Co-Optimus: One difference between Unrailed 2 and Overcooked-style games is that there is that the entire team shares the same axes and pickaxes, so everyone can’t gather the same resource at once. What is the thinking behind this design element?
Thomas: We wanted to encourage communication and teamwork rather than letting everyone work independently. By sharing tools, players are forced to plan who does what and adapt on the fly. It creates moments of tension and collaboration, which are core to the Unrailed experience.
To nit-pick a bit, I’d argue though that this can be seen in Overcooked or PlateUp as well: In Overcooked, there are certain elements (eg a plate with a knife or a sink) that can be used only by one player at the time. The big change is that we don’t have rigid levels or rigid positions where actions can be applied; the whole map layout is continuously changing during the core gameplay, based on the last actions of the players. PlateUp is somewhere in between as you can layout your levels yourself, but it’s separated from the main gameplay.
Co-Optimus: You make a good point. Speaking of teamwork, Unrailed 2 is a highly cooperative game. Can you tell us about its multiplayer features?
Thomas: Absolutely! Unrailed 2 supports both local and online multiplayer for up to 4 players in endless mode and up to 8 players for versus mode. Players can mix and match, so you could have two people playing locally and teaming up with others online. While the game can be played in single player with a bot, we highly encourage you to convince your friends to join you, check out our Discord, or even do random matchmaking to get the full experience.
Co-Optimus: When playing solo, the player can choose to bring a bot along for the ride. How does the bot affect the experience?
Thomas: The bot is designed to be a helpful teammate, but it’s not a complete replacement for human players. It can perform basic tasks like gathering resources or laying tracks, but you’ll still need to manage it effectively to get the best results. The feel of the game changes a bit more to a strategy game. Since we had players in Unrailed 1 enjoying this playstyle a lot, we added the bot again. However, it’s one of the features that needs some more improvements during Early Access to master all the new mechanics.
Co-Optimus: Unrailed 2 is a Steam Early Access game. Can you give us a brief rundown of some near- and long-term additions that you have planned for it?
Thomas: We started already with stability, performance, bug fixing and smaller balancing updates, but of course there is more to come!
We have a big list of ideas and based on the community feedback we’ll select and implement the most appealing ones. Among those are new biomes, modes, new characters, achievements, quality of life changes, new engines and more. If you want to see something added to the game, please let us know! We have a special section on Discord for that.
In case we can post a link, we also wrote an article about what to expect during Early Access.
Co-Optimus: As I understand it, console ports will likely happen after the game graduates from early access. Is cross-play a possibility for future versions of Unrailed 2?
Thomas: While we can’t confirm anything yet, it’s definitely on our radar. From our experience, it’s a nice feature but it can slow down the development speed a lot; we’re thus careful not to introduce it too early.
Co-Optimus: Finally, is there anything you’re proud of about Unrailed 2 that we haven’t already touched on?
Thomas: What we love most is seeing players come together, communicate, and create unforgettable moments while playing. It’s those shared experiences and the joy of collaboration that make all the hard work worthwhile.
Thank you for the interview! We are incredibly grateful to everyone who provides feedback and helps us shape the game.
Unrailed 2: Back on Track costs $19.99 on Steam. The Steam version is fully Steam Deck compatible.