Bought this game in 2014. I've played it on and off as a moment of hyperfocus. I never finished it, albeit a very short and not very hard experience once you get the hang of it.

It just felt like one of those games I took my time with in one sitting and the moment I put it down, I just sorta forgot I was playing it.

Now, almost a decade later, I finally beat it. What a ride. Loved those epilogue chapters!

The hype does not equal the results.

Don't get me wrong: I loved seeing the journey of the developer in his YouTube videos building up the game. It was a well designed and fun experience. I love to support indie devs. Especially when it comes down to such a small team, knowing a few devs of my own who are in the same circumstances.

Charles looks amazing and the atmosphere really works wonders with the soundtrack. I loved the mechanic of scraps necessary for both upgrades and healing your choo-choo. Riding around in the train is a lot of fun! Big map, too! Loved the little Slender nod!

The rest is a little bit more barebones: The NPC's didn't get the same polish as the environment, player equipment, or Charles; the voice acting is good, at best, but none of the characters have any facial animation or lip flaps, which pulls you out of it during dialogue. I had a few instances where the grunts shot at me during dialogues, which resulted in some funny deaths. Not that there were many. I barely used the sneaking mechanic. Kinda odd that there is a little bit of a zoom in the tilted leaning? No stealth on my end cause it's really easy to outrun the grunts, even in bigger groups.

I think the look of the NPCs are not at the core of this game's design, but a little polish goes a long way. Especially when you're working in UE and the rest looks very flattering.

Speaking of grunts not being scary: Charles. The whole selling point. At first he seems very menacing, but once you start to get used to the deaths not being a big deal with the amount of scrap you can find, he becomes a little less of a scary sight. Some hardcore mode would've been great? Witch Hunt did something similar but evokes this feeling of dread more often. Charles barely appears throughout the game, at least in my initial playthrough. Kinda felt more like an urban legend you were dodging randomly instead of his AI actively getting closer and closer.

It's nice that the deaths are almost an instant reset to a your last hop off of the train and that you only lose less than a handful of your scraps. It's not as if they're hard to find, I feel like the amount was even a bit gullible. It does, however, feel very satisfying to reach max level on your upgrades.

Climax was a little underwhelming and very short.

$20 bucks is a little steep for the playtime of a little less than 2 hours (in my case) with not a lot of room for replayability. You can lure out Charles as much as you like, but not a lot changes.

It was a great experiment, one with a very unique vision and well-crafted execution. Albeit a bit short, it's really the atmosphere that you're here for. Hoping to see a more fleshed out spiritual successor down the line, though.

OneyPlays made me do it.

Did the white rabbit ending as well.

How is it this good?

Shadows of Rose was nice. A bit mysterious (not talking about who Michael turns out to be...) in its set-up, and doesn't really deliver all that much. Mixed feelings: Would've loved the ending stinger to be a little different, but it was a nice "now you know" kinda rewatch.

The struggle of Rose is a familiar trope, so not much to say about her as a character. She's nice. Noorderburen actress slaying it.

Was nice to revisit the castle and to see The Duke in a different light as a Phantom Thief of Hearts. Mould creatures were a little clustered at first, but after you unlock the Rose powers it becomes a cakewalk. Overall it goes relatively quick. House Beneviento had a great atmosphere. Takes a little longer to learn the routes of -THAT- segment. Nice to see they can still add new things. The final leg of the house is really well done. A lot of Little Nightmares vibes.

Village section was short, but the whole buildup to the end was pretty sweet. The way you traverse in these worlds was also fun to watch. Idk if we're finally wrapping up the storylines from RE7 now, but it feels a little hamfisted in. Final boss is a bit clunky and takes too long if you, like me, forget to read the prompts. Once you figure out all your options it is so incredibly easy.

Overall: It was a fun return after me not playing it for the last 3 months. Saw some old favorites and had new mechanics that really fit the world of Village. Plot was a little lacking and we didn't really get any answers to the questions people were wondering. But it's a cool set-up for Rose as a character. Can't wait to see what is (and if there is anything) in store for her next.

Missus was adamant that I try this. It was fun! Fun puzzles, great atmosphere, ... Good adventure game. Doesn't overstay its welcome in terms of length. Cutscenes/Dialogue can be very slow, especially if you're trying to get back to some places for some achievements.

It's written in a very kid-friendly way, which is ironic, or it might just be because of the non-English dev team. Who knows. It's quirky and fun to read. This game could do with some voice acting.

I'm usually not so much for the "OOOOH SPOOKY GORE AND BLOOD AND PSYCH INSTITUTE WHOAAAA AMERICAN MCGEE" stuff. It always tries too hard. This was a good change of pace from the other ones that try to emulate that style. The mechanic of the pills really helped.

Very fun, albeit short DLC! It's such a cheap DLC, but they really offer you some bang for your buck. The visuals and animation of each encounter are just so much above what the base game offered. Amazing job to the dev team. Not a lot of bosses but some might make your time worth it.

Glumstone: Lives on in my RNG nightmares.

Moonshine Mob: Banger. That big band background music with the vocals, oh my god... That middle phase can suck it, though. God damn.

Esther Winchester: First phase lives on in my RNG nightmares, as well.

The Howling Aces: Cool way to implement this type of fight, but... Leave me alone.

Mortimer Freeze: Really fun "Not Ice King" fight! Middle part can be a hassle if you're unlucky and mess up.

Lots of neat mechanics in these DLC fights. The final phase of Glumstone comes to mind.

None of the bosses feel really difficult to learn as much as it all boils down to how you can navigate the RNG. Lots of tiny elements that can screw you over (think Sally Stageplay and the baby bottles/parasols)

As for The King's Leap... Loved this take on the previous minigames in the base game. Played all of these as Cuphead. Pawns were quick and fun, Knight screwed me over a few (read: a lot of) times. Bishop was loads of fun. Rook can suck it. Queen takes time/patience but isn't that hard.

Afterwards I attempted the Gauntlet with Ms. Chalice, and it just feels like it was built around her. It just flows so much better as her.

Final Boss isn't that difficult. But, again, it depends on which elements are overlapping. I'm sick of strawberries. Note: I once spawned in from the first phase into the second and I got hit before I even landed. Some collision shenanigans that made me throw my controller when I eventually died afterwards.

Secret Boss was really fun to figure out how to reach. Took me 2 tries to figure out what the mechanic was, and then I got it on the third try. Very short and actually pretty easy fight, especially with the crackshot.

Definitely doing an expert run of this later.

Bit slow at times with its ingame "cutscenes" after solving a puzzle. Amazing roster for a LEGO game. Mission are a bit "eh" in terms of design and level layout, but the overworld is pretty good.

First LEGO game I beat after Star Wars: The Complete Saga.

Haven't gotten every character yet, and unsure if I wanna put in the effort of getting them all.