Independent developer Minakata Dynamics announced last week that its railway resource management sim, RAILGRADE, is available on Steam. Arriving at the station right on time, players can now transform a forgotten, off-world colony into a bustling center of industry utilizing all kinds of trains, rails, and industrial mechanics.
Across over 60 campaign missions, RAILGRADE players must overcome challenges by bringing together the essential industrial buildings and their needed materials to create a productive and efficient colony. Each mission brings new obstacles to overcome, such as tricky terrain and arid environments, so players must choo-choose carefully, lest their colony go off the rails.
Watch the RAILGRADE launch trailer here:
YouTube | Download
New for RAILGRADE’s Steam launch are additional missions, engines, and industry! Steam (vapor) plays a key role in these missions as players terraform portions of a wild off-world colony planet. The heavy steam engine, the Kettle, brings the heavy lift capacity of heavy diesel engines with the lower capital investment of the existing Boiler steam engine. New industry, 11 additional missions, and endless mission modifiers are also available, along with Steam Deck support, which means that players can do it all on the go, even when they’re riding the rails themselves.
Completing the experience is a user experience that ensures players feel right at home in the industrial hubs of another world. New quality-of-life improvements, including UI scaling and toggling the branch preferences of all trains, are carefully designed to make the process of creating a vast, train-based industrial complex surprisingly smooth.
“Everyone on the team is excited to finally pull into the station for our major Steam release!” said game director Daniel Dressler. “So many players have requested this, and we’re excited to see them enjoy our full train experience. We’ve listened to everyone’s requests and have worked hard to optimize for the Steam Deck and put together a Mac build. Now everyone, on all PC platforms, can enjoy RAILGRADE’s unique blend of mission-driven railroad optimization!”
Key features of RAILGRADE include:
- It’s a Long Ride Home: Enjoy a 60+ mission campaign across 50 hours, plus 14 new hours of story missions arriving alongside the Steam release
- Take it Way off the Rails: Play how you want with mission modifiers. Want to play forever on giant maps? Try the Endless modifier!
- Full Steam (Deck) Ahead: With full Steam Deck support, players can manage their thriving off-world colonies on the go
- The Scenic Route: Players can ride the rails they’ve created as a cinematic mode provides them with a thrilling view and various camera angles
RAILGRADE is available on Steam with full Steam Deck compatibility. It is also available via Stove, GOG, and the Epic Games Store, as well as on Nintendo Switch.
To keep up with RAILGRADE and Minakata Dynamics, check out their Twitter and YouTube, join the RAILGRADE Discord, or visit the official website: https://railgrade.com/.
About Minakata Dynamics
Minakata Dynamics is a small independent video game developer located north of Tokyo. We focus on systems-heavy games. We think the act of building layered interactions is what makes games special compared to other media. Games are best at challenging players to reason through complex interactions. As such, Minakata Dynamics has a history of developing deep and layered gameplay. Minakata Dynamics has experience developing for Windows, Nintendo Switch, Sony PlayStation, and Microsoft Xbox. Find out more: https://minakatadynamics.co.jp/
