The speed at which Railway Empire progresses is similar to that of 2003’s Sid Meier’s Railroads! and that moves it decidedly outside of the realm of rail transport simulation titles such as Transport Fever and Railroad Tycoon. I was a bit afraid at first that this would hamper my enjoyment but nothing could be further from the truth. It’s a tremendous amount of fun and sinking 80 hours into the game has left me far from bored. I keep going back for more and I find new strategies to up my game with every playthrough. For an action oriented rail game that was never meant to cater to my train tycoon simulator itch, that’s a deviously masterful trick.

Solid railway game in the style of Ascaron's economic simulations. Doesn't reinvent the wheel, but works well.

Railway Empire is not for every player because it doesn’t know how to introduce them to its complex mechanics but, despite that, it is an amazing strategic game that any fan of the genre will surely like.

Railway Empire follows the footsteps of Railroad Tycoon and also adds a new content with fresh new ideas –all packed in a comprehensible way and elegant style. [Issue#283]

With an incredibly eye for polish and simplification, Gaming Minds Studio has created a magnificently accessible game that unfortunately is not equally complex.

An awesome way to enjoy the training infrastructure building, to learn how to expand an authentic industrial "empire" and also a good way to learn how the transporting world works. Long, deep and interesting for fans of management.

I probably enjoyed Railway Empire more than I should have. I liked laying down tracks and adding switches and figuring out how to move a multitude of trains around without them causing traffic jams and blockages. But the game is a little on the casual side to suit me completely, it only includes early trains in the United States, and it has enough interface and gameplay problems right now that I’m only giving it a minor recommendation. Railway Empire is best suited to people who like trains and simulations, or who played Railroad Tycoon back in the day and have been wishing for it to make a comeback.

Railway Empire is a strong but shallow entry into the railway management style of games that has gone long ignored. With a few slight downfalls, primarily as a result of the game only offering limited maps and time periods to operate in, it can go by a little too quick and become repetitive. However, the journey to get to that stage can be enthralling as it offers a high level of tactical thinking as you interlink your network of rails.

While the economy model is superficial at times it is a lot of fun to lay tracks, connect the cities and drive as a passenger. A solid logistics sim with model railroad appeal.

Railway Empire is a good combination of simulation and managerial that, unfortunately, falls on "important" aspects such as the ability to view the game data in the way most congenial to us.

Railway Empire is a satisfying enough experience for any strategy fan with even the remotest interest in trains -- or train fans with a passing interest in strategy. It offers campaign and scenarios with tasks and objectives alongside a sandbox mode that allows one to build the network of their dreams, catering to most players. While the lack of a single level going from 1830 to 1930 might displease some, the end product is a capable and accessible title in a very scant genre, and Railway Empire comes off as a passionate -- if not exactly flawless -- title.

The economy model in Railway Empire is so simple that it's practically impossible to ruin it. On the other hand, laying tracks and managing trains is the best part of the game.

The core of the game is sound, it just needs to be more upfront with the player about what it’s doing. It’s really frustrating for me because I keep booting it up and I keep playing it, but eventually tangled web of systems gets the better of me and I’ve got to close it in a rage. It pains me because with the easily identified issues to the interface this is a game which would comfortably clamber up to 8.5, perhaps even 9 out of 10. Who knows, a few patches down the line, maybe Railway Empire will get there. After all, no train arrives quite on time.

The dynamic trading system provides variety and the handling is very comfortable.

This is a very enjoyable and thorough train management simulator, but if you happen to be a Spanish-speaking player, keep in mind the translation is not the best, to the point of making some missions only beatable through trial and error.

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.

Despite slightly unintuitive controls, Railway Empire offers just enough depth and detail to make it worth a play. We can't help wishing for a much more encompassing railway management sim though.

An entertaining tycoon which has a trouble with the confused build-up and, above all, the confusing interface, which come up especially in later stages of the game. But its core is incredibly entertaining and carefully tuned.

It feels like interface was developed by a saboteur, while another one was in charge of the tutorial: it barely covers the basics before dumping you right into a sink or swim situation. And even if you do manage to swim, you’ll face a myriad of annoyances. [Issue#227, p.50]

Despite its charms, Railway Empire jumps the tracks with its dull tech trees, dated looks, and hobbled competitive modes.