On Dec. 9, “Choo Choo Charles”, a horrid game about a spider train was released. In this game, you ride a train around an island, doing tasks for others and preparing to fight Charles, the spider train.

This game was developed entirely by one person, Gavin Eisenbeisz. A game like “Choo Choo Charles” is quite a large undertaking for one person, due to the game having a full story, a couple main missions, multiple side quests and an open world. All of this was made in one year, which is absolutely stunning.

The main pulling point of the game is Charles himself. Both spider and train in one, Charles makes for a bit of a goofy combination that ends up being fairly scary in the beginning due to the shock of just seeing a giant spider in the shape of a train on your screen. The premise is engrossing and leads to interesting interactions between the player and Charles. The only way the player can combat Charles is onboard their own train, outfitted with guns. From a machine gun, flamethrower all the way to the most powerful gun named “Bob.” The arrangement of weapons works well in the game in combating the spider train. When you are in combat with Charles, it can be quite intense in the beginning, however at the end of the game the combat loses its feel and isn’t as scary.

In the safety of your train, despite Charles’s attacks, you are quite secure. The game, in many sections, takes away that security by forcing you to leave your train to do various main missions and side quests. When you leave your train, all you can do is run away from Charles when he spots you. During these times is when the game is most scary as the suspense builds.

The game sends you on a variety of missions, each one unique. They aren’t anything special, but they do the job adequately. The most interesting side quest in the game is based on Slender Man, where you need to collect papers for an NPC in the middle of nowhere at the threat of Charles. The real meat of the missions are, of course, the main missions, which have you sneaking through various caverns and hiding from some cultists protecting key items. 

I have some problems with these main missions, as I was able to completely brute force my way through with exceeding little effort. The player’s character could take multiple hits before dying. I was able to run through the entire mission tanking shots without dying. I was able to skip completely over the stealth mechanics of the game. If the main character died from one shot, these sections would have felt much more difficult and entertaining. I feel like I cheated the game when I rushed through levels not being punished for playing the game in the “wrong” way.

“Choo Choo Charles” is fairly short. I was able to fully complete the game, including achievements, in roughly three and a half hours. This, however, doesn’t take away at all from the experience, as if the game stretched out any longer, it probably would’ve detracted from the game. The game doesn’t waste any time forcing you through needless quests that ultimately do nothing. Instead it goes straight to the punch, giving you only the meat of the game, entirely avoiding fluff.

The game as a whole is primarily very good, but has some weaknesses such as the fact that you can brute force your way through the main missions. It comes in at a cost of $20, which is a tad expensive for a game this short. I would recommend, if you wanted to buy the game, to wait for a sale. The strengths of the game far outweigh the weaknesses, and I recommend it, just don’t expect a ton of content outside of the Giant Spider Train.

“Choo Choo Charles:” ★★★★☆