Railbound: A Cute and Comfy Puzzle Game About Dogs on a Train Journey
Railbound is the latest puzzle game developed by 7Levels. It features a pair of dogs on a train journey around the world. The player’s objective is to connect and sever railways across different landscapes and help everyone reach their homes.
On the Right Track
To progress in Railbound, players need to place, reroute, and remove railway connections so that train carriages can be safely connected to the engine while maintaining the correct order. It starts off relatively easy, but the difficulty increases as the game progresses and new mechanics are introduced.
The puzzles are playtested extensively to ensure an optimal experience. Our team identified early on that players had trouble understanding they could modify the direction of railways they already placed without removing them. So we added puzzles focused only on that aspect. Another example was making the initial direction of the train carriages more visible by adding animated arrows in front of them.
Connecting the World
Railbound has over 200 puzzles divided into “base” and “bonus” levels, linked together on the world map. Completing all the base puzzles of a given world unlocks a cute illustration that features our in-game mascots. Bonus levels are more complex challenges, often designed as a variation or extension of the base puzzles. Our intent is that most players will focus on the main path, but bonus levels are available if you need extra challenge or get stuck on a base level.
Trains for Everyone
Accessibility is a focus in Railbound, and we added several features to accommodate all players. Players can decide to unlock every single level in Railbound from the start and skip any puzzle that they find too troublesome. An optional hint system suggests placements for a few tiles without revealing the entire solution.
Railbound is a game where almost everyone on the team had some level of input in designing the puzzles. This gives the game an interesting balance, as each member has a slightly different approach to creating new levels. Railbound is perfect for players who love puzzle games or are looking for a comfy, relaxing experience.