Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 76 | 12 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 83% | 76 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 70 | 6 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 89% | 83 | 5 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 14 reviews sampled · 11 total reviews in window · weighted 10 up / 1.2 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (36)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 70
“In other words, if you’re considering Railway Empire because you love the sound of a train in the distance, you’re not likely to enjoy the game. This is a management seem that digs deeply into the technology, the business strategy, and the economic acumen required to tame America’s landscape and reach the pinnacle of what this nation’s all about: corporate power.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Maintains a certain degree of complexity while also being simple enough for newcomers to enjoy the experience. It does suffer from a bad UI and a general lack of sound, but still enjoyable regardless.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Railway Empire is a very hilarious and interesting work that shows the development of railways throughout history in a great way. The game stands out especially for its honestly crafted campaign, historical accuracy and also for its very attractive graphics and sound system of individual machines. The presence of the competition, which is not afraid to take unfair actions against you, and the extensive technology tree further strengthen the pleasant gaming experience. However, everything takes its toll, and there are a moderate number of minor, rather isolated bugs in the game. What's really annoying, however, is the cheating AI that bends certain gameplay mechanics to its advantage in certain situations, or outright ignores them. Still, this is a very accomplished game that will keep fans of the genre, and especially train lovers, happy and entertained for hours.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Needless to say, Railway Empire is a delight. It may not be perfect, with some clunky UI navigation and a mildly underworked first-person perspective, but on the whole the game is everything that it promises to be. It makes a visible attempt to cater to every kind of player that might come its way, from train enthusiasts to avid strategy and tycoon gaming fans.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Easy to get into with a decent amount of challenge to the end. The most accessible railway sim I've played yet.”
read full review ↗ - 82
“While not as complicated as some titles in the genre, this game can keep you occupied for a very long time. Trainiacs should not hesitate to get on board with this game. If you’re not big on trains or this specific setting, I would probably still recommend it if you are in Tycoon type games.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“A passionate and capable title with some pretty egregious flaws.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“I love that it is now on the Switch since I can now bring it on long flights. I would 100% recommend this to all trains fans and anyone who likes this breed of intense economic sim. A few hiccups minorly hinder it at times, but once you learn your way around the tracks, Railway Empire is a very sound game.”
read full review ↗ - 78
“I enjoy trains and for the most part Railway Empire delivered a fun way to handle this type of simulation.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“On the first glance, Railway Empire is an interesting addition to the tycoon genre. However, a closer look reveals plenty of issues that make it hard to recommend at retail price. It could definitely find its fans, though.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“Railway Empire is a deep, engrossing simulation strategy game. Once you get the hang of the controls and the finer points of running a mega railway empire, you’ll spend many hours playing with trains. For train enthusiasts this is the game you need and for those of us that are looking for their next strategy simulation hit then look no further than Railway Empire! That only leaves me with one thing to say before I rush off to carry on building my vast rail empire across the UK and transport some much needed meat to those hungry folk in Kilkenny, my score is Two Thumbs Up.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Railway Empire is a good management game, interesting,deep and complex. But it is clearly not for beginners despite its presence on PS4 and Xbox One. The tutorial is too frail and we often end up going around in circles before finding the solution which make a run extremely time-consuming and artificially long. Despite that, this title has many interesting game mechanics, in particular the economy system which is a perfect representation of modern capitalism and what the history of the American railway might have been.”
read full review ↗
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Life is Xbox
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LadiesGamers.com
Gameblog…and 24 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Railway Empire - Update 1.14.2Jun 1, 2022
- Railway Empire – Update 1.14.1Aug 25, 2021
- Railway Empire - Update 1.14.0May 7, 2021
- Around the world in 8 DLCs: Railway Empire - Complete Collection incomingJul 7, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- Warehouse Hotfix for version 1.12 released!Mar 13, 2020
- New Update (v.1.12) ‘Challenge 3 – Great Plains Update’ has been released!Mar 5, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- Community Update #2 (version 1.9) has been releasedMay 24, 2019significant · resets scoring window
- Railway Empire: New Public Beta Update has arrived (version 1.9.0 - 23928NA)Mar 15, 2019significant · resets scoring window
- Community Update #1 (version 1.8) has been releasedMar 1, 2019significant · resets scoring window
- Community Update #1 (version 1.8) has been released on public beta branch!Jan 7, 2019significant · resets scoring window
- Railway Empire 1.7 Hotfix has been released!Dec 20, 2018
- Free Stock Market Update (version 1.7) has been released!Dec 14, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- Hotfix for version 1.5 has been released!Sep 11, 2018
- UntitledJun 29, 2018
- UntitledJun 12, 2018
- Update 1.4 has been released! Adding Enhanced AI, Crossings and Legacy-BranchJun 8, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- Conquer all of North America with the massive Transcontinental Content Update [Version 1.2]Mar 26, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- Conquer all of North America with the massive Transcontinental Content Update [Version 1.2]Mar 26, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- The Railway Empire Hype Train Keeps On RollingFeb 15, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- The Railway Empire Hype Train Keeps On RollingFeb 15, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- New Update brings new and free Scenario, new features and more.Feb 15, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- New Update brings new and free Scenario, new features and more.Feb 15, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- Railway Empire - North American map and moreFeb 2, 2018significant · resets scoring window
…and 5 earlier patch announcements.