Rem Michalski's Trainwatch on track for 2026 release

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Ambitious genre-bending psychological thriller unveiled by the creator of The Cat Lady and Burnhouse Lane

Harvester Games' Rem Michalski has gripped many a horror fan with his disturbingly distinctive vision in The Cat Lady, Downfall, Lorelei and Burnhouse Lane over the years. His next title promises to do the same, though in a different sort of way as Trainwatch will blend "elements of adventure game, time-management and life simulation with a touch of horror."

In a game the developer describes as "deeply personal" and perhaps his "biggest and most ambitious project to date," Trainwatch stars a middle-aged man named Troy. As the new gatekeeper in the middle of desolate, fog-shrouded nowhere, Troy has only one job: to lower and raise the gates at scheduled train crossings for precisely 28 days. Performing his duties reliably is crucial, as his excessive drinking has turned his life to shambles and "this is his last chance to earn back his wife's trust. To prove he can stay sober. To become a better man." Having just a few assigned responsibilities, how hard could it be? Well, this is a Rem Michalski game, after all, so the answer is: very. 

With so much time on your hands between gate operations (the day/night cycle means one minute of simulated game time equals 1.5 seconds of real time), playing Trainwatch is not (mostly) about doing chores. You're free to wander the "semi-open world" around the gate tower, so long as you get back in time. Or not! Players have full freedom to choose how to spend their days, though of course there may be serious – potentially even fatal – consequences for failing in your job, and benefits for succeeding in the form of experience points that can be leveled up to unlock new skills, opening up even more opportunities to explore. Of course, you'll also need to take care of your basic needs, cooking and cleaning, eating and sleeping to maintain healthy levels of "stamina, cleanliness (which when not maintained properly will result in you getting sick), hunger, sanity" and more. 

The real fun – and fear – of Trainwatch is when you begin encountering evidence of "the darkness, the unknown." As Michalski describes it, the game is somewhat like "Stardew Valley meets Silent Hill." What begins with a cozy, slice-of-life vibe that lets you do things at your leisure will soon take a more ominous turn. There are reports of a "serial killer on the loose" and rumours of an "abandoned underground facility conducting strange experiments" nearby, even as Troy begins experiencing "nightmarish dreams." You'll meet others in the area as well, including "your work colleague Bob, weird ex-gatekeeper Adam, a masked Station Master Randall, a local hobo Duke and a goth girl who knows a lot about dark rituals and magic." Some of them will need your help, and as always, it's up to you whether to oblige. 

In many ways Trainwatch is similar to its (unrelated) predecessors, with its third-person perspective, voice-overs, branching dialogues, keyboard/gamepad controls and multiple endings. One notable change from the developer's previous side-scrollers, however, is that this game is a fully 3D experience that lets players explore the dreary countryside and eerie underground passages in every direction, the camera automatically following Troy or switching between preset camera angles. There will be inventory items to collect and puzzles to solve along the way, though Michalski says they are more in the style of "Resident Evil/Silent Hill puzzles" than traditional adventure game brainteasers. But don't let those names fool you, as there is no combat here. There may indeed be enemies at times – even monstrous ones – but as you're powerless to resist, all you'll be able to do is run from danger when you encounter it. 

There is no target release date just yet, as Trainwatch has "a mix of many different genres" to balance and Michalski is once again largely operating as a one-man studio. Hopefully, if all goes well, we should see the game launched on Steam sometime in 2026 for Windows PC.