On the Right Tracks is an atmospheric narrative adventure with a deep story. The game combines a melancholic aesthetic with a chillingly realistic exploration of family trauma. Utilizing an isometric view, the project relies on a hand-drawn artistic style that gives the world of the train a unique and emotional soul.
The story begins abruptly: a train comes to a sudden stop in the middle of nowhere, and the main character—personified as a rabbit—wakes up with no memory of how she got there. She doesn’t know her location or why she even boarded the train. The only thing by her side is her violin. However, the true tragedy is that she has forgotten how to play it. Here, music serves as a metaphor for her identity and her past.
The gameplay is designed to be highly accessible, that allow the player to focus entirely on the narrative. The goal is to explore the train cars, interact with other passengers (also depicted as anthropomorphic rabbits), and find items that contain musical notes. Each note collected returns a piece of the protagonist’s memory, helping her reconstruct her life story.
The game isn’t afraid to tackle heavy subjects; through various flashbacks, it reveals raw examples of parental abuse. Players encounter moments such as the father’s abandonment, the mother’s demand for rent immediately upon her reaching adulthood, and manipulative arguments regarding religion or seemingly trivial matters. The climax of the game is an minigame, where the player must compile all the gathered notes and press specific keys in the right order to play a final song—symbolically allowing the character to face her past and reclaim her voice.
