Note: This is a spoiler-free review
The Last Stop is a single player third person adventure game set-in modern-day London, where you choose to play as one of three main characters as the supernatural meets the mundane. Last Stop is developed by Variable State and is published by Annapurna Interactive. Variable State developed the successful and award-winning, Virginia, and there is a whole cast of talent, whether it be voice or music, behind this game. Last Stop, however, is similar to many other games in its very niche genre of point-and-click, cutscene-based video games like Life is Strange or the old Tell Tale games. Last Stop feels like a long, interactive movie with the occasional quick time event and dialogue choice to keep any players dozing off focused on the story. Last Stop weaves an interesting narrative and world, it’s just a shame it’s a movie instead of a video game.
Quite a Few Stops, Actually
The first thing that you’ll notice about Last Stop is its art style. I’m reminded of games like Life is Strange. The art style is clean and well done. The colors are vibrant and the visuals pop. The voice acting is also pretty good, and the music is great, both aspects that the developers themselves tout as selling points of Last Stop. Indie games like Last Stop have a limited budget and I’m glad that the resources that normally would’ve gone to extensive microtransaction schemes have been used to Last Stop’s biggest strength: its story.
The story is pretty interesting, but you have to let it enthrall you. The three main characters, John Smith, Donna Adeleke, and Meena Hughes all have their own backstories and personal struggles that will come crashing into the supernatural world lying beneath their feet. Each character is compelling in their own way and each of their stories feel very real, barring the science fiction elements of course. It’s been a long time since I’ve played a game where the main characters feel this “normal” and the juxtaposition between their mundane lives and the story they find themselves in is fun to see. The game is *technically* a role-playing game to an extent but it feels more like I’m a spectator to the main characters’ lives, with my only impactful decision coming towards the end of the game.
Unfortunately, my praise for Last Stop ends where the story ends. Gameplay, like others in its genre, is not useless or bad, but its purpose is more boring than fun. Quick time events and dialogue choices that don’t really matter are sprinkled throughout Last Stop and in the few hours it will take you to finish the game, these feel more like “hey player, you awake?” moments and not interesting gameplay mechanics. An early quick time event involves running away from a train that will auto succeed regardless of what you do. Last Stop is essentially a movie that lets you choose who you want the main protagonist to be. The “gameplay” reinforces this since some dialogue trees will result in the NPC giving the same answer or the quick time event “succeeding” gives the same result as if you failed it three button prompts earlier. This makes Last Stop feel a little unrewarding in that way. However, if you can approach this game as a movie that requires you to press some buttons on your controller every now and then, it won’t be as disappointing as my first impressions.
The End of the Line
What Last Stop lacks in gameplay, it makes up for in the story and presentation of said story. The talent behind Last Stop is immensely talented; the voice actors and minds behind the soundtrack deserve all the praise. Last Stop also has in it an interesting story, a series of mundane, normal protagonists who suddenly find themselves in the middle of a supernatural crisis. The characters are interesting and likeable which means I think you will fall in love with the story of Last Stop. However, the gameplay, limited decision making, and restrictive dialogue choices makes me feel like I’m not the one in control of the game, but someone just along for the ride as John, Donna and Meena walk their paths through Last Stop’s story. Last Stop isn’t bad necessarily, but if I knew I was going to be watching a movie, albeit a very well-made movie, I’d probably just fire up Netflix or Disney+ to watch something I’m more interested in.
6/10
Check Out the Last Stop Stranger Danger Trailer:
Last Stop is available for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One & Series S|X, PlayStation 4 & 5, and PC via Steam.
Related: LAST STOP Drops 3 New Trailers Ahead of Thursday’s Launch
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Steam Review
My name is Matt Tran and I have been playing video games since I could remember holding a controller. I've always been a hardcore gamer growing up, from the hectic MW2 and Halo 3 lobbies, my many journeys through several Halo clans and my current exploits with my Destiny 2 clan. I love shooters and RPGs and overanalyzing every component of every game I've played, from weapon stats to ideal perks. When I have time to play other games, I currently play Genshin Impact and Star Wars Squadrons.
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