Islands & Trains – A Parent’s Review

By a parent who games between coffee breaks and building a train set.

Reviewed on: PC

Available on: PC (Steam)

The Quick Take

Do you like trains.. Of course you do, everyone loves trains. You just hear a train coming and you run outside to watch the train go by. Islands and Trains is a love letter to your inner kid who used to build those wooden train sets. Build your island and train tracks however you’d like in this super cozy game.

The Parent Perspective

When I sit down to play, I’m usually juggling real-life to-do lists and trying not to fall asleep at my computer desk. So here’s what I look at as a parent:

Can I play in short bursts? Totally, this game has no story, so play at your leisure
Can I pause/save easily? The game auto saves so no need to worry about saving your progress before you exit the game.
Attention required: You can put as much or as little attention as you’d like into this game.
Stress level: This is cozy game through and through with no story, just build your island and add a train.
Content concerns: None, this is a cozy game with absolutely no violence or bad language.

Kid-Friendly? Let’s Talk

Depending on your household rules and the age of your kids, this game may or may not make the cut. Here’s what I noticed:

Good for kids? I would say 7+ and that is just because it is only available on a PC.
Stuff they might love: Building your own island with train tracks and watching it go around. Who wouldn’t love to play something like that.
Stuff to talk about first: You can talk about how awesome trains are.

How It Fits Into a Parent’s Life

Works in 15–30 min chunks? With this game having no story, you can build for a few minutes or a few hours and stop whenever you’d like.
Okay to step away mid-session? At any point in time you can just stop and come back to it at a later time.
Mentally exhausting or easy to sink into? This would be perfect for a cozy rainy or snowy day.

Learning Curve & Controls

Easy to learn? It is super easy to learn how to play, especially with the tutorial at the beginning.
Control scheme: The control scheme is very basic and easy to learn.
Tutorial quality: The tutorial is very helpful and wakes you through on how to build out your island and train layout.

Vibe Check

Visual style: The visual style is completely cozy.
Soundtrack: The soundtrack is chill
Overall mood: The overall mood is one of a Bob Ross painting. Build an amazing looking island landscape and it is completely fine to have happy little accidents.

So… Is It Worth My Rare Free Time?

Great for parents who love: It is great for parents who want a game that is extremely cozy and love trains.
Will I keep playing? I’ll probably play this game from time to time but I would probably play it more if it was optimized for the Steam Deck.
Recommend to other parents? Yes but I’d probably wait for a few enhancement patches or get it when it’s on sale.

Parent Score

My very official, highly subjective rating:

☕☕☕/3 out of 5 cups of coffee – A great game if you love trains and building your own island, especially on a rainy day.

Final Thoughts

If you love the idea of a cozy game where you are building your own island and then laying down train tracks and just relaxing as you watch the train go around, then I would say that this game is for you. You can put as much time and energy into this sandbox as you want and it’ll be right there when you get back.

If you’ve played Islands and Trains or have questions, drop them in the comments—I’d love to hear from you!