Thomas the Tank Engine is being flung skyward by Unreal Engine physics

Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor, released on Steam this week, casts Thomas and his peers in a train sim where players navigate the duties of the North Western Railway—duties that have a tendency to punt these sentient traincars into the upper stratosphere with no discernible cause.

The game has enjoyed a bit of a viral launch, driven by countless videos showing unpredictable physics bugs that jettison Thomas and Co. off the tracks. He will be comfortably tooting along in picturesque comfort before suddenly being brutally repulsed by gravity, as though punished by some unseen higher power.

I've been surveying the carnage throughout the day; my social feeds are now a steady diet of Thomas being shunted heavenward: corkscrewed at catastrophic speeds, catapulted by vengeful telekinesis after a collision, and flung with petulant contempt by the fickle simulated physics of Unreal Engine 5.

thomas, sodor, steam, unreal engine, physics bugs, train sim, north western, viral launch, sentient traincars, gravity