The Final Station

 Switch
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Cubed3
    Feb 26, 2018
    70
    In spite of an unfortunately stiff script and repetitive gameplay, The Final Station is still one of the most atmospheric and interesting survival titles in the genre. With a genuinely impressive ambience that revels in morbidity, each moment of gameplay is immersive and sombre. Surviving feels like an actual goal as enemies are relentless and ammunition is difficult to come by. Managing the train and keeping passengers alive is stressful, but it's stress that's rewarded and adds to the hostile aesthetic of the world. The last act does lose its way in terms of narrative, and the writing leaves much to be desired, but the moment to moment experiences are conceptually great and make for a memorable journey. The Final Station might be lacking in some departments, but what it does well, it does well.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 28 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 28
  3. Negative: 5 out of 28
  1. GBG_Jason
    Feb 23, 2018
    8
    A world is at its end, a single train travels the Earth, and an unknown threat appears out of nowhere. You are the conductor of the train. YouA world is at its end, a single train travels the Earth, and an unknown threat appears out of nowhere. You are the conductor of the train. You are to travel the world. You are the last hope for humanity. Are you up to the challenge? Is it worth it?

    The Final Station starts off simple enough: you wake up and head to work through a 2D side scrolling town. On the way you can talk to citizens, pick up items, and read notes. When you finally set out for your next town on the train, you’ll have a passenger that has a life and hunger meter. The train itself has a few things you can interact with, including med kits and food for passengers. You’ll find yourself speaking with people on an IM type of service, fixing the electricity, keeping the train from overheating, and more as you progress.

    Each stop you make will require you to explore the area to find the security code to progress. The train gets locked into a barrier and can only be released with the security code. At first it’s a simple task of finding it within a locker or having someone print it out. But it soon becomes a dangerous endeavor as you go up against the unknown silhouettes that are out for blood.

    The game is broken into two different types of gameplay: town exploration and train traversal. The majority of the experience will take place in the exploration aspect, where you encouter a lot the story. Each building is blacked out until you open a door, lighting the room it’s connected to. Maybe there are people in it, maybe it’s empty, or maybe you get jumped. There’s only one way to find out. Sadly, when you are low on life and you do get killed from a surprise attack, the checkpoint system will almost always set you back where you were. Not entirely, but it creates an expectation for fights to turn out a certain way. If you use too much ammo you may choose to die so you can optimize the way you survive the battle.

    The game holds a decent amount of backstory, whether you find it by reading or simply taking in the scenes you come across in town. The sweeping landscapes while going from town to town also tells a story, as you’ll see war torn battlefields and peaceful lands lit up by fights at night. For being a pretty short experience, it does a great job of building the world around the player.

    While fights get harder as you progress with different enemy types changing the way you approach battles, so does the train portion of the game become more intense and stressful. As the conductor it is in your best interest to get all the passengers to their destination as you are paid for each delivery, allowing you to buy better gear, as well as medkits and food to help with keeping the passengers alive to get the money to… you get the idea. As more obstacles are added, the harder it is to keep everything in working order. On top of that, passengers on the train are constantly talking, giving more insight into the world. While managing passengers and the train, you’ll have to decide on what is important, and what is worth doing.

    A sweet, succinct experience that gets a bit repetitive near the end, but well worth the travel expenses. The Final Station was something I didn’t expect to like as much as I did. Between the world building and the sporadic train gameplay, this is a train you don’t want leaving you at the station.    … Full Review »
  2. appledinger
    Jun 13, 2019
    6
    There's an interesting story going on in this game and it really rewards you for paying close attention. You'll see the kind of twisted darkThere's an interesting story going on in this game and it really rewards you for paying close attention. You'll see the kind of twisted dark storyline behind the scenes if you do, and most stories that try this kind of thing don't execute as well.

    The downside is the gameplay is boring and kind of garbage.    … Full Review »
  3. DXCRAZY32
    Apr 21, 2018
    8
    Very nice game , deep story , and it motivate you to try and understand it by yourself
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