Recently we highlighted the upcoming release of the Thomas The Tank Engine game on Xbox, known as Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor. That game is actually out today across all platforms including Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and it's been live for a few hours now... but we're not finding many reviews for it yet.
Nevertheless, we do have a few that we can share with you, so let's take a look at those first early impressions (although keep in mind that all of these were reviewed on PC or PlayStation):
Netto's Game Room (Very Positive)
"Overall, Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor greatly surpassed my expectations. While it plays on nostalgia, the core gameplay is a full-on simulator that is a railfan's dream come true! With a massive amount of content that takes hundreds of hours to complete, this package offers much more than meets the eye and should not be overlooked. It is also a great title for children to watch, though parents will definitely need to be the ones behind the controls."
Movies, Games & Tech (8.5/10)
"Thomas and Friends: Wonders of Sodor is a fantastic addition to the genre. It is colourful, fun, and great to play. The slightly refined approach makes it more approachable for younger gamers. Furthermore, the vibrant design, loud and fun audio, and interesting story were amazing to experience. Sadly, it has some minor bugs, but these shouldn't put you off too much."
Loot Level Chill (7.5/10)
"Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor is still a fun game though, and although it might be a bit basic for long-time Train Sim World fans, there’s still plenty of love and nostalgia here to keep Thomas fans hooked and keep you exploring the isle of Sodor."
Alternativa Nerd (Positive)
(translated) "If you're looking for a deep rail simulator, this isn't the right game. But if you want something light, cozy and full of charm, Sodor has its doors open."
PlayStation Trophies (5/10)
"While Train Sim World 6 makes sense as a complex and detailed simulation, Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor is a game aimed at a different audience. That it makes too few compromises for that audience and fails to give you something as simple as a skip button for dialogue is inexcusable. Wonders of Sodor? Wonders of sod all, more like."
As you can see, these are a bit all over the place at the moment, and it's hard to get a true grasp on how good Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor actually is — it's weird that the first reviews have trickled out so slowly like this.
Nevertheless, we've come across a bit of unedited, no commentary gameplay on YouTube for the Xbox version (although the specific console isn't mentioned) over at XCage Game, which you can take a look at down below:
We know that quite a few Xbox fans are interested in this one, so we wanted to get these first reviews and initial Xbox gameplay footage out for you ASAP, but clearly we don't have that much to go on right now. Our suggestion is to keep an eye on the Steam reviews and the Xbox Store reviews — they'll continue to populate over the next few days.
In the meantime, if you want to go and find out how good Thomas & Friends is for yourself, it's available right now on the Xbox Store for £29.99 / $39.99, or you can pay a little bit more for the Deluxe Edition. It's now been revealed that it's an Xbox Play Anywhere title as well, meaning every Xbox purchase includes an Xbox PC version for free!