Developer: WildArts Games
Publisher: Black Lantern Collective, Gamersky Games
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Fright Train – Review
Imagine a dog all alone on a train, coursing through Antarctica. Now imagine that dog is actually a super-spy. Then that super-spy dog has to shoot zombies. That’s exactly what WildArts Games’ newest release, Fright Train, delivers! A spooky, yet somehow adorable third-person shooter game, set in a relatively dark and isolated location. Play as agent Doug Barker and conquer SHARK Corporation’s freight train, where experiments clearly have gone wrong.
Story
The game begins with agent Doug Barker, a special agent working for “Paranormal Agency Worldwide”, infiltrating a freight train belonging to the infamous SHARK Corporation after receiving a distress call. There were readings of paranormal activity, which early on already showed itself, with many crew members’ deaths as a result. Soon, Doug is left alone as some crew members have gone missing. Thanks to Agent Widget, a sheep who works as a tech genius and guides you through the rest of the story, Doug is assured some members are still alive, but lost in the train. By clearing cabins and defeating zombies along the way, Doug (and Widget) begin to find out what happened, and it is up to them to put a stop to it before the train comes to a halt.
The story of Fright Train isn’t exactly something new. Plenty of horror games have done the isolated location thing before, and yet, by putting it in a world of humanoid animals, it feels like a fresh take. As the story develops and new info is revealed to Agent Doug, nothing seems far-fetched either. The writing of Fright Train plays out like a somewhat camp b-horror movie, and it really works in its favor. Subtle voicelines explain why none of the horrors Doug faces come as a shock anymore; relationships with other characters are established mid-dialogue as well. This horror game really tries its best to stay consistent and manages to do so.
Graphics
Given the world Fright Train plays in, we didn’t anticipate polished graphics. Yet once we stepped onto the train, we were humbled. Semi-realistic and oddly ‘cute’, Agent Doug and the freight train he conquers look clean and really good. Given the isolated location at nighttime, we wondered if the game would be too dark, but thanks to the soft lighting in the train cabins themselves, the game never struggles with visibility. Warm lighting emphasizes the cold setting outside, and creates just enough light to keep that claustrophobic feeling in the areas Agent Doug wanders through.
The enemies, the zombies, also look really good. The first enemies Agent Doug meets are these bear-like zombies, with weird masks on their faces. Shooting them a few times will take off the mask, allowing him to shoot the head and end the zombies’ suffering. The first time we did this, we were surprised to see the heads of these zombies properly blown off, creating a rather graphic visual for what would otherwise be a creepy kind of cuteness. As the game progresses and Agent Doug faces more opponents, the designs never falter. Whilst keeping a realistic edge, the game stays loyal to its art style and keeps everything coherent.
Sound
We have to be honest here. For a game that looks the way Fright Train does, we initially had low expectations in regard to the soundtrack. Never judge a book by its cover, as the music in this horror game really hit the spot, however. Featuring chilly and ominous background music, every level and boss fight kept us on edge throughout our playthrough. From simple eerie tunes to full-on chaotic, glitch-like beats, we never found ourselves wanting to turn off the volume in this game. Whilst silence in isolated locations could work as well, Fright Train managed to find a sound that works without interfering with the immersion of the setting it has to work in.
Another surprise was that everything is fully voice-acted. Cutscenes, as well as dialogue throughout levels, aren’t simply animal noises, but proper speech. Speaking of which, the voices used for each character feel very fitting. Agent Doug, who never smiles, sounds like a proper noir-movie persona, whereas Agent Widget has the voice of a stereotypical tech-geek. Not every line was delivered with conviction, but all in all, the voice actors did a solid job here.
Gameplay
As mentioned earlier, Fright Train is a typical third-person shooter game, set in a survival horror theme. You’ll mainly be walking around train cabins, shooting whatever you come across, and proceeding to the next cabin.
Luckily, Fright Train manages to make these simple rules a tad less simple for us. Agent Doug can’t simply speedrun from cabin A to B. Instead, doors are locked, and he needs to spend credits to open them. This means that Doug has to shoot zombies, stomp on crates, or sell items he scavenged in order to acquire these credits. Though it sounds questionable as to why train cabins would be locked this way, in-game files explain why this is the case. These doors are also marked with numbers. The higher the number, the pricier they are to open, but there’s a chance of better loot behind it as well.
Aside from clearing cabins, there’s another aspect you need to keep an eye on, namely Doug’s temperature. Given he’s in the Antarctic, the train can get cold pretty quickly. By connecting to screens in each cabin, Doug can seal windows and prevent them from shattering and further lowering the temperatures inside the cabins. This is a sometimes tedious but necessary gimmick to keep both Doug and the train running. If Doug missed a window, chances are he has to go back later on to seal it; otherwise, he risks the train coming to a halt and setting free whatever is haunting the train.
Now, onto the slightly annoying part of the game: inventory management. Agent Doug’s inventory works like a blueprint. Depending on where he stores what, some items are easier to reach, and thus will be used faster. Initially, he is recommended to store ammo as close to his hands as possible, but on longer playthroughs this becomes harder than you think. Though he can find a duffle bag now and then to store extra items, sorting everything out when zombies can randomly creep up on you isn’t easy. He could take his time, of course, but then there is the aforementioned window mechanic to pay attention to as well, leaving Doug often the choice of ‘running with it’ or sacrificing windows and risking temperature drops.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, Fright Train is a solid game for players who enjoy zombie shooters, or those who want to set a tiny foot into the horror genre. Often more gross than scary, Agent Doug and Agent Widget are sure to guide players through a decent four hours of gameplay with plenty of replayability to offer afterwards. The price may seem on the steeper side at first, but with a fully voice-acted and well-written story, we think it is more than justified to get Fright Train at full price.
No Comments