Choo-Choo Charles

In all, Choo-Choo Charles is an impressively made game for only having one person working on it - and what flaws it has don't get in the way of an overall solid experience. The game leans on its ridiculousness but also manages to keep an entertaining amount of tension due to the seemingly constant presence of the spider-train, heralded only by his horn. There isn't always a lot to see away from the train tracks or specific quests noted on the map, but that isn't a necessity in a game like Choo-Choo Charles - and despite its relatively short length this is one train this reviewer would recommend picking up a ticket.

Choo-Choo Charles is more than just a funny idea about a demonic spider train. There is solid gameplay at the heart of this game – it certainly isn’t a world beater and it’s only three hours long but as a horror one-shot with a blend of fun and action, it works surprisingly well.

While it may not be heavy on jump scares, Choo Choo Charles does offer an open world for players to explore. However, the game does have some rough edges, including lifeless NPCs and an empty open world as well as an excess of mechanics that don't always mix together. A co-op option would have been a welcome addition to the game, but despite these issues, Choo Choo Charles does have some standout features, including impressive graphics and unique gameplay that combines shooting elements with monsters and quests throughout the map.

While it may not have a lengthy playtime or genre-defining mechanics, Choo-Choo Charles is nonetheless an impressive project created by a single person. If you’re craving some dumb spooky fun centered around upgrading your own train whilst trying to derail a demon spider locomotive (a very specific craving, indeed), then look no further.

Choo Choo Charles never takes itself seriously, but there's a fun game at its core with simple yet effective mechanics.

Choo-Choo Charles is sure to be one of the shortest titles you play all year. Just as soon as Charles tears through the trees and into sight for the first time, he’s gone. As the credits rolled, I couldn’t help but feel like Choo-Choo Charles should be compared to a stocking stuffer. A fun, cheap little trinket that you enjoy for a minute and then never touch again. I promise I mean that in the nicest way possible.

Choo-Choo Charles could have been drawn out, fluffed up, or watered down in so many ways. Any additional brush strokes could have detracted from the bigger picture, but Two Star Games didn’t do that. Instead, they focused on delivering, and deliver they did. It’s small, tight, and its ambition doesn’t go beyond its central concept. Thankfully, that central concept is a pretty juicy morsel.

Choo-Choo Charles is undoubtedly an amusing concept. But it feels more like a semi-polished tech demo than a retail experience, which isn't helped by the awful enemy logic.

Undoubtedly fun for a fright night with friends or a YouTube reaction video, Choo-Choo Charles will find its place comfortably as a not-so-serious meme game with some good horror ideas. There’s a charm to the whole experience supported by the fact that its short runtime means it never overstays its welcome. However, the game’s shortcomings are simply too obvious to overlook. Requiring more polish, depth, and variety, Choo-Choo Charles doesn’t have the longevity needed to be anything more than a fleeting piece of sharable internet entertainment.

Choo Choo Charles reminds me of a movie by Full Moon Studios - like Demonic Toys, Hideous, or Head of the Family, it’s an entertaining “what if?” concept that just isn’t enough to support an entire piece of media. With basic gameplay comparable to any number of low budget horror titles, it’s a fun idea and absolutely nothing besides. I wish it had more to offer, but like so many joke games before it, we already got the punchline when we saw the trailer and there’s nothing the gameplay adds on top of it. To be brutally honest, Choo Choo Charles would have been better as a fake game, or at the very least nothing would have changed if it was.

Quotation forthcoming.

Crude, repetitive, rarely scary, and quite often boring, Choo-Choo Charles butchers an unusual concept and only offers a few moments of mediocre tension.

Choo-Choo Charles is short and flawed, but you can give it a chance if you enjoy silly, kitsch horrors that are a motley of bizarre ideas which miraculously work together in some absurd way. Not for a full price though.

Choo-Choo Charles is a silly mess of an adventure, with its joke of a premise falling short of ever delivering the punchline. Combat against the evil train is always tedious and repetitive, and running quests on foot is even more unappealing with awful stealth sections through dilapidated hallways. Throw in some annoying bugs and a lifeless, empty map, and this funny nugget of an idea disappoints in so many ways it actually makes me angry. Sadly, I have to recommend you choo-choose a different way to spend your time.