Trackastrophe first stood out to me in its trailer because the train you need to keep safe lays the train tracks just ahead of itself with giant arms. It looks like something out of an early 1930s cartoon. Hiding behind that quirky steampunk exterior and pastel colours lies a clever pathfinding game.
The goal of Trackastrophe is to guide your train to the exit, collecting each train carriage in the level on the way, and it will continuously lay tracks as it choo-choos ahead. The train cannot turn, so players need to guide the train wherever it needs to go. Initially, you’ll do this by laying down arrows on the gridded playing area. The early levels in Trackastrophe are all designed around getting you to navigate around difficult environments, as rocks and gaps will get in the way. Players are given a set number of arrows per level, and there is only one answer. Hints can help you lay a couple of arrows, depending on the complexity… and that complexity will start to rise!
After the arrows, you’ll be introduced to moles. There are three colours, and they indicate whether your train can jump one, two, or three squares when it hits them. Puzzles quickly start to introduce switchbacks, too. These are puzzles where the train crosses over itself often, and using the moles to jump over arrows you’ve laid for later in the level becomes a common theme. Tunnels are introduced, creating colour-coordinated level hopping.
Then the yellow bumpers enter the game, which rebound the train backwards… but in the process, the train drives over the top of itself. When the bumpers are introduced, it truly changes the shape of what’s possible as a solution, as you’ll now be able to override yourself. From that point onwards, Trackastrophe stepped up its difficulty. When combined with switches that flip arrows, and portals that spit you out in the direction you enter it from, and you’ll be scratching your head for answers. The last concept introduced is ice, allowing your train to skid around. This takes place across five worlds, with over 20 levels in each. You can’t skip levels, but some are left as optional bonuses once you’ve completed the main set.
The user interface and controls for Trackastrophe are simple to learn and understand. I love that you need to pull the train lever to send the train on its way. Restarting and undoing actions are quick button presses, and any objects you’ve laid down with hints have a purple hue to them. Whilst watching your solutions chug around is satisfyingly fun, you can speed it up with a fast-forward button. My only minor quibble is that I’d have liked two levels unlocked at once to give me a break when I get stuck.
Getting stuck isn’t too bad, though. Pathfinding games are logical in nature, and as you’ve always got a small selection of tools to play with, the process of elimination can usually help you get close to a correct answer. In general, Trackastrophe starts off on the easier end of the genre, but by the end, it is batting more towards the upper middle difficulty tier. I’d recommend Trackastrophe for both beginners and experts of the genre, as I think everyone will appreciate just how accessible and immediate the title is. You can even tap on some of the background graphics and characters to interact with them. This is casual into fiendish puzzling baked to perfection. Grab it!
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