Developer: KishMish Games, Ultimate Games S.A.
Publisher: KishMish Games, Ultimate Games S.A.
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: Switch
Metro Simulator 2 – Review
Thanks to simulation games we have been able to experience many different professions, be it realistic ones or rather funny ones. Now, Metro Simulator 2 has been released on Switch and we were able to take old trains in the Russian subway system for a spin. The idea of being able to be in charge of our very own train on a handheld device sounded quite appealing, but sadly we ended up quite disappointed in the end. Mind the gap and strap in for a bumpy ride.
Story
Metro Simulator 2 takes you all the way to Moscow to see what’s it like being a subway train driver, and that is everything it has to offer when it comes to an overall storyline. There is no journey to take or no princess in another castle to save. You just have to get from A to B, and make sure that people don’t get late. We didn’t really miss the absence of a story, but something to work towards would have been appreciated.
Graphics
When it comes to the graphics, we were pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of the game. We weren’t expecting a 4K resolution, but the Switch delivers some pretty decent images. The attention to detail in the appearance of the controls is noticeable, although there is room for improvement in the visibility of some icons. The Switch Lite’s smaller screen presents visibility problems, especially with those small icons and buttons. So if you want to have a great view and visibility on all the buttons, we suggest playing in Docked mode.
Although the view from the cabin makes for a smooth gaming experience, the frame rate is rather horrendous when starting the train. While the game still looks reasonably decent, there is no reason for the game to stutter this much. We hope the game still receives a few patches to iron out the kinks.
Sound
For the most part you’ll have to make do with the sound effects that every train driver will recognize. Hissing gears, the clattering of the railway, the opening and closing of the doors, and so on, are all present to create a more realistic experience. Even so, all the sounds do sound a bit generic and the Russian announcements didn’t really impress us that much either. It’s fun that the voice acting is in fact perfect for the setting, but we would have perhaps loved to have a few language options as well.
Gameplay
Metro Simulator 2 is as the name suggests, a simulator that revolves around operating your very own train in Moscow’s subway system. This title tries to emulate a lifelike experience that you can play on the go. Metro Simulator 2 offers two modes to play. The first one is “Free Ride”. Here you can take all the time you need to make your trip. There is no time pressure or delays to be aware of. You’re just allowed to cruise the underground network. The second mode is simply called “Scenarios”, and here you get to cruise as well but there are several things to be aware of. In this game mode, you have to make sure nobody is late or you will receive a penalty. All the penalties are negative points on your total score sheet.
So with only a few scenarios to play, and with all of them being very lengthy, it does take a few hours to complete a scenario. This makes the game a hard recommendation for a pick-up-and-play session, even though one might argue that the Switch still has its standby function so you can continue where you left off. This is true to a certain extent, as you are then limited to playing Metro Simulator 2, as it has no save function for the scenario you find yourself in. You either commit to finishing a scenario, or you’ll have to completely quit the game to be able to play another title in your library. We also encountered a few bugs that forced us to restart scenarios, making it hard to recommend playing at this point in time.
Another remark that we have to make is that the controls on the Switch just aren’t made for such a precision job. With a tutorial that sees you learning how to operate an old Soviet train along the Metro line, you have to move your cursor quite a lot. The downside of this moving is that your cursor is so hard to spot that you might mistake it for a moving dead pixel. Once you’re done with clicking or flicking the right button or switch, you are once more greeted by another box of endless text about the next part of your control board. It’s nice to have a tutorial, but the game doesn’t ease you in at all.
Conclusion
While fairly realistic in what it has to offer, we can’t really recommend the whole experience of Metro Simulator 2. The game is too complex for newcomers, the performance is quite abysmal, there are game-breaking crashes, and the gameplay simply isn’t that much fun. While we loved the idea of being able to play a simulator like this on the go, it just ended up being a fairly disappointing mess.
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