Rivet Games has released their Engadin Line add on for Train Simulator, and have very kindly sent RailAdvent a copy to review.
The Engadin Line runs from Pontresina to Scuol-Tarasp, a 57km metric-gauge line in Switzerland.
The core Engadin Line was built in 1903 and took 10 years to finish, and now, this high-quality route is available on Train Simulator.
Included in the route are 7 career scenarios and a tutorial on how to drive the GE 6/6 II, as well as 3 Railfan Modes.
Having never driven a GE 6/6 II before, I dived straight in to the tutorial scenario. This tutorial is very detailed and tells you straight away on how to drive the locomotive. This is much easier to understand than a paper manual.
Rivet Games has also said that more scenarios are available on the Steam Workshop, providing free gameplay with hours of fun!
The 57km route is very detailed indeed, with tight curves, bridges tunnels and detailed stations all featuring on the route. The RhB L signalling system is featured on the route with three state ground signalling functioning correctly between the main signals.
Passenger carriages and freight wagons feature as well as the locomotive.
I found this route to be well optimised, even with a mid-tier PC, I was getting a constant 30-60 fps, and never went below 30.
Details on the route are up there with the best, locomotive liveries and signage are super clear.
During the tutorial and other gameplay, I found all the animations to be high quality and not to be jerky, moving around the train and cab are also smooth and didn't see any frame drops.
A mixture of stopping trains and semi-express services provide a good balance of getting up to 80kmh and also having to manage your speed to keep to time.
The only problem I have seen is that sometimes a reduced speed limit shows on the HUD display, and sometimes it doesn't, and I can't seem to find any signs on the lineside to know to slow down. Perhaps I need to route learn a bit more to get used to the changes in speed limits, but I would have liked to have seen the HUD display the speed limits for the beginners amongst us.
The sounds of the wagons, carriages and locomotives are clear and are also high quality, just like the rest of the route.
Having a number of packs from Armstrong Powerhouse and other Train Simulator add-ons, I found the locomotives detailed enough to have lots of clickable buttons and dials, but it is easy enough to drive to enjoy the driving experience, rather than spend 20 minutes finding out how to release the train brake or reset the warning system.
All in all, this is a very very detailed and enjoyable route to drive, it is a very scenic drive from one end to the other, with mountains on one side, and steep descents on the other.
The Engadin Line route add on is available for £21.24 from the Rivet Games Store by clicking here.
You do not need any other DLC to run this route, another big advantage to why this is so impressive.
We would definitely add this to your list to buy.
Want to see the route in action? I will be live streaming the route TONIGHT (25/06) at 19:30. See www.twitch.tv/railadvent to follow along!
(Unfortunately, Due to Twitch Issues, the stream was cancelled, I will by trying another stream on Friday 26/06 at 19:00 UK Time)
