Exploring the RailGods of Hysterra: the train is your friend, temple, and bloodthirsty creature at the same time (Lovecraft approves)

There has never been a train like this in games before - except in Lovecraft's nightmares after a bad dinner. RailGods of Hysterra is a cooperative survival game with RPG elements where your base moves, has tentacles, fights cultists, and asks for meat. Not metaphorically, but literally, so you can't stop. This beauty is developed by Troglobytes Games, published by Digital Vortex Entertainment, and released in Early Access on Steam on 7 May 2025 (yes, it was postponed - but they say it was "for polishing", we all know this euphemism).

The player takes on the role of the Dreamer, who survives in a post-apocalyptic world where ancient horrors have turned reality into a psychedelic rave. To stay alive, you need to build, fight, get resources, not go crazy and keep in touch with your own symbiotic locomotive, which, by the way, has a heart, appetite and mood. The campaign offers both single-player and co-op for five players, because enduring all this sur alone is a real challenge.

And yes, you can upgrade your train here. Not the engine, but... tentacles, battle platforms, ritual rooms, and a feeding trough for victims. Plus, there's a system of madness that forces you to choose between common sense and the dark side. That is, just like in real life, but with rails.

Fast forward to

• The broken world of Histerra
• The RailGods: intelligent engines of survival and destruction
• The burden of dreamers: The role of the player and the narrative context
• The main cycle of the game: Survive, build, explore, fight
• Using the Unspeakable: Strength, skill, and sacrifice
• The inhabitants of the destroyed world: Factions and enemies
• Visuals and atmosphere: a look at Madness
• In the dry residue: A long, dark journey ahead

The broken world of Histerra

The plot of RailGods of Hysterra is based on a typical day in Lovecraft's world - that is, a global catastrophe with a twist of cosmic madness. The Earth was not attacked, it was literally broken in half by the return of the Great Old Ones, godlike beings for whom humanity is something between cockroaches and garnish. Their appearance distorted reality, wiped out billions of people and turned the planet into a delusional testing ground with elements of total psychosis.

A typical RailGods of Hysterra landscape. Illustration: Troglobytes Games

Against this backdrop, Hysterra is a post-apocalyptic world where the landscapes look like they were designed by Lovecraft in collaboration with a steam locomotive depot. Forests, coasts, deserts and plains - everything looks familiar, but with a strange, eerie atmosphere. The cultists here don't speak, they whisper. And the creatures look like something out of an anatomy textbook that's been through the wringer. The setting is based on a distorted New England: it looks beautiful, but with the subtext of "you're about to be eaten".

The key location is Dreamlands. It is where the Dreamers (yes, that's you) fled to find knowledge and a chance for survival. It is also where RailGods - semi-living locomotives - and the Eternal Railway, which circles the planet, appeared. This is not just transport, but a living structure made of self-healing rails and dark energy. Monster trains run along this system, and the last strongholds of humanity under the protection of energy domes are located along it.

Dreamlands. Illustration: Troglobytes Games

Histerra is as unstable as old code without a backup. Each stop is procedurally generated: familiar enemies may repeat, but the layout and challenges are different every time. It's not a decision for beauty - it's a playful way to convey a scattered, crazy reality. The world changes with your mind. And as a bonus, the Fog of War blocks your view until you unlock the appropriate abilities or make a deal with the dark forces. You can remove the fog, but not without consequences. As always.

The RailGods: smart engines of survival and destruction

At the centre of RailGods of Hysterra's gameplay are the RailGods themselves: giant, living locomotives with their own character and heart. They serve as a mobile fortress, a war machine, and a mystical ally in the fight against the horrors of Hysterra.

A train in RailGods of Hysterra. Illustration: Troglobytes Games

Origin and creation. RailGods have nothing to do with technology in the usual sense. They were born as a result of forbidden rituals and dark magic. According to the description, they are "colossi of Shogoth Plasm and iron" created in the ghostly dimension of Dreamlands as humanity's last chance for survival in the war with the Great Ancients. Shogoth Plasm is an extract from the mythical Shoggoth creatures that combines meat with machines, capable of growing, thinking, evolving and... eating.

Nature and intelligence. RailGod is not a piece of technology with tentacles. It is called a "living monster train", an "abomination" with eldritch life and a pulsating heart in the carriages. This heart is not just for show: it affects the player's mental performance. There are hints that different RailGods will have their own personalities, which means unique interactions with the player.

Appearance. Imagine a train from the 20s that has been transformed into something that looks like a squid with eyes. The key art shows a yellow, bulging eye, tentacles, and a tentacle-shaped tongue that grabs its victims - it's just beautiful. The design is a cocktail of mechanics and biomass that will definitely remain in the memory.

Development by RailGod. Illustration: Troglobytes Games

Purpose. RailGod is a base, a vehicle, an arsenal, and a partner at the same time. It houses workshops, schematics, kitchens, combat modules - everything you need to survive, create and repel the next anomaly. And your relationship with this creature directly affects its development and your strength.

Hunger and fuel. RailGod has an appetite. It is fed with Mush, a substance that is collected from fallen enemies. But it tastes better with captives - those who have been captured and sacrificed through a special device on the train - the Feeder. And all this is not for the sake of spectacle - it depends on whether the train will move.

Modularity and transformation. The customisation system has been developed on a large scale: you can attach additional wagons with workshops, kitchens, armour to the train, as well as add "dark improvements" and ladders to the roof. RailGod grows with the player: the deeper the alliance, the tougher your bio-locomotive looks and acts. Everything you do affects it. It is no longer a base on the rails, but a living, hungry symbol of your moral choice.

A line-up of wagons. Illustration: Troglobytes Games

You could say that you are raising yourself something between Tamagotchi and the Antichrist.

The burden of dreamers: The role of the player and the narrative context

In RailGods of Hysterra, the player becomes a Dreamer - someone chosen to wake up again in a ruined world after 25 years of sleep in Dreamlands. They are called by something called "The Call" - also a reference to Lovecraft - and then the adventure part begins, where you either survive or end up in the locomotive feeder. Depending on the context and abilities, the Dreamer can be called something else - GodKeeper, with a hint that you are not just a passenger, but an active custodian of a living machine.

Character customisation. Illustration: Troglobytes Games

The relationship between the Dreamer and RailGod is a symbiosis on steroids. The train grows and mutates with you, and you, in turn, gain new strength. It's a living partnership that affects character development, gameplay, and the entire plot. If you neglect it, you will be left without protection, resources, and chances of survival. If you feed, pump, and make a couple of sacrifices, you will receive bonuses and "dark gifts".

Survival is a daily routine: you need to keep an eye on your health, hunger, and most importantly, your mind. The game has a Madness mechanic, and it matters here. It determines how deeply your character plunges into Lovecraftian madness. Collect too many and objects disappear, the interface turns into eyes, and reality becomes distorted. But Madness is not only a threat, but also a currency for gaining powerful abilities.

All of this is woven into a narrative that directly involves Howard Lovecraft. According to the story, it was he who predicted the arrival of the Great Ancients, gathered followers, and sent them to Dreamlands in search of salvation. There, they created the RailGods and the Eternal Railway, a last-ditch attempt to ward off chaos.

The Dreamers' goal is ambitious: survival is only the beginning. They have to gather their strength, organise resistance against the Great Ancients, and use the Eternal Railway to create a network of protection that envelops the planet. And then it's up to them to either save humanity or become something more. The opportunity to rise to the level of a new deity makes the plot not only deeper, but also disturbingly alluring.

Sacrificing an alligator. Illustration: Troglobytes Games

The whole story is built on a risky balance: you have to use dark forces to fight even darker ones. Your decisions determine whether you will become the last hero or a new horror on the rails. And, given the essence of the game, the line between the two is conditional, slippery and already covered with tentacles.

The main cycle of the game: Survive, build, explore, fight

The game cycle in RailGods of Hysterra is built around four columns: survival, base building, world exploration, and combat. All of this is in a co-operative format, where the player is required to have endurance, tactics, and a little bit of dark alchemy.

Co-operative game. Designed for 1-5 players in online mode. You can wander around Histerra alone, but it's better to join a team - it's easier to collect resources, craft equipment, level up your RailGod, share magical knowledge, and fight monsters from the depths of Lovecraft together. The progress of each player - abilities, discoveries - is saved even if you join a foreign world. The demo pointed out several nuances: problems with sharing objects and abrupt changes in locations when one player moves. The developers are already working on fixing them.

Survival mechanics. To stay alive, you need to monitor your health, hunger, and mental stability. Resources are gathered in a dangerous world, and they are used to create tools, weapons, and useful trinkets like Herbal Tea, which dampens the growing Madness. You will also have to deal with changing weather conditions that add chaos to an already hostile environment.

Base construction (RailGod). Your base is RailGod itself. It is a train that is constantly evolving and requires updates. You can attach wagons with workshops, kitchens, storage facilities, and other amazing inventions to it. There is even a plan to put ladders and climb on the roof. The space is limited, so you have to think about the location of each object. In the demo, players complained about the small starting inventory and the fact that it was impossible to craft directly from the resources on the train. Perhaps the new Dreamer skill will solve this.

Research. The movement takes place on the Eternal Railway. The player controls the speed of the train and chooses where to stop - at official stations or even in the middle of the journey (the so-called "Stations Nowhere"). Each stop is a chance to find resources, explore caves, and come across NPCs with new quests, equipment upgrades, or pieces of the story. The world is generated procedurally, so the routes are never repeated verbatim.

Combat system. The battle in RailGods of Hysterra takes place from a top-down perspective, in the style of an ARPG, similar to Diablo. Dreamers fight enemies using a combination of melee weapons (spears, axes), ranged weapons (bows, pistols, shotguns), and dark magic. Among the abilities are, for example, Dark Bolt and Seismic Wave. Players point out problems with combat dynamics: delays after a bow shot, vulnerability during magic casts, and difficulty with aiming. The developers have already promised updates to improve these aspects.

A battle in RailGods of Hysterra. Illustration: Troglobytes Games

Insanity mechanics. One of the key elements of the game's Lovecraftian atmosphere is the Madness system. Dreamers accumulate Madness when they leave their RailGod and explore infected areas. As the level of Madness increases, "interesting effects" begin to appear: icons of objects, blueprints, and even hotkeys become unusable. Eye symbols appear on the screen, and the interface itself starts to go crazy along with the hero. The madness can be partially reduced, for example, with the help of Herbal Tea. But it's not just a burden - it's also a resource. By interacting with the pulsating heart of RailGod, the Dreamer cleanses the accumulated Madness, exchanging it for the powerful abilities of GodKeeper.

Some players believe that the effects of Madness are triggered too quickly - for example, bandages disappeared at an early stage, making treatment difficult. This was also taken into account by the developers to further improve the balance.

All these systems are closely interconnected. Research provides resources and materials for victims that strengthen RailGod and unlock Dark Gifts. But it also leads to an increase in Madness. And it, in turn, affects the gameplay and becomes a conditional currency for development. RailGod acts as a mobile base and the only point of relative stability.

Mining resources. Illustration: Troglobytes Games

The game logic is based on conflict: to move forward, the player is forced to leave the safety zone, go into the crazy world and pay for it with his common sense. It is this constant friction between survival and risk that recreates the essence of the Lovecraftian experience: knowledge has a price, and it is always painful. To succeed, you will have to balance carefully - plan routes, spend resources wisely, make sacrifices, do battle, and control your own mental health.

Harnessing the Unspeakable: Strength, skill, and sacrifice

The path to power in RailGods of Hysterra lies through dark rituals, sacrifices, and the use of otherworldly energy. All of this is combined into two interconnected systems: Sacrifices, Dark Gifts, and the Skills of the Guardian God.

The system of sacrifices. A ritual with two key results. Firstly, sacrifices are the main fuel that keeps RailGod moving along the Eternal Railway. Secondly, it is through sacrifices that Dreamers gain access to the Dark Gifts - powerful abilities. To make an offering, you need to catch specific enemies - the so-called Immortals. To do this, traps and cages are built. The captured creatures are then transferred to a special mechanism on board the train - the RailGod Feeder - where they are eaten by your tentacled machinery with a voracious appetite.

Dark Gifts. These are powerful, sometimes absolutely life-changing abilities that RailGod grants to the Dreamer in response to satiety and satisfaction. These gifts give real advantages in combat and exploration. Among the famous examples:

• Teleportation - instant return or movement;
• GatheringTentacles - replacing your hand with a tentacle that improves resource gathering;
• Seismic Wave - a powerful area attack;
• Eldritch Blast - a classic dark magic projectile.

These powers are controlled through a special menu called Dark Gifts Magic Wheel.

Skills of the Guardian God. These abilities are unlocked through the study of the dark arts and, more importantly, through the purification of Madness in the heart of RailGod. Here, Madness acts as a currency. These skills are focused on control, exploration and trapping, and also provide access to special abilities. Famous examples:

• Fog of War - removing the cover from the map;
• Tentacle - an ability whose details are still hidden;
• Teleport - similar to the aforementioned Dark Ability, but possibly in a different way.
  
  Potentially, one of these skills will allow the player to remotely access the train's vault - something that was often complained about in the demo.
  The presence of two branches - Dark Gifts, which depend on external sacrifices, and Guardian Skills, which are related to the internal processing of Madness - creates an interesting juxtaposition. Some powers provide combat power and bodily transformation. Others provide support, guidance, and possibly mental endurance. Refusal to sacrifice weakens RailGod and limits access to the Gifts. Ignoring Madness, if at all possible, closes the path to Skills.

Where other weapons fail, magic is used. Illustration: Troglobytes Games

This forces the player to fully interact with all aspects of the game. You have to confront external horrors and simultaneously tame internal demons. This approach perfectly captures the spirit of Lovecraft: power always has a price - and it's not about money.

The inhabitants of the destroyed world: Factions and enemies

The world of Histerra, although it looks dead, is teeming with life. Very strange, aggressive and in most cases hostile to everything that still breathes. A hierarchy of fear reigns here: from corrupted humans to cosmic beings that do not fit into any biology.

A creature from Lovecraft's nightmares. Illustration: Troglobytes Games

TheGreat Ancients. They are the main enemies, the bosses of all existence, cosmic beings of such power that when they returned, reality went into cracks. Their influence distorted the world, broke logic, gave rise to Madness and turned the planet into an arena of psychic terror. The main struggle against them is dangerous, unlikely, but extremely important.

Sinister cultists. People who could not stand it and surrendered. They became the conductors of the will of the Great Ancients - and now they prowl the distorted landscapes, worshipping animals from dreams and performing rituals with instructions on blood. In the classic Lovecraftian style, humanity betrays itself first and foremost.

Eldritch creatures. These are not even organised enemies anymore, but a wild biomass of horror. The inhabitants of Histerra, whom it is better not to meet without heavy weapons and a low level of Madness. Fish people, tentacle-like creatures, mutants from other dimensions - all part of the landscape. They fill the world, making every exploration a risky trip into a surreal meat grinder.

Immortal enemies. These creatures are a special category. You can not only kill them, but also trap them, send them to the RailGod's feeding station, and receive Dark Gifts for it. Without them, leveling up and progressing is just running in place. The demo named three particularly deadly types - Savage, Ocean Thrasher, and Deep One. By the way, they are responsible for the majority of player deaths, according to Steam Next Fest statistics.

Titans. They are mentioned in the lore as an even higher category of threat. Huge creatures that are accessible when your RailGod no longer looks like a train but a mobile antichrist. Their role is the final challenge, potentially related to the fall of the Great Ancients. And yes, you will have to fight them.

Other survivors. Not all of humanity has died out or gone mad. Along the routes, you can meet NPCs - they give quests (including the bounty hunter storyline), trade equipment, or simply share snippets of history that open up new opportunities.

This ecosystem creates many layers of threats. Cultists are a mirror of corrupted humanity, eldritch monsters are a wild danger from the outside, Immortals are a valuable but dangerous resource, Titans are milestones of power, and the Great Ancients are the top of the food chain against which you are just a shadow with a sword. All this works as a living structure of horror: from human weakness to cosmic indifference. A real Lovecraft on rails.

A scene from the battle. Illustration: Troglobytes Games

Visuals and atmosphere: a look at Madness

RailGods of Hysterra immerses the player in a dark Lovecraftian atmosphere through visual and aural aesthetics that work on the subconscious.

Nothing emphasises darkness like a lighthouse. Illustration: Troglobytes Games

Overall visual style. The game is described as darkness with a "beautiful but distorted New England" in the background. Here, devastation coexists with beauty, and post-apocalyptic textures, eldritch characters, and rotten landscapes complement this mood. The player sees all this from above - a classic ARPG position.

Design by RailGod. The train itself is a real visual monster. Imagine an octopus with a gaping yellow eye sewn to a 1920s locomotive. The tentacles stick out, the heart beats right in the carriage, and every element screams: "I just came out of your dream after watching Re-Animator". The concept art further emphasises this fusion of metal and biology - a hybrid that you want to forget, but can't.

Enemy design. The enemies are walking nightmare fragments. They are described as "terrifying creatures from dreams under temperature". The specific shapes are often hidden, but it is already clear: fish people, mutated creatures, and classic Lovecraftian tentacle creatures are waiting for us.

Player characters. Dreamers are customisable: you can change their hair, face, body type, clothes, and cosmetics. Players are already asking for more: armour in the style of Massachusetts in the early 20th century, iconic hoodies, something stranger and darker. The developers seem to be ready for this.

Environment. The landscapes of Histerra are dark, twisted, and painfully attractive. Locations are created procedurally, inspired by The Shadow over Innsmouth. Lighting and shadows play a critical role - everything to make the player feel unsafe even during the day.

Exploring the cave. Illustration: Troglobytes Games

Interface and feedback. The UI directly shows the state of the psyche. As the level of insanity increases, the items in the inventory mutate - eyes appear instead of icons. The demo criticised the unclear reactions of the interface, especially during treatment - the developers are already digging in this direction.

Sound. Sound is not a background but a tool of influence. The knocking of RailGod, distant howls, explosions, shamanic chants - all this immerses you in an atmosphere where the mind is a weak point. The sound effects, like the visuals, are adjusted to the player's level of insanity.

All of this aesthetics - the architecture of broken New England, the biomechanical horror of the train, the twisted creatures, the psychotic UI, and the nerve-wracking sound - works as a single mechanism. It's not just an entourage - it's part of the gameplay, another tool for survival and attack. The atmosphere in RailGods of Hysterra is not a background, but a full-fledged player on the battlefield.

Bottom line: a long, dark journey ahead

RailGods of Hysterra looks like a train rushing straight into the heart of Lovecraftian horror - with ambitions to surpass the usual genre set. The main feature is a living, hungry RailGod - at the same time a transport, a fortress, a weapon and a separate creature that grows, mutates and requires attention. The game combines survival, combat, exploration, and a psychotropic atmosphere into a single canvas, where every action of the player is another step along the rails into the abyss.

There's still a lot of work to be done: balance, usability, co-op, technical nuances. But with such a baggage of ideas, competent use of the themes of Madness and Sacrifice, and a serious approach to player feedback, the game has every chance of finding its own niche among fans of dark survival and deep systems. If Troglobytes keeps up the pace, it will not be a banal game with tentacles, but a true symbiosis of horror, ideas, and gameplay.

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