Trailmakers

I've spent enough time with vehicle builders to know which ones actually survive a Saturday night session with friends, and Trailmakers is one of the rare ones that holds up every single time. From the moment you slot your first engine block onto a chassis and watch it lurch forward with convincingly wobbly physics, there is a pull here that is hard to shake. The builder is genuinely approachable: templates are available right out of the gate for race cars, tanks, and aircraft, and an auto-build option means even the least patient person in your group can slap something together and immediately start causing problems. The Pioneers campaign serves as a decent tutorial wrapped in a surprisingly charming story. You land on Planet Gregory, a world populated by peaceful frogs under siege by robotic BOTNAK invaders, and you work through missions that unlock new parts across different biomes and terrains. Each victory drip-feeds you components, from basic wheels and pistons up to jet engines, EMPs, laser blasters, and rocket launchers, slowly teaching you how weight distribution and aerodynamics actually matter without ever sitting you down for a lecture. Playing it solo is fine; playing it co-op with a friend is noticeably better, since the campaign supports multiplayer throughout. The campaign has attracted some criticism over the years for pacing issues and early puzzle design that can feel more frustrating than clever, but the 2.0 Pioneers overhaul added survival mechanics, resource crafting, and proper PvE combat that meaningfully sharpened the experience. Where Trailmakers really earns its place in a games library is in the sandbox and racing modes. Race Island packs in 14 different tracks, and the Rally mode is the single best onboarding tool in the whole package: you start with a basic single-engined car, win races to unlock parts, and gradually mod your way into something genuinely competitive. The Danger Zone sandbox is a glorious ramp-filled playground that draws obvious comparisons to Trackmania in the best possible way. Five dedicated sandbox maps cover ground, water, and space environments, and the integrated Steam Workshop means you can download community creations and immediately throw them into a PvP skirmish with up to seven other players. The 14-weapon arsenal, including miniguns, shotguns, and EMPs, makes those skirmishes properly chaotic. A late-2024 update added Grand Prix Island with advanced logic blocks and collision damage overhauls, which was a genuine shot in the arm for the racing side of things. A few things to flag honestly: the build screen camera can be awkward when you are working on large or complex machines, occasional physics bugs are part of life when you give players this much freedom, and some players have raised concerns about DLC creep over time. Multiplayer server latency has also been reported as inconsistent. There is no local split-screen on PC, so the couch co-op fantasy lives entirely online. The soundtrack is pleasant for about two hours and then you will want your own playlist. None of these are deal-breakers, but they are real. The bottom line is that Trailmakers is one of the most fun, accessible building games available, and a group of friends who enjoy creative chaos will get serious mileage out of it.

Riley · Scout Team

Sports & racing

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