The Last Train Home review

 

  Last Train Home is a fascinating and engaging mix of real-time tactics and management. Tasked with getting the Czechoslovak Legion home by travelling across Russia in an armoured as a civil war is brewing, Last Train Home hones in on a lesser-known piece of history, managing to take the real-world struggle and make it into…

Last Train Home is an intriguing blend of real-time tactics and management. Players are tasked with navigating the Czechoslovak Legion through Russia in an armored train amidst a brewing civil war. The game highlights a lesser-known historical episode, transforming a real-world struggle into an engaging and thought-provoking experience.

 

The actual events were complex and deeply troubling, and the developers have made an effort to recognize this. In an October Steam community post addressing the game's historical accuracy—particularly regarding uniforms—Ashborne Games stated: The game is inspired by historical events, and we've consulted experts on the topic. However, some artistic liberties have been taken in various aspects, including the soldiers' uniforms.

However, my own knowledge of events isn’t good enough to pick apart what the game gets right, what it gets wrong and what it conjures out of thin air for the sake of gameplay or plot. What I can say is that I appreciate the focus on a portion of history that isn’t discussed much. And I also appreciate not being portrayed as the grand heroes who will single-handedly end hostilities or who are 100% the good guys. 

The Czech Legion is determined to return home, which requires crossing through a tumultuous Russia. Although they've been granted the technical freedom to travel, neither the Red Army nor the White Army is willing to overlook an armed group moving through their territory, leading to numerous conflicts. Historically, the Legion successfully navigated this journey, eventually reaching the coast and boarding a ship home. However, in the game, failure is possible: if morale dips too low, soldiers may desert.

 The story is enhanced by Captain Frantisek Langer, a real historical figure who served with the Legion. As a poet, playwright, and doctor, Langer adds a unique flair to the game's writing and narration. He’s not the only character, as many soldiers you recruit along the way come with names and brief fictional bios. While you can't rename them like in XCOM, I found myself growing attached to several, especially as they leveled up and became essential members of my team.

 Each soldier possesses various traits, both positive and negative, that can influence outcomes in different situations. While these traits won’t drastically change the main storyline, it’s interesting to see notifications when a character affects events—whether by securing extra resources or boosting overall morale. Of course, things don’t always go smoothly; for instance, taking a soldier who dislikes the Reds on an outing could lead to complications.

]All Aboard!

Life aboard an armored train in a hostile environment is tough, and Last Train Home fully embraces this gritty reality. Your soldiers will face cold, hunger, fatigue, and frustration, and much of the game revolves around managing these issues by gathering essential resources like fuel, food, and upgrade materials.

 To acquire these resources, you’ll need to send out squads. As you move your train across the map, you can dispatch soldiers to various locations for scavenging, trading with villages, or taking on side missions. However, sending out squads can lead to increased fatigue, danger, or random injuries, so you must constantly weigh the potential benefits against the risks.

 Moral dilemmas also arise, allowing you to shape your journey through Russia. For example, do you accept food from a village in exchange for helping them fend off a group of marauding Reds? While taking the food could jeopardize the village’s safety, your primary responsibility as the Legion’s leader is to your comrades.

 In some respects, the game reminds me of Frostpunk  which posed complex moral questions about survival. On paper, Last Train Home shares similarities with city-builders, focusing on harsh conditions and the careful management of limited resources. However, it feels more forgiving; its moral challenges rarely seem particularly difficult, and the consequences of your decisions often don’t hit as hard as they might.

 Many resources you gather can be used to upgrade and enhance your train. Basic upgrades, such as armor plating and improved living quarters, are crucial for the journey, along with new train cars for cooking and healing injured troops. However, these improvements can only be made while the train is stationary, and remaining in one place for too long increases the risk of enemy attacks. Timing upgrades with squad dispatches is essential, as you’ll need to wait for them to return anyway.

 

Managing your crew is also a key aspect. Each member under your command, as well as those you recruit along the way, can fulfill both combat and train-related roles. Some are needed to operate the train and stoke the engine, while others focus on research, healing, or building upgrades. You must consider day and night shifts while keeping an eye on morale and stamina. If morale drops too low, it’s game over; if stamina wanes, soldiers will be unable to work until they rest.

 Additionally, characters can level up by performing tasks and even unlock new roles. You’ll quickly learn who excels at fighting, operating the train, or scavenging for supplies. Since saving the game isn’t restricted, it’s often best to concentrate on developing elite squads and engineers rather than spreading your resources too thin. I appreciate that roles can be combined; for example, you can assign a rifleman the medic role, allowing them to function as a frontline fighter while also being able to heal allies.

Everything comes together seamlessly in Last Train Home. As the train rolls along, it's satisfying to manage your crew, ensuring that your top fighters get the rest they need while considering whether to spend resources on heating improvements or save them for later. Each side mission and location offers opportunities for more supplies, better weapons, or additional soldiers, but venturing out will exhaust your troops and leave you vulnerable for too long.

The management aspect is enjoyable, although it's slightly hindered by a user interface that feels small and a bit clunky. While it's not terrible, it lacks some quality-of-life features and could be more intuitive. Even after playing for dozens of hours, I often had to pause to remember what I was doing or which menu to access. A few updates could improve this, like displaying a soldier’s roles and traits when leveling them up on the world map.

The other key component of *Last Train Home* involves the RTS segments, where you take direct control of your soldiers in partially scripted missions, often against the Reds. You can pause the action by hitting the spacebar, which allows you to set up ambushes and overlapping fields of fire, similar to *Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew*—minus the supernatural elements. This strategic pause is crucial because your soldiers are fragile, dying quickly if caught in the open. Keeping them in cover and engaging only when necessary is essential to avoid being overwhelmed by enemy fire.

 The gameplay evokes a bit of Company of Heroes 3, where positioning is key. You need to carefully choose your spots for cover, watch for flanks, and keep the enemy pinned until your riflemen can flank them. Pausing also enables you to utilize special skills and abilities; a well-placed grenade can take out a group of enemies, while machine-gun fire can devastate anything that comes too close, though ammo is limited.

 Managing ammunition is crucial, encouraging you to avoid unnecessary firefights, much like the real Czech Legion would have had to do. This emphasis on stealth promotes a more tactical approach, urging you to keep your soldiers hidden, scout the area, and eliminate foes quietly when possible. Of course, sometimes going in guns blazing is unavow 

A few quirks prevented me from fully enjoying the combat. Most issues are minor but add up, like how the bayonet option targets an area rather than an individual, causing multiple riflemen to charge the same enemy. It's also odd that, in a game where being out of cover is lethal, the bayonet charge is the best way to counter machine guns instead of relying on scouts.

 Scouts feel underwhelming compared to other units, too. They can somehow take out a tank in two shots but struggle to hit an enemy in the head. This might be for balance, but it makes them seem almost useless beyond their binoculars. You’d expect them to excel in ambushes, but they don’t perform as well as you'd think.

 The enemy AI also leaves much to be desired. Occasionally, they’ll attempt to flank your position or execute a seemingly smart move, but generally, they feel rather ineffective and do little to challenge you.  

Then there’s the silent/loud toggle for switching between stealth and open action. For the most part, it works fine, and stealth often proves to be the best approach, allowing you to progress through missions by sneaking up on enemies and using cover effectively. However, toggling between modes can lead to awkward moments—like when you switch a soldier to "loud" mode to run for cover, only for them to take a shot at an enemy before you can switch back. In one case, I accidentally ordered my riflemen to shoot instead of stab, resulting in chaos and a disastrous outcome. That one was on me, though.

 The game’s visibility rules can also be confusing. Many objects that look solid and should block enemy sight don’t, leading to frequent surprises about when my soldiers can be seen.

 Overall, the combat feels less polished and engaging compared to the management aspects. Still, it provides a refreshing break from the constant juggling of schedules, upgrades, and deciding when to install that new stove in one of the infantry cars.

It’s always exciting to see games explore lesser-known historical moments, and Ashburn Games has done an excellent job here. The concept of an armed "neutral" force traveling across a hostile country by train is fantastic, and the fact that it’s based on real events makes it even more compelling.

 The management aspect of the game is where it truly shines, allowing you to balance resources, soldier health, upgrades, and the risks of sending troops to scavenge abandoned villages. This is where the oppressive atmosphere and bleak tone are most palpable, although the game is not as punishing as you might expect—on normal difficulty, I rarely faced failure due to low morale or resource shortages.

 The combat sections are less noteworthy; they’re generally just okay. While some missions are well-designed and executing a smooth ambush can be satisfying, the fighting itself lacks anything particularly remarkable.

 Nonetheless, Last Train Home is a hidden gem of 2023, likely overlooked amidst larger releases that dominated the headlines and our wallets. If you enjoy strategy and management games with a touch of grit and authenticity, this title is definitely worth your time.