Train Sim World 4 Review (PlayStation 5)

by Jim Smale · Published October 9, 2023 · Updated October 6, 2023

For this Train Sim World 4 Review, we feel the power of simulation in your hands. Experience immense velocity and express unrivalled creativity with Train Sim World 4! Expand your rail hobby and discover the raw emotion of driving a diverse array of iconic routes and trains. From the training center to the mountain pass, this is your journey.

Train Sim World 4 Review Pros:

Decent graphics.
56.36GB download size.
Platinum trophy.
You get the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions of the game.
Dovetail Live integration. (optional amd it’s for community sharing of images etc)
Graphics settings – motion blur, display mode (4K/HD), and volumetric fog.
Eight avatars to choose from to play as.
Three difficulties – Beginner, standard, and experienced.
Photo mode.
Opening tutorial set in the training center.
Routes (when on foot) can be found and followed for action points (AP).
The action points (AP) act like experience points.
First-person perspective.
Satisfying pop-up of completed tasks with earned AP showing.
When on the train you can hover over anything to interact with it, some actions like brakes and acceleration have button shortcuts.
Fully animated interactions like the throttle moving, windscreen wipers, etc.
Accessibility options – subtitles, default movement, speedometer Hud size, Crosshair visibility, auto-hide Crosshair, lighting effects, arcing spark effects, show score and show the current speed limit.
Full 3D world and you can turn full 360 degrees.
When sitting on the train you can zoom the camera in and out.
Controller settings – signal aspect, alert flashes, throttle, track Rumble vibration, audible alerts on the controller speaker, control hover vibration, lever moved through notches, flicked Switch, and coupling vibration. Two control schemes (classic/immersion), and Invert axis and sensitivity slider.
Player assist settings – automatic coupling and manual/automatic junctions.
Full livery designer for each train type and a scenario planner.
Share and download other player Creations.
My profile shows miles driven in each train, player level, earned medals, etc.
Four main game modes – train depot, choose a route, rail journeys, and quick play.
Quick play lets you choose 0 – 30 or 30+ minutes of game length.
Rail journeys let you pick a location and then you do the scenarios within each, it’s like a career mode as you do guided routes.
Choose a route that has the following game types – lifelike timetables, scenarios, training modules, and free roam.
Train Depot lets you pick – timetables, scenarios, and training modules.
Save when you want.
You can reseat the train physics from the in-game menu.
Skirts the line between arcade and hardcore sim.
Full day and night cycle with many weather types.
Highly detailed trains.
When picking a route or scenario you get a difficulty rating of 1 to 5.
You do get handy icons to help get a train started.
Beautiful locations.
Realistic sound effects and noises.
Very satisfying when you nail a stop or get the train moving.
It has good feedback with constant exp bar pop-ups as you do the actions and scenarios.
So many scenic routes.

Train Sim World 4 Review Cons:

Cannot rebind controls.
A lot to take in.
Every new train is daunting as the layouts of the cabin are all over the place.
It leans way more into the Simulator part than the arcade.
Takes a while to get going.
You have to have a Dovetail account in order to download/share scenarios.
If you don’t have a Dovetail account signed in then you always have a big red invalid/no account signed in message on the menus.
You will need to set aside a good hour or so in order to get through the tutorial.
The controls are fiddly just for an authentic feel when really it should stay more gamey. Having to click something to then drag the bar is a little bit too much.

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