Last Train Home Digital Deluxe Edition

Not a perfect game so ***** is a bit of a stretch, but played it almost in one breath and kept returning to it at every possibility. Pros Interesting historical settings (but NOT historically accurate) Well balanced strategical and tactical part Nice art, very atmospheric Great cut scenes, one of the best I have seen in game (and I have seen a lot :)) Cons Even if length is solid (about 40h), last third is boring except for the missions Poor tactical AI Tactical part can be cheesed easily, there are only few mildly difficult parts Strategical part is too repetitive and straightforward. Randomization is not enough in quantity and quality. Lot of unused potential there. Also can be cheesed in ridiculous way. Apple pie anyone?

I'm going to draw similarities with This War of Mine because, if you liked that game, you will like this one. The "train view" is a bit like the TWOM house. Limited to the train and carriages, and the things you can do to them. Repairing, upgrading, and enhancing all have their place. Everything is balance and compromise. You can only have so much storage, so much fuel, so much metal and wood, and food... Guns, ammo, cloth... you will always be short of something. Along the route, there are places to visit and battles to fight. Combat zones are in 3D isometric, where you choose up to ten soldiers for a squad. They can level up, and gain skills as they go. Each one is a character with strengths and weaknesses. But they make up a team, and choosing the right squad is very important to mission success. There are some dialogue choices and even route choices. I was never quite sure if they ever made any meaningful difference. I got all the way to Vladivostok without losing anyone. A few maimings and permanent traumas (aka debuffs), and I did allow soldiers to be "downed" - they will die if not stabilised within a reasonable time limit. But if anyone died outright, I reloaded a save. And that's the best feature - you can manual save almost whenever you want to. Only in the midst of actual combat engagement is it denied. You can also pause to give your soldiers orders that can be carried out simultaneously - like, getting two or even three soldiers to sneak up and take out a group of enemies, that would be impossible one at a time. You can play whichever way you like - go in guns blazing, or sneak around in the undergrowth whittling down stray targets at leisure. There are a couple of timed / escort missions that force the style, but mostly it is entirely up to you. Five stars for providing a deep and varied game, educational history, and a simple yet deep environment and atmosphere, that I want to continue in the Legion Tales expansion.