Dovetail Games’ “ultimate railway hobby” game Train Simulator 2020 has an absolutely obscene number of DLCs. 586 to be exact. We’re not the only ones to think that that’s pretty hilarious, are we?

But believe it or not, this article isn’t aimed (solely) at guffawing at the fact that - of all things - a train simulator has as many DLCs as this. Or at some of the Steam reviews,  featuring such stellar feedback as"Trains.", “quality game, except holy **** that’s a lot of DLC,”  and “bruh.”

Or the fact that if you wanted to buy all of them, along with the base game, you’re looking at a modest price of at least $11,000 (and that’s a very lazy calculation, as not me or a single person I know had it in them to work it out exactly. The prices of the add-ons fluctuate anywhere between $5-$40 each, so I settled upon an average of $20 a shot. You get the picture though).

No, in fact, we’re also going to pay a bit of respect for Train Simulator 2020 and its seemingly-unjustifiable selection of downloadable content. Will Freeman from Eurogamer - who actually played the dang thing - did a great job in a review of the game, giving it the fair chance it seems to deserve.

Turns out, the game has some strong points. In addition to its having an admirably strong scoring and XP system, an impressive dedication to realism, an unexpected allure in its ability to draw you in and keep you around long enough to want to get better at doing train things. It offers a kind of meditative escapism in that despite its rather slow pace, it can make train-commandeering feels genuinely powerful and rewarding. And gamers love being rewarded.

But most of all, the sheer commitment on the part of Dovetail Games is clear as day. Freeman calls the game “proudly unashamed in its enthusiasm for railways,” and that seems like the perfect description. A reminder: 586 DLCs.

The game is a good option for many a-different player, too. Whether you’re obsessed with trains (which are actually dang cool, to be honest), looking to live out a childhood train-driver dream (I myself can’t laugh; I distinctly remember a desire from my youth to become a firetruck driver), or a previously-neutral party who has since been swayed by this article, there’s actually something the game might have to offer you.

So, in between your bouts of laughter induced by the thought of spending more than ten grand on downloadable things for a train game, perhaps it’s worth admiring that level of commitment.

Source: Steam