The Trolley Solution

Every time I review something, I try to keep subjectivity out of it (for the most part) and instead ask myself, "What is this game trying to accomplish, and did it accomplish it?" But in the case of The Trolley Solution, I don't know how to answer that. I hate giving a negative review for an indie team that clearly put a lot of passion into the project. I have no qualms with the quality at all. The aesthetic and writing service the needs of the game just fine. If you know what you're getting into when you purchase this game, I think you will have a good time. My biggest issue is with the minigames and how they seem to be very hit or miss. I definitely had fun with some of them, like the shopping cart time trial, the Simpsons Hit and Run-esque one, the "build-the-tracks" one, to name a few. But others were a snoozefest. The Tamagotchi one for starters. I am only 26, and I never played a Tamagotchi (my 37-year-old sister had one, so maybe it's just a generational divide), so being forced to sit through and cycle through the same animations for a trolley did not appeal to me. My trolley-gotchi died once, so I had to do it over again. I am also not a visual novel fan, so I *really* did not like having to sit through the visual novel. Especially since I had to do it over again because I got a bad ending the first time, apparently. I just mashed M1 to get through it quickly the second time and wound up picking the right buttons to "beat" the level. The one where you just pick up and drop off passengers near the end was also incredibly boring. You're the trolley driver, just riding around in a trolley in first-person, pushing the brakes when the trolley approaches a stop. I found myself clicking the trolley bell to the tune of various songs to get some entertainment out of my video game. The philosophy theme isn't quite half-heartedly painted on, but it's also not too terribly relevant. I feel crazy for saying this because the entire premise is about moral dilemmas caused by The Trolley Problem, but the theme seemed more focused on trolleys than philosophy. And, I get it, the game doesn't take itself too seriously, the entire thing is very tongue-in-cheek. But if you're looking for a game that discusses philosophy and ethical dilemmas in earnest, this probably isn't for you. There are philosopher cards you can collect and some mentions of deontology and utilitarianism are made, but that's the majority portion of the philosophy. I liked it when the game actually talked about moral dilemmas (the remaining portion of the philosophy, but it's very slim) and it did make me think about the greater implications of one of the levels. I won't spoil it but I will say takes you to a website that does exactly what the dilemma says will happen. These instances are few and far between, however, because The Trolley Solution really just wants you to play trolley-themed minigames.

Game cost £4 and got me to donate £50 to Save The Children. 11/10, perfect game

I presume this would work better as a party or streaming game. Playing alone, it becomes a checklist to see all possible variations which quickly loses all pretense of fun.

Was that it!? Absolutely not worth the money. Wouldn't spend more than a quid on this. Main game can be completed in about 10 mins. It thinks it's funnier than what it is. The "DLC" joke is beyond stupid, and if you actually paid for that then the joke really is on you.

I don't think I've ever refunded a game on the basis of it being unfunny before, but there's a first time for everything I suppose. It doesn't take itself seriously so there's no stakes or philisophical intrigue. And its humour seems limited to references to pop culture, but the jokes themselves are drawn out and have little to say beyond "what if Sisyphus' boulder was a trolley? What if it had internet pop-ups while you pressed buttons for 5 minutes? What if Crazy Taxi was a mediocre trolley-themed flash game with none of the music or speed or impact that made Crazy Taxi an interesting propetry to parody?" These ideas are funnier as shareable gifs or philosphy ♥♥♥♥ posts, they don't work as a package of minigames that draw themselves out for play time.

Overall Meh However multiple levels are bugged, making the 100% impossible - Missing point of view - Trolley never shows up - Mightier than the sword - door doesn't open - A different Point of view - lever doesn't activate to stop trolley

100% worth it for trolly-san *beep-beep* was one of the best 3 hours of my life.

made me post on bluesky and twitter and donate $100 to doctors without borders 10/10

Троллей-сан вытащил в соло