Unrailed – PAX East Preview
Unrailed is co-op focused multiplayer puzzle game from developer Indoor Astronaut and publisher Daedalic Entertainment. It was playable on the show floor at PAX East and we had a chance to jump into the coal powered mayhem with the developers.
Unrailed has you playing with a team of up the three other real life or computer controlled companions. The main goal of this co-op party adventure is to guide a self propelled train from one end of a randomly generated map to another. But it’s not as simple as gently chaperoning the locomotive on its way – you’ll need to work together to actually clear and build a way for the train to progress.
The big challenge is building the track that the train needs to travel along. To do this, you and your team are required to harvest resources Minecraft style. Tools like a pickaxe and wood axe need to be divvied up amongst players to forrage for wood and ore. While one player moves off to chop down trees, others will need to grind away at rocks. These two are combined to come up with the material needed for tracks.
Once you have the raw materials required, it has to be individually transported back to the train where pieces of track are produced on the rear cart. This track then needs to be carried by one player to an uncompleted area of track. Everything I just described is just one part of the process – it takes precious time. And, all the while, your train is slowly being piloted along the track by the most passive aggressive conductor ever whether you’re ready or not. This means players will need to work together to get everything done before the train hits the end of the track.
Adding to the insanity is the fact that the map is also littered with obstacles that will block your way, and enemies that will sabotage your perfectly laid railway. You can approach different terrain based obstacles with the appropriate tool to remove it from your way. A similar approach can be taken with enemies – they’re actually quite cowardly and quickly scurry away when you run at them with a sharp axe. While these may seem like minor annoyances that are easily dealt with, the chore of sorting them out only eats away your time as your completely oblivious train lumbers forward.
While playing the game, I asked the developer how best to succeed at Unrailed when working with a team. Was it more about communication, allocating responsibility, accountability, or leadership? Turns out it’s all of the above. Just like your well oiled train-machine, a team will need to work as cogs in tandem to deal with everything coming to you at a rapid pace. Oh, and did I mention that your train is also prone to regular overheating and spontaneous combustion, meaning someone will have to douse the flames with water before it explodes? There’s that too.
Unrailed is a game about teamwork and balancing priorities. This is one that will be great as a party game, even in a room full of non-gamers. Unrailed launches in early access on Steam in Spring 2019, with an unannounced planned release date for Playstation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
