat mechanics and captivating graphics, but it suffers from a lack of depth, particularly in its simplistic card game system and dialogue-heavy structure. Players have noted issues with text formatting, graphical glitches, and unclear interaction prompts, leading to a frustrating experience that feels underdeveloped and confusing. Overall, while visually appealing, the gameplay lacks the polish and complexity expected from a fully realized game.
- “Beautiful characters, captivating graphics, and solid gameplay.”
- “The combat mechanics are interesting and add depth to the overall experience.”
- “The gameplay offers a unique blend of dialogue and item location, creating an engaging quest experience.”
- “As far as the gameplay goes, it's almost completely dialogue and just a small amount of locating an item to pick up a quest.”
- “After playing it for a bit, it's very clear that this game is underbaked; the card game mechanic is way too simple and not fleshed out enough.”
- “The text formatting breaks sometimes, graphics sometimes mess up like characters clipping into objects or important visual information being obscured by the camera angle. The prompts for interacting with things don't always appear, or when they do, they are in odd and disjointed spots. The conflict mechanics seem disappointingly shallow and also confusing and poorly explained.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers praise the character development for its excellent visual design and charming, quirky dialogue, highlighting the delightful and cute nature of the characters. Overall, the character design and interactions contribute significantly to the game's appeal.
- “10/10 and I don't say that lightly. The quirky dialogue is so charming and the character designs are delightful.”
- “Really cute game with great dialogue and character designs.”
- “Excellent visual character design.”
music
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is highly praised, described as engaging and enjoyable, complementing the charming art style and witty writing. Overall, it enhances the gaming experience significantly.
- “I want to love this game, and I do love the things that are done well - the art style is excessively charming, the writing is witty and enjoyable, the music is fantastic, and I like how your stats and abilities in conflicts are tailored to the decisions you make.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a strong desire to complete the game, indicating that its premise suggests a notable level of replayability.
- “I definitely want to finish this game, and it seems like, based on the premise, it has great replayability!”