Early 20th-century Europe is fascinating. Not only for the many wars, but simply the politics and all that came from it. Formed in 1914, the Czechoslovak Legionnaires had two major roles in history: They were part of the allies/ententes for World War 1, and later the White Army which opposed the widespread adoption of communism during and following the Russian Civil War. Take your pick, we’re overdue one as of late. Playing as the Legionnaires on their way home from war with the Central Powers, you take command of the Last Train Home and a set of Legionnaires fighting the Bolsheviks.

I think I made it clear when I spoke about The Great War: Western Front, but I love a game that uses a bit of history for its fiction. Lightly based on the concept of the Czech game, Original War from 2001, as well as the Commandos series, Last Train Home‘s gameplay will feel very familiar to PC fans of the Real-Time Strategy genre. That said, fans of the modern “creeping morale degradation” mechanics found in Frostpunk, IXION, and the like are also catered for. Though there are a number of difficulty options available, it can be optional.

Set in Russia/Siberia, the train you command is en route to presumably the newly Bolshevik-run Vladivostok, which is on the other side of Russia, nearly 6,000 miles away. To paraphrase Philomena Cunk, “and bloody dangerous.” Through dwindling resources and lots of fighting, you are basically playing the piece of history that led to the Allied control of the city during the Siberian Intervention and to a greater extent the Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War. Despite being so focused on that point in history and the dark reality that it was, there is some levity to Last Train Home.

One part squad-based action to one part management, you also have status effects and traits to take care of such as alcoholism, exhaustion, injuries, theft, and beyond. Some (of course) work more in your favor than others. Though there is a good amount of time to fight, the train is a large part of that with exploration, morale, maintenance, and upgrades to be made or done. Each character you take along for the journey has one role in combat and one role on the train, with four additional slots for you to fill as they gain experience.

At a rate of 4 to 5, the train has fewer choices in comparison to combat roles. It makes sense, but shows the disparity in the gameplay. Combat is a bit more involved, with each combat role having its own traits to contend with. Machine gunners have a focused-fire ability, Riflemen have a distraction ability, and medics passively use the “head down” trait. Meanwhile, roles on the train seem to tick along without involvement: A cook just needs a rat from the storage car to tell them what to do, an engineer will plod along, and a doctor will be elbows deep in their squad members.

The train in Last Train Home is quite literally the vehicle pushing you forward. There is no reverse, you can stop, go, and go a bit faster but use up more resources, that’s it. You can set up squads to set out on missions and exploration from the map view too. They can backtrack a little, move forward, and do a lot of things, but their main role outside of combat is to collect resources and make sure the train can do as Black Stone Cherry said: keep the “big train rolling down the line.”

While it’s little more than a procession in some of those early chapters, I wouldn’t get too comfortable in some places as there is eventually a threat to sitting around too much. It is easy to think you can just wait out negative effects as you leave Moscow, but it becomes apparent as you are hunted that it isn’t that simple; Last Train Home’s MO. Resources will dwindle, and you get put under greater pressure due to the reds. With limited resources it becomes harder to fight or upgrade the train, even trade, there is just a constant feeling of the world falling to pieces around your ears.

Though I can often find some disagreements with resource management and crafting in other titles (like Frostpunk), Last Train Home captures a sense of “OK, I’ll try and save this, but I’ve no idea if it will work.” There is a sense of always trying to claw yourself out of a bad situation but there is very rarely a sense that you are being given too much to manage at any given time since it is compartmentalized somewhat. There is no in-field crafting or management you have to take care of simply because that would spoil that Goulash.

Combat is quite fun when you get used to the UI. The maps aren’t too large that you’ll spend hours exploring nor does it feel like you are tirelessly exploring every detail for that long either. Unlike games of a similar vein, you mostly know when you are in cover. Additionally, you always know how many in the squad you are commanding, and there is little getting in the way of you knowing who does what at any given time. When you are commanding a large team of 10 members, it doesn’t feel overwhelming to give orders.

There is a sense of detachment from the combat, of course, as you either tell them to be quiet or attack freely. Another thing adds to that, and though I can understand it, it is still an issue. By default, Last Train Home’s spoken languages are Czech, Russian, and Slovak, which is termed “immersive.” I don’t mind that, and in fact, I praise it in Yakuza/Like a Dragon despite being Dyslexic. However, I still have issues with it. When in combat and the story is being exposited, I’ll admit I sometimes can’t see it because I’m focused on everyone getting into cover.

This is less of a problem when there is a beautiful cutscene, either in live action or when using the art style to do something a bit more artistic with Last Train Home. Yes, you can change it to English from the options via the main menu (not in-game), but unless you have a massive issue with it, you’re unlikely to go looking too much. The options themselves are alright but are nothing to write home about. The meatiest portion is the difficulty options which let you limit the resource consumption and damage dealt/taken, but more importantly, lets you decide when it pauses.

Ever since FTL popularized this “active pause” thing (yes, I know about prior examples), the space bar on my keyboards has become more used than the letter W. If certain things happen that can trigger this pause, depending on your settings you’re given the option to move your squad about. Great idea, almost. There are times when you’ll select the whole squad, order them into a piece of cover that can accommodate all of them, then you are in that pause state. Why? Someone is standing up out of cover.

Though the combat is fun and does enough of that Commandos-style of isometric movement, there are still some teething problems with what has been changed in the format. Stealth for the forced stealth sections apparently only works if you use a knife. Pulling someone away through distraction, and then shooting them in the back doesn’t count. Your Legionnaire that’s smart enough to pick up a rock and throw it can only throw the light ones. Some skills are better than others, and some of them feel useless.

Gripes here or there aside, Last Train Home is a bloody fantastic piece of fictionalized history that tells you, “Hey, this isn’t black and white,” or red and white. Some of those who tag along for the ride to Vladivostok are monarchists (in pre-soviet Russia, monarchs aren’t for you), communists, religious, and everything else, there is a reason you are always fighting “the reds.” There is a little bit that feels… not sanitized completely but fictionalized for the betterment of the story rather than the history. There is fun to be had even though there are some dark moments that could easily be much harsher.

Ultimately, I have minor issues with Last Train Home as it chugs along the tracks. However, it is difficult to say that it doesn’t feel as tense as a Frostpunk or as exciting as some of your favorite RTS games. When combat doesn’t always live up to the excitement, it is usually backed up with some great story work as you explore your way East in an effort to make your way to Vladivostok and eventually your way home. Though Last Train Home is mostly held up by a lot of systems outside of that to make it endlessly enjoyable.

A PC review copy of Last Train Home was provided by THQ Nordic for the purposes of this review.

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Last Train Home

$39.99

7.5

Score

7.5/10

Pros

• Strong historical fiction from the start.
• That Frostpunk-like tension all over again.
• Lots of difficulty options to tailor the experience for those who want it.

Cons

• Combat elements can sometimes feel detached.