Since Choo-Choo Charles was initially announced on October 5, 2021, it has gained a massive following and positively received. It has already garnered 4,999 followers on Steam in just seven days. You might be wondering who the developer behind this game featuring a terrifying spider train is and what inspired them.
The developer is Two Star Games which consists of solo dev Gavin Eisenbeisz who specializes in atmospheric horror games. He has released a handful of games that all have review scores of very positive. In an interview with PCGamer, Eisenbeisz speaks about his reaction to the game's reception and what inspired him to create Choo-Choo Charles.
Thomas the Tank Engine
As unlikely a source as it is, the Internet was crazed with Thomas the Tank Engine, finding horror at a train with a human face. While Eisenbeisz himself was not afraid, he states he had a happy reaction to the Internet's fear. Thomas the Tank Engine was modded into several games, including Skyrim, Resident Evil 2 Remake, and Resident Evil Village. He wanted to capitalize on that fear of trains with faces, and thus Choo-Choo Charles was born.
Blaine the Mono and Charlie the Choo Choo
Another source of inspiration for Choo-Choo Charles was Blaine the Mono and Charlie the Choo-Choo from Stephen King's from The Dark Tower series. In these books, Blaine the Mono is a sentient train who actively tries to kill people. Similar to Blain, Charlie the Choo-Choo is actually a children's book both in the world of The Dark Tower and an actual book that Stephen King wrote and published under a pen name.
You can stay up to date with the development of Choo-Choo Charles by wishlisting the game on Steam or following Eisenbeisz on Twitter, TikTok, and Youtube. You can watch the announcement trailer for Choo-Choo Charles below.
For more information on Choo-Choo Charles, check out What consoles is Choo-Choo Charles coming to? on Pro Game Guides.
Justin has been diving into fantasy worlds since he can remember. He is a certified nerd who has a deep love of reading, writing, and hiking. He has been writing since his college days, but specifically in gaming for two years. His favorite games are The Legend of Zelda, Pokémon, Hollow Knight, Celeste, and Banjo Kazooie.