Hand-assembled by a team of Trengineers here at Media Molecule, Tren is an adventure game that puts you in the driving seat of an adorable model engine. Deliver cargo! Solve puzzles! Do big flips! Rack up high scores and become the envy of all your friends! And join Tren on a grand tour of your fondest childhood memories, as you discover a story all about the transformative power of play.
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Without any consideration for how great Dreams is, Tren by itself is one of my favorite video games that I have ever played.
Every single level is such a delight, with plenty of fun surprises. It's rewarding to work to master a level in order to get 3 stars. The vibes are immaculate, and it wonderfully emulates the aesthetic of toy trains. The soundtrack is awesome too.
Not to mention the wealth of community levels, some of which are almost just as good as the base game.
Tren encapsulates the joyful fun that defines Media Molecule's games, like LBP and LBP2. It's wonderful I love it so much <3
Every single level is such a delight, with plenty of fun surprises. It's rewarding to work to master a level in order to get 3 stars. The vibes are immaculate, and it wonderfully emulates the aesthetic of toy trains. The soundtrack is awesome too.
Not to mention the wealth of community levels, some of which are almost just as good as the base game.
Tren encapsulates the joyful fun that defines Media Molecule's games, like LBP and LBP2. It's wonderful I love it so much <3
Wrapped up 100% of Tren, a game made by Media Molecule in their game-of-making-games: Dreams. Total played maybe 8 hours? There’s no time counter, as far as I know, so just ballparking. Tren is a beautiful example of what Dreams can make, made by experts in the engine, since they made it!
It is essentially a puzzle game about controlling an adorable toy train (and eventually other parts) to figure out how to overcome obstacles to reach the finish. It also demands quite a lot of dexterity by requiring very quick execution (for time-based levels) and deft reactions to last long enough (for survival-based levels) to achieve gold in every level. The progression is excellent, slowly dolling out small changes in tracks, new challenges, and new mechanics just a bit at a time. So I never felt overwhelmed by too much yet never got bored because each level was exciting.
I cannot overstate how adorable the game is. I grew up with wood toy trains (although we couldn’t afford anywhere near as fancy a set as in this game!) and recently went through a phase of re-living the joy of wood toy trains through my kids. Tren captures equal parts wonder, mystery, joy, excitement, and even some wistful longing for days gone through its presentation, including very clever and funny background figures throughout. It immediately grabbed the attention of my young boys and they all wanted to play, although it requires gameplay beyond their ability to complete all the levels. I heard a funny description of Dreams-made games that have a certain look to them that gives them a certain Dreams-y aesthetic. One of the best things I can say about this is it ascended beyond that “look” to the point I wouldn’t even know it was a Dreams game, if it didn’t have the giant “Made In Dreams” smashed in the corner the entire time. Oh also, the music is excellent too.
The minimal negative criticism I have is I think just a couple levels (of 96 total!) are tuned excessively tightly and required playing them nearly perfectly to hit gold. And, honestly, the only other imperfection… is the fact it’s locked behind Dreams. It’s inconvenient to find, download, and load. This is a perfect example of what should have been exported from Dreams and sold as a standalone product. I’d rate it a 10/10 as a full game. It’s that good. But, unfortunately, Dreams is no longer being developed, and this is likely the swan song (and pinnacle) of achievement for Dreams.
Many of y’all have Dreams because it was a monthly PS+ game mid 2023. It is absolutely worth digging through your PS+ library, installing Dreams, figuring out how get to Tren, and trying it out. It’s my current 2024 GOTY front runner. Loved it.
It is essentially a puzzle game about controlling an adorable toy train (and eventually other parts) to figure out how to overcome obstacles to reach the finish. It also demands quite a lot of dexterity by requiring very quick execution (for time-based levels) and deft reactions to last long enough (for survival-based levels) to achieve gold in every level. The progression is excellent, slowly dolling out small changes in tracks, new challenges, and new mechanics just a bit at a time. So I never felt overwhelmed by too much yet never got bored because each level was exciting.
I cannot overstate how adorable the game is. I grew up with wood toy trains (although we couldn’t afford anywhere near as fancy a set as in this game!) and recently went through a phase of re-living the joy of wood toy trains through my kids. Tren captures equal parts wonder, mystery, joy, excitement, and even some wistful longing for days gone through its presentation, including very clever and funny background figures throughout. It immediately grabbed the attention of my young boys and they all wanted to play, although it requires gameplay beyond their ability to complete all the levels. I heard a funny description of Dreams-made games that have a certain look to them that gives them a certain Dreams-y aesthetic. One of the best things I can say about this is it ascended beyond that “look” to the point I wouldn’t even know it was a Dreams game, if it didn’t have the giant “Made In Dreams” smashed in the corner the entire time. Oh also, the music is excellent too.
The minimal negative criticism I have is I think just a couple levels (of 96 total!) are tuned excessively tightly and required playing them nearly perfectly to hit gold. And, honestly, the only other imperfection… is the fact it’s locked behind Dreams. It’s inconvenient to find, download, and load. This is a perfect example of what should have been exported from Dreams and sold as a standalone product. I’d rate it a 10/10 as a full game. It’s that good. But, unfortunately, Dreams is no longer being developed, and this is likely the swan song (and pinnacle) of achievement for Dreams.
Many of y’all have Dreams because it was a monthly PS+ game mid 2023. It is absolutely worth digging through your PS+ library, installing Dreams, figuring out how get to Tren, and trying it out. It’s my current 2024 GOTY front runner. Loved it.
Tren rips. It's a game of pure fun that never gets in its own way, constantly throwing new ideas at the player that never tire.
The amount of traversal options, genuinely clever levels and everything was such a joy. This is a can't miss!
The amount of traversal options, genuinely clever levels and everything was such a joy. This is a can't miss!
Tren levels that took me over 30 minutes to get Gold rank on:
Long Tren Runnin - Hauling 14 cars through a course filled with swinging cranes and obstacles. No other level in the game exemplifies the balance between speed and not losing cargo better than this one.
The Infinite Track - Procedurally generated survival level. There are two of these in the game, but the first was far more difficult. You're being chased by spikey cars that will kill you if they catch you. Boost too much and have to wait for it to recharge? Dead. Hesitate for a spilt-second with a track switch? Dead. Get an unfair batch of randomly-selected modules without enough breathing room to get ahead of the death train? Believe it or not, dead.
Magnetic Attraction - What if a train was Spider-Man and had to spiderclimb all over a bunch of crazy tracks but also there were spikes everywhere
All About the Bolts - Arguably the best track in the game. It's filled with teeter-totter tracks that you have to manipulate in order to use them as ramps, and when you finally nail it, it's euphoric. Never unfair, this track requires all the skill you've built up throughout the game. Phenomenal stuff.
What a fantastic physics-based puzzle game! It is absolutely worth downloading Dreams just for this. I can't recommend it enough.
Long Tren Runnin - Hauling 14 cars through a course filled with swinging cranes and obstacles. No other level in the game exemplifies the balance between speed and not losing cargo better than this one.
The Infinite Track - Procedurally generated survival level. There are two of these in the game, but the first was far more difficult. You're being chased by spikey cars that will kill you if they catch you. Boost too much and have to wait for it to recharge? Dead. Hesitate for a spilt-second with a track switch? Dead. Get an unfair batch of randomly-selected modules without enough breathing room to get ahead of the death train? Believe it or not, dead.
Magnetic Attraction - What if a train was Spider-Man and had to spiderclimb all over a bunch of crazy tracks but also there were spikes everywhere
All About the Bolts - Arguably the best track in the game. It's filled with teeter-totter tracks that you have to manipulate in order to use them as ramps, and when you finally nail it, it's euphoric. Never unfair, this track requires all the skill you've built up throughout the game. Phenomenal stuff.
What a fantastic physics-based puzzle game! It is absolutely worth downloading Dreams just for this. I can't recommend it enough.
I'm still in awe that this was built in Dreams.
If you'd told me that one of my favourite games this year was gonnae be a puzzler where you play as a toy train capable of doin' boosts and flips to earn gold ratings on insane wee tracks I'd have beaten you around the head and neck.
Cannot recommend it enough, just a shame it's locked into Dreams because I know that will put a lot of people off. My advice is to not let it. You're missing out.
If you'd told me that one of my favourite games this year was gonnae be a puzzler where you play as a toy train capable of doin' boosts and flips to earn gold ratings on insane wee tracks I'd have beaten you around the head and neck.
Cannot recommend it enough, just a shame it's locked into Dreams because I know that will put a lot of people off. My advice is to not let it. You're missing out.
Heard the buzz that this was "Media Molocule's best game since LittleBigPlanet", and clearly they thought so too considering they dropped it right on time for Dreams to go free on PS Plus. Decided to pick up a boxed copy for myself to see what all the fuss is about, and was accelerated to having heard that this'll be their last major content push for Dreams, with the title set to reach EoL next month.
While I've not actually played any MM title post LBP so therefore can't really answer the question posed, this is a pretty solid game. Suffers from being very repetitive at times and the lack of checkpoints during certain multi-part puzzle levels being very punishing and time-consuming, but the rest of the game is a really cosy take on high-score, low-time type games with a fast arcade feeling while still being slow enough to really perfect the childhood nostalgia feeling of warmth the whole game is tinged in.
If you got Dreams free in August or can find a cheap used copy (and you're already a pre-existing fan of MM or the types of games outlined) then I'd say it's worth a shot. Just stick with it through some of the more tedious parts.
While I've not actually played any MM title post LBP so therefore can't really answer the question posed, this is a pretty solid game. Suffers from being very repetitive at times and the lack of checkpoints during certain multi-part puzzle levels being very punishing and time-consuming, but the rest of the game is a really cosy take on high-score, low-time type games with a fast arcade feeling while still being slow enough to really perfect the childhood nostalgia feeling of warmth the whole game is tinged in.
If you got Dreams free in August or can find a cheap used copy (and you're already a pre-existing fan of MM or the types of games outlined) then I'd say it's worth a shot. Just stick with it through some of the more tedious parts.