Choo Choo Charles is a surprisingly fun horror game with a genuinely interesting concept, but it feels like it does very little with that concept
The idea of exploring an open world while being hunted by a creepy spider train is unique, and upgrading your train gives you a decent sense of progression, even if the game goes by way too quickly and you're barely given enough time to make those upgrades feel meaningful
The atmosphere is probably the strongest part of the game, with the island having a creepy feeling without relying on constant jumpscares, but Charles himself isn't much of a threat most of the time, which makes the whole "being hunted" aspect feel pretty underwhelming
The biggest issue is the gameplay loop, the quests and side activities are extremely repetitive and start becoming stale pretty quickly, with a lot of objectives boiling down to fetching something, killing something, or going somewhere, and there's not enough variety to keep the gameplay interesting for very long
The combat is also pretty shallow, and once you've upgraded your train enough, Charles stops feeling like something you need to be afraid of and becomes more of an inconvenience, which takes away a lot of the tension the game should have had
The game is also incredibly short, and while a short horror game isn't necessarily a bad thing, Choo Choo Charles feels more like it ends just as it starts getting interesting, leaving a lot of its ideas feeling underdeveloped
Overall, Choo Choo Charles has a great premise and a decent atmosphere, but the repetitive gameplay, lack of difficulty, shallow combat and short runtime hold it back quite a bit, it's fun while it lasts, but there's not nearly enough here to make it particularly memorable. This game would be SOOOO much better if there was a co-op option!
Overall, Choo Choo Charles is a simple but creative horror experience that knows exactly what it wants to be. It's not a groundbreaking horror game, but the unique concept, fun progression, and ridiculousness of fighting a demonic spider train make it well worth playing especially if you cop this one while on sale
