Locomotive 115

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Keep the engine hot and the train moving. Stopping is death.

Platforms: PC, Mac
Stores: Steam, itch.io
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (94% of 140 reviews)
Length: about 40 minutes
Players: 1
Controls: Mouse to look and click: click the firebox to add fuel, pull the whistle and the brake; R reloads the shotgun, as the in-game manual shows.
Made by: Bucket of Fish
Released: 2024

No. 28 of the train horror games · No. 24 of the storm horror games · No. 8 of the mountain horror games

Get it on Steam itch.io (comes with a Steam key)

What frightens Alone in a steam engine's cab at night on the Widow's Run, a snowbound mountain line where conductors went mad, you keep the firebox, pressure and speed in balance while creatures drawn to heat and movement close in from the dark and something you must not let catch you follows the train.
Content: creature attacks, violence (rated 16 in germany for graphic violence).

Locomotive 115 is a short first-person survival horror game set in the cab of a steam train on the Widow's Run, a frozen mountain pass. You keep the engine's heat, steam and speed in balance while fending off the creatures that are drawn to it with a double-barrel shotgun and the train's whistle.

About Locomotive 115

Locomotive 115 is by Bucket of Fish, released for Windows and Mac on Steam and itch.io on 22 November 2024. Its makers describe it as a single-player survival horror game and a short horror narrative of about 40 minutes.

Not every train that sets out on the Widow's Run comes back. The few conductors who crossed the cold expanse and survived tell of madness, storms, deadly cold and strange creatures in the dark. You are the sole engineer of Locomotive 115, and the only way out is forward.

The whole game is played from the cab. You feed the firebox to raise the temperature, which builds pressure and speed; too much pressure risks the boiler, too little and the train slows. The creatures of the pass are said to be drawn to heat and movement, so the engine that keeps you alive also brings them to you. The handwritten notes scrawled over the train's manual tell you what the last engineer learned: they do not like the noise, kill on sight, stopping means death, and do not let him catch you.

Players compare its tension to Five Nights at Freddy's: one place, a few systems to juggle and threats you must read and answer in time. It suits players who liked Choo-Choo Charles or Iron Lung and want a short, tense evening.

It has full voice acting in English, Spanish, Brazilian and European Portuguese and Simplified Chinese. Steam also sells a soundtrack and a digital art book as add-ons. The Mac version needs an Apple silicon Mac.

How to play Locomotive 115

Read the locomotive's manual and the notes scrawled over it before you start.
Click the firebox to add fuel and keep the temperature, pressure and speed dials in balance.
Pull the whistle to release pressure, and use it when the creatures close in, since they do not like the noise.
Take the shotgun from the lockbox under the cab window when you must fight, and press R to reload.
Keep the train moving to the end of the Widow's Run; stopping means death.

Screenshots

Locomotive 115 screenshot: the open firebox glows orange under the cab's pressure, temperature and speed gauges, beside a red lever and a coal bin

Locomotive 115 screenshot: the dark cab at night with the boiler's gauges, red levers, the whistle cord and the glowing firebox, snow falling outside

Locomotive 115 screenshot: the locomotive manual with scrawled warnings: they don't like the noise, stopping is death, kill on sight, don't let him catch you

Locomotive 115 screenshot: looking out from the cab along the boiler and smoke into the snowy dark, with a light ahead on the line

Locomotive 115 screenshot: looking back from the cab over the coal pile in the tender, with snowy pines in the dark beyond

Tips

Never let the speed drop too far: the notes warn that stopping is death.
Watch the pressure gauge: too much can wreck the boiler.
Save shells for when you need them; the notes say two shots, and do not miss.
Explore the cab between threats; the Widow's Run has hidden secrets.

Questions

Is Locomotive 115 a horror game?

Yes. Its makers call it a survival horror game, and it is built around creatures stalking a lone engineer through a snowbound night.

How long is Locomotive 115?

About 40 minutes, according to its makers.

Is Locomotive 115 like Five Nights at Freddy's?

Players compare its tension to FNAF: you stay in one place and juggle a few systems while threats approach. But you drive a train and fight back with a shotgun and the whistle rather than watching cameras.

Does it run on Mac?

Yes, Steam sells it for Windows and Mac. On Mac it needs an Apple M1 or newer.

What languages is Locomotive 115 in?

Steam lists full audio in English, Spanish (Spain and Latin America), Portuguese (Portugal and Brazil) and Simplified Chinese.