Podstakannik Rails

Podstakannik Rails is a first-person co-op game for up to four people, set on an overnight sleeper train. You board at a station, settle into a compartment and ride together. There are no quests or score; the focus is on tea, the rhythm of the rails and conversation with the people on board.

Share the ride

Voice chat fades with distance, so you can talk to people nearby or walk to the other end of the car for some quiet. You can make up your berth, sit by the window, or lie down for a nap; the others can hear you snore. You can also slide your compartment door open and shut and switch the 34 reading lamps and compartment lights on or off.

An old TV in one of the compartments plays a YouTube link on a loop for everyone on board, so anyone who joins sees the same moment. The radio plays an old tune for people nearby; switch it off and on again to shuffle. You can also put your own tracks in the game's music folder and play them through a tape player, which only you can hear.

Tea and travelers

You can take a glass in its podstakannik, the classic holder for train tea, fill it, drink from it and leave it on any table. There are only four glasses in the whole car.

The conductor and a lone passenger each have stories to tell if you stop and talk to them. Their stories differ between day and night, and you can piece them together. You can choose to ride as a grandpa or grandma, with a random outfit each time you switch.

The journey

Fields, birch groves and taiga pass by the window, and every few minutes another train thunders past on the other track. The host chooses a 10-, 15- or 20-minute trip and whether to travel by day or night. When time runs out, the train reaches the station. To get off, you strip the bedding, wait for nappers to wake and get everyone out of the toilet; the next trip then starts in a fresh car.

The game supports 1–4 players. You can play with friends, open empty seats to strangers or look for a public trip to join. It can be played alone, though it is built for a group. Everyone needs their own copy. Voice chat offers push-to-talk, toggle and voice activation, with no text chat. The interface and subtitles are available in English, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish and German.