Last Train Home

Last Train Home is a real-time strategy game (RTS) based on true events with significant survival elements. It was developed by the Czech studio Ashborne Games - the co-creators of Comanche from 2021 - and published by THQ Nordic.

Plot

Last Train Home is set during the Russian civil war - an armed conflict that took place in 1917-1922, between the Red (communists/Bolsheviks) and White (royalists striving to bring the tsar back to power) armies. The protagonists are the soldiers of the Czechoslovak Legion - a real military formation created during World War I, made up of Czech and Slovak prisoners and deserters formerly fighting in the Austro-Hungarian army.

The unit was trapped on the wrong side of the conflict. Our task is to help them return to their homeland aboard the titular last train. The armored train serves as a means of transportation through the Syberian wilderness - though only barely protecting the soldiers from the cold - and as a weapon against both armies.

Mechanics

Evacuating from Russia requires many diffferent stops along the way - to resupply on food, medicine or to fix the malfunctioning train. During these segments Last Train Home plays like an RTS. The game offers several challenging missions, in which we must achieve predetermined objectives, choosing our own strategy.

Their difficulty depends on many various factors. One such factor is our soldiers' combat potential - they're less effective when hungry, for example. Chosen tactics play an important role too. Some missions can be completed quietly, lowering the likelihood of losing men. Not every soldier is suitable for stealth though, which is why we must pay attention to their traits.

Deaths of squadmates and difficult moral choices bring consequences affecting the gameplay. As an example: we can decide the fates of several innocent civilians by taking them along with us or leaving them behind. If we take them along, we'll have more mouths to feed. If we leave them behind, our soldiers' morale will drop due to guilt.

The titular train serves as a base of operations of sorts. Between missions we can repair it and modify it, assigning soldiers to specific tasks - such as taking care of the wounded - to provide our squad with the best possible living conditions. We can also upgrade our squad here too - we can award soldiers and train them, granting them new skills (such as hunting or knowledge of herbs) and giving them better gear.

At each stage of our journey we discover our soldiers' backstories. Their experiences affect such matters as how easily a soldier gets depressed or how they judge our choices. Last Train Home, however, does feature settings that let us limit these effects, for players who'd prefer to enjoy the story rather than be challenged.

Trivia

Since the game is based on real events, the developers made an effort to make it historically accurate. As an example, our squad includes women, as historically they were active combatants despite the Czechoslovak Legion officially not allowing it.

Technical aspects

Apart from the squad management sections, the rest of the game makes use of an isometric perspective. Last Train Home features only a singleplayer story campaign.