Podstakannik Rails

Podstakannik Rails is a short co-op hangout on an overnight sleeper train. Up to four of you board a carriage, claim a berth, and ride. There is no quest, no score and nothing to unlock — the point is the compartment, the tea, and whoever you brought with you.

You talk over proximity voice: the people in your compartment come through clearly, the ones down the corridor don't. Most of what happens on a trip is a conversation. The train is the excuse for it.

On board

• Tea from the samovar — fill a glass in its podstakannik, carry it, drink it, leave it on the table
  
• The radio — turn the dial by hand until something comes through the static
  
• Your berth — make it up, sit at the window, or lie down and nap while the others talk
  
• Every switch works — reading lamps, ceiling lights, compartment doors, the lot
  
• Fellow travellers — a conductor, a policeman and a few passengers who will tell you a story if you sit and listen
  
• The window — countryside by day or by night, all the way to the station

How long a trip is

The host picks 10, 15 or 20 minutes, and the train arrives when the time runs out. That is the entire structure. Nothing carries over — the next trip starts with the berths stripped and the tea cold.

This is a short atmospheric hangout, not a progression game. If you are after goals, upgrades or a campaign, it isn't this. What it is good for is an evening of several trips with people you like.

Good to know

• 1–4 players. Everyone needs their own copy.
  
• Playable alone, but built for a group.
  
• Keyboard and mouse only — no controller support at launch.
  
• Interface and subtitles in English, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish and German.