Demo arrives early for Dreadline Express

• Announcements by Sam Amiotte-Beaulieu
• Published:

Full version of post-apocalyptic card-based horror adventure releasing October 16th on Steam 

While most trains don't require much more than a ticket to board, the one being conducted by Czech developer David Konecny may cost you your sanity. But when the world outside has been twisted by a mysterious miasma of death, the only option left is to ride it out in the upcoming card-based psychological thriller, Dreadline Express. 

Set in an alternate universe 1950s, Earth has been “destroyed in a Lovecraft-inspired apocalypse.” All human life has been extinguished, except for those lucky enough (or doomed) to ride aboard the world’s last functioning steam train on an endless excursion with no destination. It is unclear how long this locomotive has been running from the unspeakable tentacled horrors that now call the world’s surface and otherworldly red sky their own, but the trek has taken a serious toll on the passengers that remain, both psychologically and physically. You are one such survivor, and you don’t even remember your own name. To learn more about your plight and “unravel mysteries of the enigmatic train,” you must traverse its various cars and “shape your path using a unique card-based mechanic that gives you full narrative control.”  

Dreadline Express is a first-person “investigative odyssey” presented in a deliberately chunky PS1-style 3D aesthetic. Wandering the dimly lit halls of the decrepit train is handled through standard WASD and mouse controls or via gamepad. As you explore, you will uncover hotspots and characters that can be examined and spoken to. Rather than solving traditional puzzles, however, here you’ll unlock information, memories, and ideas that are represented by physical cards, such as details of your past or the names of the other passengers you come across. Cards are collected in your notebook, where they can be accessed at any time to hold in your hand for use in the environment. One contains the idea “Light,” for example, which can be used with a dark surface once equipped to brighten the surrounding area slightly. As the challenges get more complex, cards even can be combined to form new uses.  

Where you go and how you approach problems is up to you, as the experience is designed as a non-linear “metroidbrainia,” in which finding new cards through observation and deduction will allow for new paths to open. There is “never only one right answer” to the obstacles you’ll face, but nor are you entirely free to act as you please. The train is under the control of an authoritative “Supreme Engineer,” and riders must follow strict rules and obey the commands of the crew to keep their place on the train. So while you seek to uncover the “grand mystery” behind these horrible circumstances, remember that “you are being watched” by a regime that rules with an iron fist. 

Dreadline Express is nearly ready for passengers, as the game will be launching on Steam on October 16th. While you wait, for a quick jaunt into the nightmare ahead of time, a playable demo is available to try for Windows PC.