"Charles is a bloodthirsty train, and you need to destroy him."
That's the first line of the Steam description for Choo Choo Charles. It pretty much sums things up. Developer Two Star Games recently shared the first trailer for the game (below), during which a man is chased through across an island by a clown-faced nightmare train, and it seems to have gone down exceedingly well with fans across social media.
The premise of the game is relatively simple – if not a little absurd. You play as a character navigating an island terrorized by a sentient clown-faced spider-train named Charles whose favorite pastime is eating the flesh of puny humans. At your disposal, is a small yellow engine that comes equipped with its very own customisable stats, exterior, and mounted machine gun.
The aim of the game is to collect scrap, help out settlers and ultimately upgrade your train to the point at which you're ready to take on Charles and end his tyranny. Doing so sounds no easy matter though. Unlike standard locomotives we put our faith in on a day-by-day basis, Charles isn't bound by the limitations of train tracks. His spider-like legs leave few safe havens across the land and, with a hankering for human flesh, you could be next on the menu.
The trailer itself is sure to induce a mixture of intrigue and concern, but that hasn't stopped people from declaring their love for the concept even before the game's release. One Twitter user congratulated the internet on managing to convince someone to make a fully-fledged game out of the inevitable Thomas the Tank Engine horror mods that pop up multiple times a year. Others were already beginning to declare it 2022's game of the year.
Well done, internet – your countless mods replacing horror monsters with Thomas the Tank Engine have merged into a full-fledged game. AND YOU GAVE HIM SPIDER LEGS. https://t.co/i87J87Gehb
— The Chimpy Man (@TheChimpyMan) October 2, 2021
Hey kids. Game of the Year just dropped #ChooChooCharles https://t.co/6dEFoF3HpS
— Scary-son Eng-scream (@HarrisonVevo) October 2, 2021
While fans on Twitter clamor over the game's release, the folks over on Reddit already think they've got Choo Choo Charles' endgame worked out:
Choo Choo Charles is set to release sometime early next year. If you're looking to be one of the first to play the game when it comes out, then make sure to add it to your wishlist on Steam.
For those of you looking for more conventional horror games as you make your way into 2022, check out the latest trailer for The Outlast Trials. Red Barrels' latest upcoming venture into the survival horror series is set to bring with it plenty more scares and co-op mode for the first time.
Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.