- Release Date: 22nd July 2021
- Version Played: Xbox Series S
Last Stop is an “interactive film” type game set in London. It follows the daily lives of three characters – John, Meena and Donna – until they end up encountering some supernatural elements. On a chapter-by-chapter basis, you can choose which order to play them in, but must play through all three before you can start the next chapter as anyone.
John Smith is a middle-aged single dad, looking after his daughter Molly. An incident with a stranger causes him and his neighbor – a mid-20s game designer called Jack – to switch bodies. They try to act as each other with some really fun heist-style segments (with John’s daughter, Molly, commenting on it and pointing out flaws), while also trying to figure out how to go back.
Meena is an agent for a mysterious agency, while at home she’s keeping an affair a secret. It takes a while for her story to pick up as she’s rather unlikable, and the best parts of her story are when she starts encountering the other characters fairly late on.
Donna is a high school student, who encounters a strange man with glowing eyes. Her friend knocks him out and, worried that he’ll go to the police, they tie him up and take turns watching him, who stays silent until it’s just him and Donna.
The gameplay of the game is quite simple, you walk around as each character, interacting with the small amount of things it allows you to (although sometimes even walking will be automated). You will get conversation options, but these just slightly alter the tone of the conversation and won’t affect the overall story, there’s no “wrong” option, you’ll end up in the same places no matter what. There are a few minigames, such as pressing musical notes or throwing bottles, which are a nice distraction but failing doesn’t change anything.
That said, the characters and dialogue are very engaging, especially in John and Jack’s segment, and the mystery will keep you wanting more until you get to the end. Unfortunately, the ending itself is a bit of a let down. The final section is very over the top, and then the game will give each character a choice on what they want to do.
Meena and Donna are pretty much given a “no good option” choice at the end, while’s John’s choice is to swap bodies or to keep his new one – a choice which comes out of nowhere as for the entire game he never gives it a moment’s notice, clearly being offended that someone would think he would be so low when other characters suggest it. I can think of a better choice John should have been given, but can’t go into details without spoilers.
That said, Last Stop is still worth a playthrough, for all the moments leading up to the ending, and especially the interactions between Jack, John and Molly.
