Intriguing narrative adventure Last Stop, developed by the team behind 2016's Virginia and published by Annapurna Interactive, got a release date as part of this year's Day of the Devs showcase.
From July 22, you'll be able to join three characters in trying to figure out the meaning and origin of a mysterious green glow that upends their uneventful lives in supernatural ways. Even after watching the latest trailer, you might have a hard time figuring out what Last Stop is all about, but you might have picked up on the fact that it's spectacularly British.
From recent previews, it's become clear that this single-player adventure is really making the most of its modern-day London setting. Not just by having you board the tube and visit gentrified hipster neighbourhoods, but by putting you in the shoes of three pretty mundane people just trying to live their lives—a middle-aged single dad, a high school student, and a professional struggling with work.
On the other hand, the release date trailer above clearly wants to whet your appetite for the supernatural side of things. There's a man with glowing green eyes who might either be possessed on an alien skulking around, a middle-aged man who undergoes what seems like a Freaky Friday-esque body swap, and a researcher getting lowered into a green vortex.
I want to know what all of these things are about, but I'm mostly excited for Last Stop because its game trailers have the genuine air of movie trailers. People act in quite dramatic ways, like chucking glasses, throwing themselves into surprise smooches, or staring into the green abyss with wide-open eyes. The whole presentation, even though the animation isn't super smooth, really does remind me of what many people like to call a "cinematic adventure".
The setting, too seems like fun, because as nice as alien planets and jungle landscapes are, it's sometimes nice to simply interact with something you know, right? I feel like games have a lot of Viking locations or apocalypses centralised in Oregon forests, but when do you get to see an ordinary tube stop in a game? Those things can be fun too, and it gives Last Stop all the charm of a Doctor Who episode.
We'll see how things shake out when Last Stop releases July 22 on Steam.
