The Ghost Train | 幽霊列車 is a psychological train horror game.
You take on the role of commuter Kensuke Tanaka, experiencing increasingly unsettling occurrences during his nightly train rides home from work. The game structures itself around Kensuke's routine journey, with you completing simple tasks and navigating the train cars over the course of multiple nights.
The developers imbue the train environment with a strong sense of tension and unease through realistic graphics, effective sound design, and clever use of lighting. For example, the flickering lights and ominous ambient noises gradually build a palpable air of dread, while the photo-realistic environments and character models heighten the unsettling realism. Players report feeling a growing sense of discomfort as they progress through the experience and witness the strange occurrences.
The gameplay focuses on exploration, observation, and light puzzle-solving, rather than complex mechanics or action. The simple control scheme and lack of overtly challenging elements make the game accessible while maintaining an unsettling tone. For instance, players must carefully listen to sound cues and scan the environment to solve simple audio-based puzzles, further immersing them in the eerie atmosphere.
As the nightly commute becomes increasingly bizarre, you gradually piece together the underlying mystery and themes through environmental storytelling and dialogue choices. This narrative progression keeps players engaged and invested in uncovering the truth behind the supernatural events.
By making different choices or exploring various narrative paths, you can unlock different conclusions to Kensuke's story, adding to the game's replayability. The desire to see all the possible outcomes further contributes to the game's appeal, as players strive to fully understand the complexities of the narrative.