I was a little iffy on The Final Station, the end-of-the-world horror story about driving a train across Russia to rescue survivors from glowing-eyed shadow-zombies, when I previewed it last month. I very much like the concept, but what I saw of the actual gameplay didn't really work for me, in particular the linear level designs and inability to make any meaningful choices as I explored. But previews are not reviews, and pre-release games are not finished, and so I continue to hold out hope that it will achieve (or at least come close to) its potential when it goes into full release on August 30.
The Final Station is made up of five chapters, broken up by visits to inhabited stations that provide access to gear and upgrades, and also fill out the story. “The difficulty of the game comes from its station design—you never see what’s behind a locked door and are always running low on supplies,” publisher tinyBuild said in the launch date announcement. “If you use up that last medkit on yourself, odds are one of your survivors will die due to injuries. If they die on your train (during travels between stations), you can loot them for a small reward. However, if you get them to their destination—they will give you a much more tangible reward. (Maybe an upgrade for your gun?)”
I hope it works out. It feels like there's a very intriguing, very Russian story hidden away in there, and it will be a shame if it ends up buried under sub-par gameplay. More information about The Final Station can be found on Steam or at tinybuild.com.
