I’ve had less time than I’d hoped, but I have started to play The Last Express. So far it’s a really beautiful, fascinating experience - although somewhat daunting.
Unlike a traditional point-and-click adventure, The Last Express plays out in real time: the train you’re on is constantly moving and the other passengers are too, doing things around the train and having conversations. This is not just an old fashioned classic adventure game or solving puzzles, but actually puts a major emphasis on time and timing. You find a dead body in a compartment? You gotta deal with it somehow, and when and how you do so seem to actually matter, creating some either fully or partly branching narratives (haven’t finished it yet). There is no quick save, but there is a “rewind” function if you’ve messed something up irrevocably, although there are also apparently also multiple endings depending on how you do things. For a game this old, the game world actually feels much more alive and vibrant than many newer titles. I think the nature of the limited scope of a confined space of a train, combined with the smart use of basically overlayed 2D rotoscoped film clips, allowed them to create this truly immersive experience where it really feels like you’re actively participating in a movie playing out in real time, not interacting with static NPCs in a video game.
Finally, I need to pour heaps of praise over the art direction and graphics. Using rotoscoping over live action footage and fully voice acting everything makes this game hold up visually in such a remarkable way for a 1997 release. It’s also good phenomenal voice acting - especially for the time - with some really good voice directing. I was incredibly impressed when eavesdropping on a conversation between two women early on, one french and the other English. They would both switch languages occasionally in a natural way, and both use the appropriate accent when speaking their non-native language.
Absolutely recommend this game to anyone who appreciates games as an art form.
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I’ve had less time than I’d hoped, but I have started to play The Last Express. So far it’s a really beautiful, fascinating experience - although somewhat daunting.
Unlike a traditional point-and-click adventure, The Last Express plays out in real time: the train you’re on is constantly moving and the other passengers are too, doing things around the train and having conversations. This is not just an old fashioned classic adventure game or solving puzzles, but actually puts a major emphasis on time and timing. You find a dead body in a compartment? You gotta deal with it somehow, and when and how you do so seem to actually matter, creating some either fully or partly branching narratives (haven’t finished it yet). There is no quick save, but there is a “rewind” function if you’ve messed something up irrevocably, although there are also apparently also multiple endings depending on how you do things. For a game this old, the game world actually feels much more alive and vibrant than many newer titles. I think the nature of the limited scope of a confined space of a train, combined with the smart use of basically overlayed 2D rotoscoped film clips, allowed them to create this truly immersive experience where it really feels like you’re actively participating in a movie playing out in real time, not interacting with static NPCs in a video game.
Finally, I need to pour heaps of praise over the art direction and graphics. Using rotoscoping over live action footage and fully voice acting everything makes this game hold up visually in such a remarkable way for a 1997 release. It’s also good phenomenal voice acting - especially for the time - with some really good voice directing. I was incredibly impressed when eavesdropping on a conversation between two women early on, one french and the other English. They would both switch languages occasionally in a natural way, and both use the appropriate accent when speaking their non-native language.
Absolutely recommend this game to anyone who appreciates games as an art form.