Thomas the Tank Engine comes to Alien: Isolation

When it comes to the topic of the best horror games of the last PlayStation era, Alien: Isolation typically ranks high. And why wouldn’t it? With its terrifying atmosphere, deadly antagonist, and choo-choo train, its horror is as memorable as it is intense.

Wait. What was that last thing?

Ah, that’s right. Trains. You see, it turns out someone decided to swap out the Xenomorph in Alien: Isolation for the less sinister-looking Thomas the Tank Engine.

The mod comes courtesy of ModDB user MattFiler, with the rationale that this was something that just “had to happen sooner or later.” A short video on the download page shows the new model in action. It doesn’t quite have the finesse of the titular alien creature, but it still retains an element of dread and danger.

Thomas the Tank Engine horror is still horror

It might look a little goofy, but it reminds me (as I’m sure it will many of you) of the famous Skyrim mod that did something similar to Alduin. Then there’s Choo-Choo Charles, the 2022 horror game about a killer train.

There’s something about taking a loveable fictional character from many childhood memories and putting them in a different context. In this case, horror. While not many Alien: Isolation players are happy about being downed by the frighteningly fast creature, it’s also not preferable to be the target of Thomas.

Of course, the spooky season is almost upon us, so we can probably expect to see some other mash-up of innocence and terror. Maybe the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles can make us piss ourselves in Outlast.