Last Stop is a new interactive story game developed by Variable State. It features a 7-chapter story spanning 3 different playable characters who all end up having their stories intertwined. It’s an awesome game with a very engaging story that is only made better by the excellently designed characters.
It’s a choice-driven story game. There’s not much in the way of action aside from a couple of small mini-games and a couple of QTEs. That isn’t the focus of this game though, the focus is on its amazing cast of characters and the cleverly written stories that they wander through with your help. The mix-up of supernatural, as well as friend and family problems that the characters face, are relatable enough to make the game have a few touching moments, more than a few laughs, and heartwarming moments.
The game starts off a little bit slow as it doesn’t seem that anything interesting going on but that quickly changes as you work your way into the second chapter of each character’s story. Things quickly become much more engaging and intriguing. I honestly had to force myself a little bit to get through the first chapter with each character but very quickly found myself fully tangled up in this game and unable to stop playing it.
The playable characters in the game as well as the people in their lives are amazing. The scripting is well written and the emotions are believable. One of my favorites through this game was John’s daughter Molly. She does an amazing job of lightening the mood when things can be depressing and sad. All of the side cast in this game is perfect. The characters are all very unique and play important roles throughout the story.
The animation of this game is something I really enjoyed. I loved how they mixed up realistic and cartoony tones. It adds a layer to the game that can make it seem much more lighthearted during funny moments but also still sad and emotional when it needs to be. The tone of this game is honestly perfect for the stories it’s telling. The design of the characters and environments adds a lot of polish to the game.
The game is fairly short as it’s only 7 chapters. It took me around 5 hours or so to fully complete the game. There are some different endings that you can get depending on some choices you make that can change things pretty drastically. There are some fun choices and also some very tough ones. There is a timer on these tough choices as well which really adds to the impact of the decisions you’re making.
Overall thoughts:
Overall, I really loved this game. The beginning was a bit slow and uninteresting but that all changed very quickly. I felt myself becoming very attached to the characters and actually caring about the decisions I was making and how they would impact them. The last couple of chapters including the final chapter really pick up in pace and things get crazy and emotional. I absolutely loved this whole story and especially the ending. There wasn’t necessarily a fairy tale happy ending but that’s one of the reasons I loved it. I would highly recommend this game for anybody looking for a casual game to play with an amazing story. I can’t wait to see what’s next from Variable State.
Last Stop is available now on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch. It is included with Xbox Game Pass.
