Fright Train Review
Fright Train walks a tightrope between the methodical tension of survival horror and the constant pressure of a roguelite.
Fright Train. Credit: WildArts Games / Black Lantern Collective / Gamersky Games
With Fright Train, WildArts Games has made yet another game completely different from anything else in its catalog. Helltown, Born of Bread, and Caput Mortum are all excellent, and each has its own identity. So far, Fright Train continues both streaks. Its quality is even more impressive given that it arrived only one year after Caput Mortum.
You play as paranormal special agent Doug Barker, part of a team sent to investigate the L.R.S. Great White. The train is barreling through Antarctica while serving as a secret research facility for the SHARK corporation. Bad things have happened, and as your team arrives, more bad things happen. Now it’s all up to you and your guy on the radio. It gives the game just a touch of Metal Gear.
The game plays like Resident Evil, which isn’t a bad thing. Shooting and movement feel good and remind me a little of RE4. The extremely limited inventory creates a lot of pressure, arguably even more than in Resident Evil. The inventory is physically limited by what can actually fit on Doug’s person, complete with size restrictions for specific slots. Placement goes on to affect draw speed based on how easy an item is to reach based on position.
Fright Train. Credit: WildArts Games / Black Lantern Collective / Gamersky Games
Fright Train. Credit: WildArts Games / Black Lantern Collective / Gamersky Games
The inventory realism extends to how reloading works. You don’t just change magazines; you must load each one a bullet at a time while the world keeps moving. Needing to reload empties becomes real hectic with zombies in the room. What pushes those moments from tense into frustrating is that close-quarters combat really sucks.
Exploring the spooky train means breaking things to find coins. Opening doors costs money, so balancing the need to move forward against the need for ammo or the allure of buying a new weapon from a vending machine creates some hard choices. And you have to keep moving forward. Nightmarish zombie raids happen several times over a run on a fixed clock, so you need to make sure you’re ready at the same time. It makes balancing your economy a tense balancing act. It’s stressful.
The game’s setting adds another wrinkle because you must keep the train maintained. Letting it slow down means whatever is chasing the train can catch up. If enough windows on a car take damage, cold begins to seep in. Of course, sealing those windows costs money.
I haven’t played long enough to make a judgment call on how I feel about the roguelike mechanics adding constant pressure to the survival horror gameplay. My approach to survival horror tends to be methodical, and this isn’t a game that lets me take my time. However, I’m having fun so far. I highly recommend checking this one out.
Played on SteamOS PC using a review code provided by the publisher.
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