 If you're watching this video, chances are that you've probably heard or have watched videos on the Chuchuchiles game. Maybe you've asked yourself the question, What is that? What even is that? Well, in this video, I'm going to explain the lore contained within the game, as well as explain where Chuchuchiles came from. So buckle in, it's going to be a wild ride! Your adventure starts after you get a phone call from a man named Eugene. From the first line, it's presumed that you've had contact with Eugene before. He goes on to explain that there is something on the island that would be worth your while and a great addition to your museum, which is apparently going out of business. It's presumed you're an archivist, as that's what everyone says you are, either that or you're a monster hunter. Monster Hunter. Monster Hunter. Archivist museum person? On the way to the island, Eugene informs you that you're going to be hunting a giant train giga spider hybrid, and that the residents of the island have been planning its demise for some time now and have everything in order. As you step onto the island of... You find a train which you end up taking control of, the previous owner of which was killed by Charles a while ago. So that bodes well. But this isn't any old train, no! This one has guns! Oh, also on the dock, there's like an easter egg of a guy who tried to leave and didn't get very far. So... there's that then. After taking the train out for a quick spin, Charles shows up, killing Eugene and running off into the distance. And the rest of the game is really up to you. You talk to the residents of the island and they can give you scrap to upgrade your train or do missions to get different guns. Some of these residents really have no bearing on the plot. While others do, during your adventures on the island, you come to learn that there is a man in charge of the mining operation here called Warren, who everyone has some disdain towards. I've been wanting to see Warren's empire crumble for a long time. He also has people who work for him that the residents call crazies. These people, as it turns out, are wearing masks, not too dissimilar to Charles's face. However, it's never explained why they wear these masks, which has led to various theories on the matter. It could be because they worship their new train overlord and therefore see the best way to worship him is to look like him. Now all the normal residents on this island are held up in their homes, unable to escape for fear of running into Charles. But these crazies are seen walking around in various places outside in the open and even whistling. So what I think is more likely the case is that they found a way to not be attacked by Charles, and that's by pretending to be him. And the only people we see Charles attack are both Eugene and Warren, who don't wear masks. So that wasn't a very wise idea, was it? There's even a room where you can see all the different masks hanging up that these workers wear. However, I think it's more likely that this is probably an easter egg, showcasing all the various incarnations Charles has went through during its design process, before landing on this one. The villagers have an idea to lure Charles into a mortal battle by gathering the three eggs and placing them in the temple in the middle of the island. We believe there may be a way to get Charles to commit to a mortal battle. However, the mining company owner Warren Charles III has placed armed guards around these eggs and their locations. So your mission now is to gather those eggs and start a final battle with Charles, avoiding dying in the process. Early on in the game, a resident has you get something out of a chest that Warren's men have dumped. After opening said chest, inside is revealed to be an ancient tablet drawing, depicting humans battling with what looks to be a giant spider. And because it's literally called an ancient tablet, we can assume that this has happened a long, long time ago. And who else do we know looks like a spider? Yeah, hard to miss a minute. And what do spiders come out of? Yes, that's right. Eggs. See, we're getting somewhere already. Further down the line, we come across someone called Greg, and he tells us that Warren is protecting the three remaining monster eggs, and his theory is that Warren is raising an army of these Charles-like creatures to take over the world. He does, however, sign his name as genius extraordinaire, so I think we can all take this with a grain of salt. The more interesting thing to note here is that he explains that they have been harvesting the life essence from these eggs, and that's something that we'll come back to later. Another resident we come across is called Gale. He has a different take on Warren. Gale tells us that when they were using the prism to get this life energy extracted from the eggs, that was when Charles attacked them for the first time, saying that he grew ginormous and more monstrous on the energy. And because of this, Warren hid the eggs and ordered them to be protected, and he also ordered the evacuation of the island. He goes on to say that he thinks Warren might have plenty skeletons in his closet, but he can't help but think that Warren is looking out for them this time. Now, at this point we have multiple conflicting opinions on Warren, however, Gale is the only one that seems to shine him in a generous and full-favourite light. But trust me, by the end of this video, it's pretty clear what kind of man Warren really is. And let's just say he's not opposed to having his own men killed. Another character we meet later, called Ronnie, tells us Warren never told anyone on the mainland about the mining operation here. He also never reported the cave-in that caused the death of some of his workers, and since then, he seems to have only focused on these eggs and Charles, not even paying his workers. There are also notes scattered around the island, giving away major events in the story. A mine cave-in, extracting energy from eggs, a strange cavern, but before we uncover the entire story, there are some things I want to address in this game, because it breaks the fourth wall quite a lot. It has numerous references to other horror games and cliches. For instance, there is a mission in the game that has you hunt down pages stuck to lampposts while being pursued by a ghost. It's an obvious reference to Slenderman 8 pages, and it's not the only game that's done that. There is also a stereotypical witch character brewing a stew and a creature living in a swamp, very much a reference to the creature from the Black Lagoon. I don't feel that these components play a big part in any of the lore or story of Charles, but are more a product of the developer adding fun things into the game. Like, did you know that off the coast of the island, there is a giant rubber ducky? Heh, yeah, me neither. What, do you imagine a duck? Anyway, back to the plot. Now, after completing the game and searching the island for all the extra notes, I think I can safely say we have a much clearer picture on what happened here. And it all starts with Warren, the owner of the Charles mining company. From notes, we can ascertain that his business is very successful, and because of that, he's wealthy. So, why did he come to a tiny little island? Well, that's what the workers want to know too. And I think it's because he had heard there was something here, something more valuable than gold, a source of power, the eggs. Because Warren is in the business of digging mines for a living, it's very possible that he found this ancient tablet from a previous excavation. This is what could have led him to this location. But due to his secret of nature, it's quite obvious this was the reason he came here, and didn't want to share his knowledge with anybody else. All of his team thought they were digging for gold, as seen in these notes. After arriving on the island, the team got to work. Some commented on how excessive this operation was and costly. Just taking all of the equipment to the primary mining location was crazy. The chances of finding gold here was minute. So, it was an incredibly big risk for a business owner with a spotless record to take. A month into the operation, there were signs of a gold vein being found. However, workers were starting to grow suspicious. One wrote about the ruins above the ground and below, and wondered if it was really gold, which was the reason they were here. And it was at about this time that the workers broke through into a large cavern. Eugene, being the site manager at the time, feels uneasy about this place and writes a request for Warren to visit the site immediately, saying there's something strange here. Eugene would turn out to be correct, as this was the place where the first contact was made with the creature. Before them, lay the treasure Warren had been seeking, harder than diamonds, and with the ability to produce energy. The shimmering diamond-like eggs. So, just like a regular mining expedition, they placed down track and brought in trains and minecarts to transport the eggs to the surface. Unbeknownst to the workers, eggs weren't the only surprise this cavern had in store for them. From the shadows emerges a giant creature, a spider, the likes of which none of them have ever seen before. Powering above them, it starts attacking the miners. But the miners had also come prepared for this. Just like that ancient tablet foretold, Warren had brought guns with him. So, we can assume that they took aim and shot at this creature. Some workers lost their lives, and this giant spider-like creature did something none of them expected. It hid itself inside one of the mining company's trains. Weird, I know, but don't worry, it'll be explained. If we just take a look at Charles, it's quite clear to see that the train part of him isn't really doing anything. It moves because it has legs that are sprouting out. And even the cabin of the train is completely sealed shut. And I believe what's hiding inside there is that same giant spider that was found in the mines months ago. The spider used the train's metal exterior to protect itself from their weapons, almost like a giant hermit crab would use a shell. And this explains why Eugene knew to shoot it in its face. He's not taking enough damage! He had come up against this creature once before down in the mines. We know that Charles is intelligent. Eugene's son writes that Charles deliberately avoids the wooden bridge because it knows that it's dangerous. So, to use the train as protection from the gunfire is not a stretch of the imagination. Failing to stop the beast as a last resort, the mine was collapsed, hoping to destroy the creature and the event written off as a tragic mining accident. With the eggs of power tantalizingly close, more entrances were created. One to the north and one to the east of that. Eventually, Warren managed to get to those eggs. They were then placed into the prism atop the ruins where a beam of energy erupted into the sky. And according to Greg, they did this for months. And just when everything seemed to be going according to plan, that creature that was found in the cave reappeared. And Charles was also able to harness the energy and grow bigger and more intimidating. This is where the majority of people first saw Charles. And from there, Warren hid the eggs far apart from each other, stopping anything like this happening again. But the residents took things into their own hands and well, you know the rest. So, you might be asking, if it's a spider, why out of nowhere can it just take control of a train? Well, the clue has been right beneath everyone's feet this whole time. The island, Arinarium. A weird name, at least that's what I thought. And a quick Google search later reveals that the island is actually named after a fungus. In particular, a species called angiodontium, Arinarium. And there is something special about this fungus. Unlike normal fungi that feed off rotting materials, this one prefers to eat insects. And in particular, spiders. It spores land upon a spider and once they take root, they bore deep inside it, eating it from the inside out and then emerging ready to spread its spores and start the cycle again. The references to spiders in this game is plentiful. And what else looks like a spider? A sun red demonic train does. Now, I don't believe that Charles is a fungus. This reference to a fungus that grows inside of another host is the link between the Charles mining company and this prehistoric giant spider creature being able to get inside one of the trains and possessing it. Evidence of multiple rail cars can be found in the notes. Like this one from Theodore, which tells us he used his beautiful old mining train to push a spare rail car into the canyon. Even in the scrap heap, there is an old train rusting away. And it's exactly one of these trains that Charles managed to crawl into. And that's why at the side of it, there's Charles Mining Company, the exact same logo that appears on our train at the start of our adventure. And at the end of the game, Charles is killed, blown up on a bridge and then impaled on a spike. There is one thing that Warren says to us just before he ends up, you know, biting the proverbial train dust. You don't know what you're doing. Now, it is very possible that he's found out some information that hasn't been brought to light. And after Charles is killed, we still see that there are caverns filled with these monster eggs under the ground. One of them shaking as if it's ready to hatch any second. Maybe it's the death of Charles that's going to now bring all of these creatures to life, or just that this one is actually going to be the next Choo Choo Charles. It's hard to say. But if we're being honest, this game was a passion project made by one developer, which means that there's only one person who really knows the true story to Choo Choo Charles. So what do you think? Did I explain everything? Or is there something else I missed that maybe might make an add to the story? But again, it's just a theory. Before we wrap things up here, I want to give a massive shout out to my friend Excited for creating those beautifully horrific illustrations of Charles in the cave. I did, however, give him some pretty good reference images, it has to be said. This game was an absolute pleasure to play and if you haven't already picked it up, I will leave a link in the description to where you can buy it on Steam. Having pieces of lore strung about in notes here and there and an air of mystery about it really makes it interesting. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this video and until next time, I'll see you later. Oh buh-bye.