You may have heard of this absurd indie horror game made by one guy.  Choo-Choo Charles is about a monster hunter who’s been summoned to the dreary island of Aranearum to hunt down the abomination that is Charles, a monstrous spider with a clownish visage that has presumably taken up residence within one of the local mining company’s trains.  The game is understandably silly, Charles himself is surprisingly creepy, and the game itself, well, it’s actually a pretty good time.

That’s not to say the game’s good.  But shoot dang, it’s not exactly bad, either.  You have the freedom to explore a rather large island on your customizable train, completing side quests both required and optional to prepare for your final showdown against Charles.  Along the way, you’ll meet some rather quirky NPCs who can apparently speak without moving their mouths (the most memorable of which is Pickle Lady).  They’ll be sending you off on missions to gather up three of Charles’ eggs, find new weapons, and accumulate scraps to upgrade your train’s stats and repair it.  Side quests could have used more variety, as they usually revolve around fetching a required item and returning it to its owner, though there is also one that parodies Slender: The 8 Pages.  (And once you get low on pages, it’s about as annoying…)

The main threat is, of course, Charles himself, whose presence is announced by the sound of an eerie train whistle.  If he catches you far from your train, there’s a good chance he’ll eat you if you don’t find shelter.  (And even if you do find shelter, he’ll probably proceed to frantically run around your hiding spot for several minutes before moving on, which can be pretty amusing.)  But if he starts to chase you while you’re barreling down the tracks in your trusty train, you’ll have a chance to fend him off until he takes enough damage and flees like a big eight-legged coward.

The other threats are Barry the Swamp Monster, who is encountered during one side quest and can be avoided by standing still when he swims near you.  The other is Warren Charles’ goons, who relentlessly chase you with guns until you escape on your train, shoot them back with said train’s firepower, or…you know, perish. Everyone seems to agree that the stealth is the worst part of this game.  I’m not quite sure what makes it worse than in other games, though it probably doesn’t help that you can’t crouch in order to make yourself a bit harder to spot.  Whatever the case may be, avoiding detection seems pretty much impossible, so expect to get chased.  Often. 

In general, if you’re looking for a silly way to spend a few hours of your time, and you like games that don’t take themselves too seriously, then Choo-Choo Charles isn’t a bad option.  I generally found the game fun, even if the stealth is rather frustrating.  I really like Charles’ design.  Plus, the atmosphere of a foggy island with occasional lightning storms is fun, too.  I tend to appreciate games such as this that are made by one person.  There’s something kind of personal about playing a game that one guy decided to make because he wanted to do something silly, y’know.  If you’re interested in this goofy horror game, perhaps wait for a sale, though, as $19.99 is a bit steep for the short length.  You can find it on PC and all modern consoles.