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After playing the Nintendo Switch version for 200 hours and getting used to slow, laggy menus and overall poor performance, starting to play the game again on my PC was extremely enjoyable. But you have to keep an eye on the recommended requirements, they are high for a game with relatively simple graphics.

The only problem I have found is that the controls are not perfect. The main control is still the joystick, with the mouse+keyboard being a bit of an improvisation. For those who are used to PC games of this style, mouse+kb will seem pretty bad at first. It took me 2 hours to adapt and now I feel that playing with mouse+kb is the best way by far, but the gameplay could be much better if the game was totally designed for these devices. I foresee some players, for example, not understanding how to build a station because you have to use WASD for it to appear on the map, or having a hard time laying down tracks... There is, as yet, no option to configure the keys.

The game itself is an extremely detailed sim, where you manage a Japanese train company that partners with the government to achieve goals related to urbanization of areas. The business management part is quite complex and encompasses things like payments of different taxes, buying and selling land, trades, subsidiaries, dividend payments, stock investments, etc. The urban planning part is focused on railroads, which make the city grow in an indirect way. Instead of building the city like a god (Sim City, Cities Skylines, etc), you build the infrastructure that will mobilize passengers and cargo and this will indirectly affect the growth of the city. It is a different and very interesting formula.

Although the game is quite complex and gives people room to sink for dozens of hours carefully managing timetables of your trains, building complex infrastructure, etc, the scenarios are relatively easy (except on the "expert" difficulty) and it is perfectly possible to play more casually without worrying too much about micromanagement, advanced strategies or complex train lines, and still have a good time because the game is extremely addictive and fun.

Note: It is highly recommended to play both tutorials first and follow exaclty what the characters suggest. Several important game functions will be blocked during the tutorial, including basic things like changing game speed, pausing simulation, changing shadow/texture quality, advanced options, etc. It is only after the tutorials, which can last for several hours, that the game will open up to its full potential. You can start directly in the third scenario if you want to access everything right away, however, which is not recommended.

To enjoy this game it takes a lot of effort and goodwill. The game has an excellent manual and tutorials, so to learn how it works is not that difficult and there is no need to resort to tutorials outside the game or videos on youtube (in fact you won't find anything, the game is largely ignored in the west).

But damn it, the interface sometimes doesn't make sense and it's not practical. The biggest learning barrier is not the simulation of the game itself, but the interface and all the little details that if you don't get it right or forget it because of inexperience, will become frustrating and infuriating. It takes dozens of hours of constant fighting against the game to start getting used to it. I just got used to it quickly (about 5 hours playing while writing this review) because I have experience with the series.

However, once you start to feel comfortable with the interface and no longer get lost in the nightmare that is coordinating trains with schedules instead of signals, you will start to have fun with what is probably the most addictive and satisfying city management ever made.

The game will continue to be infuriating in many aspects (there is nothing more annoying than the lag caused by the "fast foward" that can make you lose an entire day because the game refuses to turn it off), but the simulation is so robust and the logic behind the game so addictive, that you will probably ignore the bad interface and the lack of practicality.