At PAX East 2023, we met with THQ Nordic to preview four of their upcoming games. Before going to PAX, we were asked if we wanted to preview an upcoming game called Project Train. At the moment, Project Train is still a working title, however, we can still share with you our gameplay experience.
When we heard that THQ Nordic would be at PAX East, we hoped that AEW: Fight For Forever would be at the show; sadly, it was not available. But that didn’t stop us from enjoying the games that THQ Nordic had prepared for us. Besides Project Train, we also had the opportunity to preview Wreckreation, Alone in the Dark, and Outcast 2.
Wreckreation
When you think of games that reward you for crashing into your opponents, what do you think of? More than likely, you probably thought of Blur, Split Second, Need for Speed, and Mario Kart; you potentially even thought about the Burnout franchise.
Well, if you loved any of those then you are in luck because THQ Nordic’s Wreakreation is a great blend of all five franchises. The game does support your stereotypical kind of racing, but it rewards players for causing others to crash.
Wreckreation looks to make the game’s world your sandbox; the game is currently being developed by Three Fields Entertainment. For the PAX East demo, we started out by trying out the game’s course design too.
For this, we were able to put jumps, obstacles, and other things in the pathway to obstruct other drivers. Once we had designed the course, now it was time to race it.
Honestly, there is almost nothing more satisfying than racing on a course you helped create and Wreckreation does this in spades.
Once we were done racing on the course we made, we decided to try out a normal race. In both races, we were able to get first, but in the second race, it was more fun taking out the other racers than driving the race.
The second race really lacked the same excitement as the custom race, but was still a lot of fun. The game allowed for great handling of the vehicles and the creation system was fairly easy to use.
Wreckreation is in development for Windows PC (via Steam), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
“Project Train”
Rather than keeping you waiting on what Project Train is, we will just jump into it first. Project Train is the story of a squadron of soldiers fighting to survive and stop the enemy from advancing. Despite being only six men, the unit works together to take down large battalions. During the demo, we found ourselves in a forest.
Upon moving down a dirt path we found a town held hostage by a rival infantry. It was then our duty to take out the enemy soldiers and liberate the town. After freeing the town from its oppressors, we were able to talk to the villagers.
These villagers were thankful that we liberated them from harm but warned that without the squad radioing back, the enemy militia would send reinforcement units. At this point, we were forced to divide our platoon into two squads, one to protect the bridge and another to flank behind the enemy units and take them out before they could radio for help.
For this, we left behind our heavy gunner and a rifleman to guard the bridge. Meanwhile, we took our other rifleman, the scout, the captain, and the medic to go behind enemy lines. At this point, each character’s special abilities came into play.
We needed to take out the sniper before he could alert the enemies. With him out of the way, we were able to sneak down the hills. Our biggest challenge was beating the reinforcement timer. With just a second to spare, we were able to take out the enemy infantries captain and stop enemy reinforcements.
Project Train was an interesting RTS game and the use of a controller really showcased the game’s possibilities. Unlike other RTS games, the game could handle controller inputs and deliver precise control of the units. We are curious about what the narrative will be when the game is formally announced and released.
