The Climate Trail is a climate change game that plays like a modern Oregon Trail. It’s a free multi-platform game about climate refugees fleeing from the US to Canada to escape climate disasters.
The introduction is like a visual novel. The player’s travel companions reveal how and why the climate apocalypse unfolded. The backstory starts with some informative and compelling real-life climate information. It then goes on to describe the game’s hypothetical future setting where the climate crisis has continued and led to the collapse of society. The player’s mission is to lead a group of travelers on the Climate Trail north to the relative safety of Canada. Once you’re on the trail, you use a simple menu system to ration supplies, decide how to handle random encounters, and so on.
I love the concept and implementation. The art, background music, and flavor text really bring this game to life. It reminds me of Oregon Trail in a good way, but it also surpasses Oregon Trail in terms of immersion and believability of gameplay. The companions have names, backstories, and pictures, which was enough for me to feel invested in their survival and well-being as we make the difficult trek to the north.
After a while, the gameplay gets repetitive. Search the ruins for food and water, set your ration levels and pace, travel for a few days through the wilderness, and arrive at the next stop along the trail. But it’s a quick game — about 30 minutes on my first full run — so the repetition didn’t feel too bad. I started to get into a groove, and the occasional random encounters like storms, heat waves, supplies, and fellow travelers helped to keep the journey interesting.
The climate angle is heavy-handed, but it still feels like a fun game rather than a lecture. Even the brightly-colored “happy” ending features a friendly but somewhat melancholy Canadian telling the player that their respite is temporary because the climate crisis may eventually render their new home uninhabitable too. But I wouldn’t have expected an entirely cheerful ending to a game about climate refugees fleeing to Canada. So for a game with that premise, it was actually quite refreshing to see my little band of travelers arrive somewhere relatively happy and safe.
The Climate Trail is an excellent climate change version of Oregon Trail with modern artwork and backstory. I had fun playing Climate Trail. I bet you will too!
My name is Treesong. I’m a parent, author, talk radio host, and Real Life Superhero. Follow me on Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram, and Ko-fi for my latest climate fiction releases and superhero adventures. Sign up for my newsletter to receive free climate fiction in your inbox. Check out my bookshop for climate change books, including reading lists for climate fiction, climate nonfiction, and climate poetry!
