Metro Rivals: New York turns the NYC subway into Need for Speed—with Dovetail’s sim smarts

Need for Speed Underground… literally underground

Dovetail Games-the studio behind the meticulous, chill-leaning Train Sim World-just announced Metro Rivals: New York, a “simcade” racer set in a near-future NYC subway. It’s the kind of pitch that makes you blink twice: Crazy Taxi energy, Need for Speed style, but you’re driving subway trains. This caught my attention because if anyone understands train handling, it’s Dovetail. The question is whether that sim DNA can translate into something fast, stylish, and genuinely competitive without turning into a novelty gimmick.

• Simcade, not pure sim: authentic train handling meets arcade speed and stunts.
• Solo campaign and 4-player PvP built around precision stops and district control.
• Customize your train, build clout, and challenge “Track Titans” across 10 NYC districts.
• Unreal Engine 5, launching 2026 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Breaking down the announcement

Dovetail’s pitch is clean: you start as a rookie with a beat-up subway train, run missions for cash, upgrade performance and style, and work your way through districts controlled by five celebrity “Track Titans.” Think faction bosses with social media swagger who own turf, set challenges, and taunt you along the way. PvP caps at four players, with scoring that rewards precise braking, consistent timing, and platform accuracy more than raw top speed-so the skill ceiling should be about control and mastery, not just boosting down a straight.

The subway is split into 10 contested zones, each with their own hazards and layout quirks. Expect tight tunnels, diverging tracks, and neon-soaked station runs that push visibility and reaction time. It’s all running in Unreal Engine 5, which makes sense: the lighting and reflections of a grimy, neon NYC should sing in UE5’s toolset, and the confined spaces could help performance if they’re clever with optimization.

What actually matters for players

On paper, this hybrid is smart. Train physics give the game identity; arcade rules inject stakes and pace. But rails change the racing meta. You don’t pick a racing line; the line picks you. So the real design challenge is track switching, traffic management, and signal priority—basically, how you create tactical decisions when you can’t swerve around someone like in Forza or NFS. If Dovetail nails split-second switch calls, risk/reward for late braking, and varied stop challenges, this could feel closer to Trackmania and rhythm racers—precision, repetition, and mastery—than a traditional street racer.

I’m also watching how collisions and “rule breaking” are handled. Can you blow signals for time at the cost of damage or fines? Is derailment a thing or off-limits for accessibility’s sake? How aggressive can overtakes be on parallel tracks? These decisions will define whether Metro Rivals is a quick novelty or a game with the depth to hold a PvP audience.

Dovetail’s DNA: the good and the red flags

Dovetail knows trains, full stop. Their best work nails weight, braking curves, and the “feel” of steel on rail. Bringing that knowledge to a faster, flashier format is exciting. But Dovetail also knows DLC—a lot of it. Train Sim World’s content catalog is massive and, depending on your tolerance, either a dream or a money pit. Metro Rivals practically begs for new lines, districts, and train models, plus cosmetic wraps and vanity lights.

I hope they resist the urge to carve the base game into nickel-and-dime packs. Competitive games need level parity and clean balance. If districts become piecemeal or if upgrades edge into pay-to-win, the PvP scene collapses before it starts. Cosmetics? Go wild. Tracks and performance? Keep it earnable, fair, and seasonal at most.

Why this could actually slap

There’s a real chance Metro Rivals taps into a different kind of racing itch. Asynchronous leaderboards mixed with short, replayable runs through distinct stations sounds dangerously sticky—Trackmania meets transit authority. The Track Titans add personality that train sims usually lack, and a clout system dovetails (sorry) with streaming and clip culture. If the handling sells the fantasy—heavy mass, punchy acceleration, silky braking windows—it could feel unique in a genre crowded with supercars and neon drifts.

The 4-player cap is small, but that might be smart. Tunnels are tight, and latency matters when your score depends on perfect stops. I’ll take pristine netcode and fair ghost leaderboards over chaotic 16-player pileups any day.

What to watch before you wishlist

• Handling model: Is it weighty and readable, or floaty and forgettable?
• Track switching and signals: Are there real tactical choices mid-run?
• Collision rules: Clear penalties and recoveries without frustration.
• PvP integrity: Strong anti-cheat, reliable leaderboards, smooth netcode.
• Monetization: Cosmetics fine; tracks and performance must be fair.
• Performance: UE5 in enclosed spaces should shine—let’s see frame times on consoles.

Metro Rivals: New York launches in 2026 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. It’s a bold pivot from a studio that’s earned trust on the simulation side—and now has to prove it can make trains feel thrilling at top speed without losing the soul of the rails.

TL;DR

Dovetail is turning the NYC subway into a simcade battleground, blending authentic train handling with arcade race rules and PvP. It looks fresh and genuinely promising, but the game lives or dies on track switching, collision logic, netcode, and fair monetization. Cautious hype engaged.