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Subway Midnight

Subway Midnight is a game that was created by game dev, Bubby Darkstar of the course of three years. Its initial release was 28th October 2021 and was published by the studio Aggro Crab, a small indie studio in Seattle, WA. Aggro crab are known for their game Going Under; Subway Midnight was their first game that they published.

The reason why Aggro published Subway Midnight, was due to the fact that Bubby had finished his game and was looking for a publisher to help him with that side of things. As he'd done some work for Aggro in the past, they offered him a deal to publish his game and only take a small percentage if he made 10k in sales- compared to other companies that were trying to publish his game with ulterior motives.

I got this information from a small interview Bubby did HERE.

He also talks in that video about how his character was originally going to be in 3D, before he ended up using his very unique art style. Here are some pictures from the Aggro Crab Twitter showing this.

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Now, onto talking about the actual game and how Bubby made something truly artistic.

Subway Midnight is a 3D world with 2D characters. The main character Liz boards a train and starts to get stalked by a mysterious figure with bright red eyes and an even more horrifying smile. As she makes her way through the train, she meets many ghosts who seem to have gone missing on this train. Through different puzzles you can help the ghosts, but you need to be careful or Liz may end up as a ghost herself!

Though the story is straightforward in someways, there is also a little confusion. Within Subway Midnight there are a total of 3 endings. The first, is the Bad End. You get this the first time you play ALWAYS. This then leads you to play it again to get the Good End. Here you get to go back and solve the cases of the ghosts you couldn't help before. Finally there is the True End. This one can only be gotten by waiting (or in my case changing my computer's time in the settings) until after midnight the next day. Out of all the endings, this one was by far the most confusing. As this game has no dialogue, you have to rely on context and visual clues to understand what is going on. While this is interesting, it has lead a lot of people asking: Who is the Stalker and Why are they on this train? Most people are hoping for Bubby to do an in-depth telling of his game, revealing his ideas for how the story was going and clearing up any confusion we as the players may have.

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Despite the confusion about the overall narrative, the atmosphere that Subway Midnight creates is truly inspiring. 
 

Being set on a train really limits what people think they could do, but Bubby uses this as a way to channel a true art house experience that leaves you thinking about it hours after you've finished playing. In the same interview I mentioned earlier, Bubby talks about how a lot of the creepy and unsettling creatures and parts of the games you go through are actually inspired from nightmares he has had. That in a way brings a really extra level of personalisation as Bubby shows the inner workings of a mind- not being afraid to show what goes on and how you can be inspired by even the most scary things like nightmares. 

The sound design also adds to this atmospheric experience. The sound design adds to the idea of it being set on a train. You hear the sound of the train on the tracks, the opening of doors so you feel like you are there in person. This then really adds to the overall feel when Bubby then has sections that take away all sound, leaving you in a void of nothingness as you can only hear the footsteps of Liz. The jarring silence made me feel uneasy at several points in the game, making me fear something would happen, even when there was no scares at all.

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Overall, I found Subway Midnight an amazing game to play. With the art house horror style letting you break away from the confines of the train into mysterious settings within the train, be it: on a docks bathed in orange light, a theatre to watch the acclaimed Benny or within a serene garden with many doors- the game never failed to take my breath away. There were many points where I found myself growing tense through this psychological horror of a game, screamed with a well placed jump-scares that played into my own fears- this game was really one that will stick with me for times to come.

My one issue with the game was that there were too many puzzles. While they all varied and became more abstract and artistic, it did feel like the game was sometimes trying to pad itself out with puzzles and with a fixed angle through game play (though there is a free roam camera option though you can't use that in tandem with playing), I did find myself accidentally walking off the edge of certain puzzles, being forced to restart. While some of these puzzles were confusing and sometimes difficult to solve to a point of slight frustration- it added to this idea of hopelessness as I tried to escape the stalker behind me- the dizzying realisation of the panic to get out of situations causing me to rush into things at times without thinking (ie- the puzzle behind one of the doors where it is all static and you're being chased by orbs or the PS1 reminescent game that is truly the most frightening part of the game).

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I think Subway Midnight is an amazing example to show what one indie creator can really do and create on their own. Bubby made the game himself and while it took three years and has a few spaces for improvement, I think overall it is a breathtaking (sometimes literally) game.

 

This is inspiring me for my own work when it comes to creating my own game. Seeing what one person can create gives me the determination that if I was to work by myself, I feel like I could also achieve something amazing. I also feel like when it comes to creating psychological horror games, Bubby shows that you shouldn't be afraid to just go all out- use your nightmares or worst fears to create something truly unique and personal! This is what I will take forwards into my own work- not being afraid to just do what I want and have fun exploring how I can achieve it. His use of sound design is also something I find very inspirational and will find myself looking back at this game as a point of reference.

I also want to add that his trailer was also amazingly done with a score that has stuck in my head for weeks now. I will put it down below, as one day I will also have to create a trailer for my game and having as many inspirational avenues as possible will help me get an idea of what I will have to do to catch the eye of an audience and the creative industry.

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