TRAILMAKERS

It’s all about trail and error

Constructing vehicles out of totally-notLego and then driving/flying/sailing them around sounds like a great idea. And that’s because it is. While there are plenty of premade vehicle templates (which you can follow step-by-step or have built automatically) in Trailmakers, this is very much a game that is designed with creativity in mind. If you can think of it, you can build and use it! Intheory.

Physically putting pieces together, while a bit fiddly, is very simple. Push two blocks together, and bam! They’re joined. You have to unlock some elements (mainly decoration) with coins earned in-game, but from the first second of play you have access to a wide variety of blocks, connectors, engines, wheels, and more. Naturally, you can share your creations with the world. All this encourages experimentation with the system, and has led to players producing some impressive-looking replicas from the Batman and Star Wars universes. As you can see below, we made something from the PPU (Postman Pat Universe).

The toolset is fantastic but, unfortunately, everything around it is much sloppier. Vehicles rely on strict physics and engineering principles; with a weak tutorial element; if your creation doesn’t work properly, it might not be clear why. 1 The actual ‘game’ side, sadly, is dry and underdeveloped. There’s not a lot to actually do with your vehicles past time trials. 2

If making your own vehicles holds appeals, especially if you have some engineering knowledge, you’ll have a lot of fun with this. Just be aware that the world you’ll explore is little more than a glorified testing ground. Luke Kemp

Our first attempt at a helicopter simply span around on the ground like a fairground ride. Nonetheless, there’s an undeniable thrill to getting a good time with your own creation.