Last Stop is Variable State’s second game after 2016’s Virginia, and it’s an exceptional follow-up that’s left me already wanting their next game. Virginia is a first-person mystery game that takes its cues from things like The X-Files and Silence of the Lambs if you haven’t played it. They stick with The X-Files vibes here in Last Stop, and I hope it’s a theme that keeps going in their next titles. (In my opinion, there are not enough great mystery games out there!)
It’s another home run published by Annapurna Interactive – they’ve clearly cemented their status as a curator of great independent titles. I try to keep spoilers to a minimum here, as I truly believe this is a game you have to experience first hand.
Hello, London!
I love a good mystery, and that’s what sold me on picking this up. (That, and I love England.) The premise intrigued me; in Last Stop, you play as three separate characters who seemingly have no connection, but that certainly changes as the game goes on.
John Smith is a middle-aged man, father to Molly, who recently recovered from a heart attack. He’s unhappy at his job, he’s overworked, and can’t seem to catch a break. His story collides with Jack, his young, healthy, and rich neighbor. There’s a twist here that’s quite entertaining, but by the end, it’ll be tugging at your heartstrings too. (Also, Molly’s voice actress is an ABSOLUTE GEM.)
Meena Hughes is your classic Type-A personality. She’s aggressive. Work-obsessed. Stressed. She’s ex-military, and now working in some area of British Intelligence. She has a husband and son at home, but you learn her marriage isn’t great and her son’s not her biggest fan. She’s a lot closer to the main story of the game than I realized at first. That made the reveal in her stories all the more gasp-worthy.
The story that captivated me the most was that of Donna Adeleke, a teenager, living with her mother, police officer Emma, and Emma’s girlfriend Aisling. While hanging out with her friends, they spot a mysterious man, and they do what any teenagers do in the movies when they see that – follow him to a creepy, derelict building. Her sections of each chapter are what drive the mythology of Last Stop, and it’s a ride.
You may wonder how these people come together, but that’s part of the charm that is Last Stop. The three characters are so different from one another; it’s almost like you’re playing three different games in one.
But is it Good?
Last Stop is near perfect in terms of characters and story. It plays very similarly to a Telltale Game, making dialog choices and controlling small gameplay elements (like eating breakfast in the morning). The world itself is extremely linear, but that’s okay. I’m a big believer that not every game has to be a 300-hour epic if the narrative presented matches the payoff. My playthrough of the game totaled somewhere around 6 hours, and it was six hours well spent.
My only issues with the game stemmed from when it suddenly shifted to a first-person perspective after spending a large chunk of time in third-person. I will admit I’ve had issues with head-bobbing in video games before; most recently in Call of the Sea. Thankfully, the first-person sequences were short and didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the experience. (I add this to my review for others like me that have had similar reactions to first-person head bobbing before.)
Going back to replay segments was also a bit time-consuming, as there were no options to speed up dialog that you’ve already heard before. Again, this didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment, just brings down the replay value slightly.
My biggest tip when it comes to playing? Trust what the game advises you in the beginning; it’s much better with a controller.
That’s a Wrap
Is Last Stop for everyone? No. The story starts as a bit of a slow burn, but as you play through the chapters and start to notice the characters intersecting, the payoff is huge. Three days after I rolled the credits, I’m still sitting here thinking about the final choices I made. There’s a ton of love for this game from the team at Variable State, and it shows.
If you enjoy a good mystery-thriller with a splash of supernatural, Last Stop is for you. Right now, it’s available for free via Xbox Game Pass for console and PC, but if you’re not a subscriber, it’s available for purchase on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.
