Psychological horror Short horror Analog horror Horror walking simulators

Platform 8

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A commuter train that never stops. Watch for what changes.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Switch
Stores: Steam
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (87% of 2,912 reviews); 4.32 of 5 stars from 1,758 ratings on the PlayStation Store
Length: 15 to 60 minutes
Players: 1
Made by: KOTAKE CREATE
Released: 2024

On PlayStation: one of the PlayStation horror games.

No. 29 of the train horror games · No. 20 of the liminal space horror games · No. 10 of the subway horror games

Get it on Steam PlayStation Store (PS5, PS4)Nintendo Switch eShop

What frightens You are stuck aboard a Japanese commuter train that runs forever, the same bright carriage with red seats, hanging straps and one man on his phone. Each new car may hide an anomaly: a changed poster or sign, a message scrawled on the floor, a car gone pitch black or bloody handprints on the doors. Miss one, or handle it wrong, and you start over.
Content: blood, mild violence, sudden frights.

Platform 8 is a short anomaly horror game by KOTAKE CREATE, the maker of The Exit 8. You are trapped on a Japanese train that runs forever and must notice what has changed in each car to find a way off. A first run takes 15 minutes to an hour.

About Platform 8

Platform 8 is a short first-person horror game by KOTAKE CREATE, the developer of The Exit 8, published by PLAYISM. It came out on Steam for Windows on 31 May 2024, and on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in late November 2024. PLAYISM and the PlayStation Store both call it the sequel to The Exit 8, and the PlayStation Store adds that you will enjoy it more if you have played that game first.

The premise is one line on the store: you are trapped on a train that runs forever, and you have to keep an eye out for anomalies and find a way out. The maker describes it as a short walking simulator inspired by Japanese subways, liminal spaces and the Backrooms, and gives a play time of 15 to 60 minutes.

You move from car to car, and each time something may have changed. Some anomalies are subtle, such as one poster on the wall that is not quite right or a clue on the electric sign above the door. Others are loud: the car goes pitch black, fills with water, or its doors and windows shatter. Unlike The Exit 8, where you only judge whether to go on or turn back, Platform 8 lets you act on what you see, with a button that tells the game you have noticed the anomaly in front of you, and a few anomalies are small puzzles with a cryptic hint, such as a message scrawled on the floor. Fail one and you are back at the start.

The carriage is drawn with care: red bench seats, rows of hanging straps, real adverts above the windows, a line map and a scrolling station display, and a salaryman in a pale shirt looking at his phone. There is no music, only the sound of the train. That ordinariness is the point: the fear comes from staring at a space you know and slowly losing trust in what you saw a moment ago, and from the moments when something plainly is not right.

WayTooManyGames gave it 8.5 out of 10 on Switch, calling it a good continuation that delivers more than The Exit 8. It suits players who liked The Exit 8, I'm on Observation Duty or Ten Bells and want another short evening of spot-the-difference dread. On Steam it is in English and Japanese; the console versions add Chinese, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Korean, and Ukrainian on PS5.

How to play Platform 8

Buy it on Steam, the PlayStation Store or the Nintendo eShop and start a new game.
Walk through the train car in first person and take in how it looks: the passengers, the adverts, the signs and the doors.
Move on to the next car and look for anything that is different or wrong.
When you spot an anomaly, act on it; some need you to work out what the game wants from a hint in the car.
Get through enough cars without a mistake to find your way off the endless train.

Screenshots

Platform 8 screenshot: the length of an empty Japanese commuter car with red seats, hanging straps, adverts and one man sitting on the right

Platform 8 screenshot: a salaryman with a briefcase on his lap checks his phone on a red bench beside a Kobe Maritime Museum poster

Platform 8 screenshot: the LED display above the door naming the next stop in Japanese, under a station guide map with nine stops

Platform 8 screenshot: an empty car with rows of hand straps and a hanging ZONE ENERGY advert showing a glowing eye

Platform 8 screenshot: the words Find me scrawled in Japanese and English on the floor of the carriage between red seats

Tips

Spend the first trip learning the normal carriage well; every later judgement depends on remembering it.
Read the station display, the posters and the floor, not only the people; small text can change, and the signs sometimes give clues.
Play with sound on: there is no music, so a new sound in the car stands out.
After your first escape, keep playing: there are more anomalies to find, and players of The Exit 8 may meet a nod to it near the end.

Questions

How long is Platform 8?

The store gives a play time of 15 to 60 minutes for a run, and most Steam players spend about an hour with it in total.

Is Platform 8 a sequel to The Exit 8?

Yes. PLAYISM and the PlayStation Store call it the sequel, and it is by the same developer, KOTAKE CREATE. It moves the anomaly-spotting idea from an underground passage onto a train that never stops, and lets you act on some anomalies rather than only turn back.

What platforms is Platform 8 on?

Windows PC on Steam, PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. A bundle with The Exit 8 is sold on Steam and the PlayStation Store.

Is Platform 8 scary?

It is mostly quiet dread, but some anomalies are sudden and violent, with bloody handprints and ghosts. The ESRB rates it Teen for blood and mild violence.

What languages is Platform 8 in?

English and Japanese on Steam. The console versions also have Chinese, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Korean text, and Ukrainian on PS5.