Weather Factory, the studio behind Cultist Simulator and Book of Hours, just released the first-ever trailer for Travelling At Night, and it’s criminal how few people are paying attention. This is a dialogue-driven CRPG from the writer who crafted Sunless Sea’s haunting prose, influenced by Disco Elysium, Shadowrun Returns, and Planescape: Torment. The setting is myth-scarred Europe in an alternate 1948 Cold War where you play a hollow man with a shattering secret, tracking down a mysterious woman while staying ahead of your past. Oh, and there are Worms. Not the Team17 kind. The kind that live inside you and definitely shouldn’t be there.
Why This Game Deserves More Attention
A Reddit commenter perfectly captured the confusion around Travelling At Night’s low profile: “I’m astonished that this game remains relatively unnoticed. Imagine combining the talents of the writer from Sunless Sea, Cultist Simulator, and Book of Hours with a project influenced by Disco Elysium, Shadowrun Returns, and Planescape: Torment. That could result in something truly extraordinary.” That’s not hyperbole. This is Alexis Kennedy, one of the most distinctive narrative voices in gaming, tackling an isometric CRPG with choices that actually matter.
Weather Factory has built a reputation for dense, literary games steeped in occult atmosphere and moral ambiguity. Cultist Simulator was a card-based narrative experiment about building a cult and losing your sanity. Book of Hours focused on managing an occult library while uncovering forbidden knowledge. Travelling At Night represents their first attempt at a traditional CRPG structure, and based on the trailer, they’re bringing all their narrative strengths to a genre that desperately needs more interesting writing.
What Are the Worms?
The trailer is called “WORMS” for a reason, and it’s not a cute reference. Based on Weather Factory’s description, the Worms are things that already live inside you, alongside “a powerful desire to explore weird 1948 Europe.” That phrasing is deliberately unsettling. In Weather Factory’s fictional universe, physical reality mixes with mythological and occult elements. The Worms appear to be entities or corruption that inhabit the protagonist, possibly representing trauma, secrets, or something more literally parasitic.
This fits perfectly with Weather Factory’s previous games where nothing is quite what it seems. In Cultist Simulator, pursuing forbidden knowledge could transform or destroy you. In Book of Hours, managing an occult library meant dealing with entities and forces beyond normal comprehension. Travelling At Night seems to take that body horror and psychological dread and wrap it in CRPG mechanics where your choices determine whether the Worms consume you or whether you master them.
Amber-Cloaked Mahaggony
The trailer shows glimpses of locations like “amber-cloaked Mahaggony,” which sounds appropriately Weather Factory. Their games excel at creating places that feel mythologically real despite being completely fictional. Mahaggony is presumably one of many locations across this alternate Cold War Europe where myth has physically scarred reality. Expect cryptic place names, unreliable narrators, and environmental storytelling that rewards careful reading.
Weather Factory’s blog post describing the trailer mentions there will be “places you haven’t been yet,” suggesting Travelling At Night has significant exploration despite being isometric. The myth-scarred Europe setting opens opportunities for wildly different locations that blend historical 1948 aesthetics with supernatural corruption. Imagine bombed-out post-war cities where buildings whisper secrets, or rural villages where old gods never quite died.
The Disco Elysium Connection
Citing Disco Elysium as an influence is bold, but Weather Factory has the writing chops to back it up. Disco Elysium revolutionized CRPG dialogue by making conversations genuinely interesting rather than just exposition dumps with skill checks. Every conversation revealed character, advanced themes, and let you role-play wildly different approaches from fascist cop to communist idealist to superstar disaster.
Travelling At Night is described as “dialogue-driven” and “choices-matter,” which suggests extensive branching conversations with real consequences. Weather Factory games have always featured exceptional prose, the kind you actually want to read rather than skip. Combining that literary quality with CRPG structure where dialogue choices shape your character and story outcomes could produce something special. The protagonist being “a hollow man with a shattering secret” implies an unreliable narrator situation where your dialogue choices might be competing with internal corruption.
Shadowrun and Planescape Legacy
The Shadowrun Returns and Planescape: Torment influences point to specific design philosophies. Shadowrun Returns revived isometric CRPGs with tight, focused campaigns emphasizing characters and choices over open-world bloat. Planescape: Torment remains the gold standard for philosophical RPG writing where combat was optional and conversations were the real gameplay. Both games proved that CRPGs don’t need massive budgets or hundreds of hours of content to be meaningful.
Travelling At Night seems to be following that tradition: focused scope, exceptional writing, choices that matter more than combat stats. Weather Factory has never been about power fantasy or min-maxing builds. Their games reward careful reading, thoughtful decisions, and acceptance that some outcomes are tragic. Expect Travelling At Night to challenge you intellectually and emotionally rather than through mechanical difficulty.
The Alternate Cold War Setting
Setting the game in 1948 Europe during an alternate Cold War is narratively rich territory. The real 1948 saw the Berlin Blockade, the formation of NATO, and the hardening of the Iron Curtain dividing East and West. Tensions were high, paranoia was rampant, and Europe was still rebuilding from World War II’s devastation. Now add myth-scarring where folklore and legend have become physically real, and you’ve got a pressure cooker environment.
Weather Factory’s fiction often explores how ordinary people deal with impossible knowledge and supernatural forces. In an alternate Cold War where myths are real, governments would be scrambling to weaponize or contain them. Secret agencies would hunt those touched by the supernatural. Refugees would flee both war zones and areas where reality itself has broken down. Your protagonist tracking a mysterious woman while running from his past fits perfectly into this paranoid, fractured world.
Tracking a Mysterious Woman
The central quest involves tracking down a mysterious woman, which is classic noir detective structure transplanted into supernatural territory. Who is she? Why are you following her? Is she running from the same past that haunts you, or is she something else entirely? Weather Factory loves ambiguous relationships where characters have competing motivations and hidden agendas. Don’t expect a simple rescue mission or love story.
The trailer description mentions keeping “one step ahead of your past,” suggesting you’re being pursued while simultaneously pursuing someone else. That creates natural tension and pacing where you can’t just explore leisurely. Decisions about which leads to follow, which risks to take, and who to trust become genuinely consequential when something dangerous is breathing down your neck.
Learning From Book of Hours
Book of Hours, Weather Factory’s most recent release, taught them valuable lessons about clarity and accessibility. One commenter noted that both Cultist Simulator and Book of Hours were “frustratingly convoluted,” though Book of Hours improved. They expressed hope that Travelling At Night would “provide more straightforward information” while maintaining the studio’s signature depth and atmosphere.
This is a legitimate concern. Weather Factory’s previous games deliberately obfuscated information, forcing players to experiment and fail to understand systems. That approach works for experimental card games about forbidden knowledge, but CRPGs need clearer communication of mechanics and consequences. If Travelling At Night can balance Weather Factory’s love of mystery with CRPG clarity, it could reach a much wider audience without sacrificing what makes their work distinctive.
Release Timeline and Development
Weather Factory’s blog post from December 2025 mentions “miles to go before we sleep” and previews what to expect “from Travelling in 2026.” That suggests the game won’t launch until sometime in 2026 at the earliest, possibly later. The first trailer arriving this late in development is encouraging, it means they’ve built enough content to show rather than just concepts. But CRPGs take time, especially for small indie teams.
Weather Factory consists of Alexis Kennedy and Lottie Bevan, who have collaborated on multiple projects over the years. They’re not a massive studio with hundreds of employees. Every Weather Factory game has been carefully crafted over years of development. Book of Hours took four years from announcement to release. Travelling At Night was first mentioned in development updates years ago under the codename “Nyctodromy,” which literally means “travelling at night” in Greek. Patience will be required, but Weather Factory has earned trust by consistently delivering unique, high-quality narrative experiences.
Wishlist Now on Steam
The game is available for wishlisting on Steam right now. Weather Factory specifically encouraged fans to wishlist because it helps with visibility and algorithm ranking. Small indie studios depend on grassroots support from fans who actually care about interesting, literary games. If Travelling At Night sounds remotely appealing, wishlist it. Tell your friends who loved Disco Elysium or Planescape: Torment. Help make sure this doesn’t get buried under battle royale clones and live service extraction shooters.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Travelling At Night?
A dialogue-driven isometric CRPG from Weather Factory, set in myth-scarred Europe during an alternate 1948 Cold War. You play a hollow man tracking a mysterious woman while staying ahead of your past and dealing with Worms that live inside you.
Who is developing Travelling At Night?
Weather Factory, the studio behind Cultist Simulator and Book of Hours. The writing is by Alexis Kennedy, who also wrote for Sunless Sea and Fallen London.
What are the Worms?
Unclear from the trailer, but they appear to be entities or corruption inhabiting the protagonist. Weather Factory describes them as “things that already live inside you,” suggesting psychological or supernatural parasites.
When does Travelling At Night release?
No specific date announced. Weather Factory’s December 2025 blog post mentions showing more “from Travelling in 2026,” suggesting a 2026 release at earliest, possibly later.
Is this related to the Worms games by Team17?
No. The “WORMS” in the trailer title refers to creatures in the game’s narrative, not the turn-based artillery franchise. Completely different games.
What games influenced Travelling At Night?
Cited influences include Disco Elysium, Shadowrun Returns, and Planescape: Torment. The focus is on dialogue, choices, and narrative over combat and power progression.
Will it be easier to understand than Cultist Simulator?
Unknown, but fans hope so. Weather Factory’s previous games were deliberately cryptic and convoluted. Book of Hours improved clarity somewhat, and a traditional CRPG structure may force clearer communication of mechanics.
Where can I wishlist Travelling At Night?
Steam store page is live now. Weather Factory encourages wishlisting to help with visibility and algorithm ranking.
Why You Should Care
Travelling At Night represents something increasingly rare: a genuinely literary game from developers who treat writing as the primary gameplay mechanic rather than window dressing between combat encounters. Weather Factory has proven they can create atmospheric, thought-provoking experiences that stick with you long after you’ve finished playing. Now they’re bringing that sensibility to the CRPG genre, which desperately needs more interesting voices.
The gaming industry is obsessed with scale, bigger worlds, longer playtimes, more content. Weather Factory makes games that respect your intelligence and time. They’re dense with meaning rather than padded with filler. Travelling At Night could be a 15-hour experience that feels more substantial than 100-hour open-world checklist simulators because every conversation matters, every choice has weight, and the writing is actually worth reading.
If you’re tired of games that treat dialogue as skippable exposition, if you loved Disco Elysium’s commitment to making conversations genuinely interesting, if you want CRPGs that explore ideas rather than just replicating D&D combat, Travelling At Night deserves your attention. Wishlist it. Follow Weather Factory’s development updates. Support studios making weird, literary, genuinely distinctive games. Because if this gets buried and ignored, we’re telling the industry that we only want more of the same safe, focus-tested nonsense. And we’re better than that.