Recent indie release Is This Seat Taken? showed us a bright new future for puzzle games involving trains, and developer Draknek and Friends is hopping right on board. Spooky Express is a new cozy puzzler coming to mobile and PC on October 21, and the concept behind the game has you taking both humans and Halloween monsters to and from their destinations by building the train tracks necessary to get there. Even vampires need to get home after a late night, eh?
I gave the demo on PC a go through Steam's Next Fest, and had a great time. The game is cute, fun, and adequately puzzling to me, albeit my brain is pretty rubbish at puzzle games. There's some funny voicework as zombies shout 'trains' instead of their usual cry for food, and the soundtrack pops off. Spooky Express boasts an impressively catchy theme song, some absolutely delightful visuals, and some cool creatures to hang out with (but mainly ferry around). Additionally, the game features comics from David Hellman and Zac Gorman, which appear periodically and are very cute.
Horror fans, this isn't really one for you, as although the game is definitely horror-themed with its characters and setting, it won't provide the spook factor you're looking for. For those who are frightened easily by the likes of The Mortuary Assistant or the other best horror games, Spooky Express is for us. It provides thematic relevance to Halloween, but it's a relaxing head-scratcher, allowing me to celebrate spooky season without threatening to send me into cardiac arrest.
While the game is launching on mobile, the developer has yet to announce if Spooky Express will come to other portable platforms. With the comparison I made to Is This Seat Taken? bringing to mind the success of indie puzzlers across a range of platforms, I think Spooky Express will also lend itself nicely to a Switch port, plus I can see it being Steam Deck compatible. Of course, any potential Switch port wouldn't come in time for Halloween, but there's always next year.
There's still a day left on Steam's Next Fest, so if you're trying to sus out the next best games on Steam Deck, I think it's worth taking a look and trying some of the available demos. One such game that caught my eye is Winter Burrow, which is a Don't Starve-style survival game coming on November 12, 2025, to Switch and Steam. Even if this doesn't sound like it's for you, there are lots of exciting indie games to explore and play soon on a variety of platforms, so don't miss out.
For more indie royalty, check out our list of the best indie games, and be sure to take a look at our list of best mobile games in case you think Spooky Express deserves a spot on there when it's released.