Last Train Home is an intriguing survival RTS launching in 2023

Flee from war-torn Russia in an armored train after World War 1

Last Train Home, a RTS game with a survival twist coming from Czech developer Asheborn Games and publisher THQ Nordic, has been announced at the PC Gaming Show 2023. This single-player PC game releasing later this year has you leading a group of Czechoslovakian soldiers on their wild and dangerous escape from Russia, which is being torn apart by the civil war between the Bolsheviks and the Tsarists at the end of World War 1. This, by the way, is based on real events and once again shows that history is the most bonkers source of cool stories you could wish for.

I was shown some footage of the game at a press event ahead of the official announcement, where Last Train Home reminded me of Mount & Blade mixed with Company of Heroes. The game is split into two distinct layers, the strategic and tactical one. On the strategic map, you follow the progress of your armored train as it makes its way through war-torn Russia, halting occasionally to take on important supplies like coal and food, recruiting more refugees seeking an escape, clearing obstacles, or completing missions.

You can send out your characters, who all have different professions and abilities in and outside of combat, to forage for food or check out the town ahead. Perhaps you can find some materials to upgrade your train, providing better medicinal care or allowing the troops to rest better after the strain of battle?

Sometimes, of course, the train will break down and you’ll need to find parts to repair it and get going again. As you get closer to Siberia and your target, the port at Vladivostok where Entente ships will evacuate you, the biting cold of winter will be just as dangerous as roaming Red Army troops you need to deal with. You’ll be faced with dilemmas throughout your journey that have to do with the civil war raging in the country and the developers have told us that the decisions you make on your way would actually influence the final battle of the game in some way.

Asheborne Games / THQ Nordic

Your train is at the heart of the strategic layer. You need to keep it maintained, upgrade it, and keep it going with coal.

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Asheborne Games / THQ Nordic

Your train has a hospital car and other wagons you need to keep upgraded and supplied if you want all of your crew members to see the end of your journey.

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Asheborne Games / THQ Nordic

Towns and villages offer the option to supply yourself and forests give you ample foraging opportunities, but dangers lurk everywhere.

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Battles are the second big part of Last Train Home. Taking place on the tactical layer and in real time, each of your crew members from the strategic layer is represented in combat as well – their wounds and injuries will persist from layer to layer, and losing a crew member will impact your ability to operate the train. Each man’s life is supremely important in Last Train Home.

As mentioned above, all of your men have a civilian profession like doctor or mechanic as well as a martial role, like being a scout, a sniper, or a machine gunner. These roles come with a set of different skills you’ll need to use to complete the scenarios you’re thrown into, such as saving a village from the Red Army to receive supplies in return. Gameplay is cover-based and there are stealth elements such as line-of-sight and noise to consider when infiltrating enemy bases or setting up ambushes.

The survival element is present during the battles as well, as one of your main priorities will be to grab as many supplies and useful items as possible to take back with you to the train.

Asheborne Games / THQ Nordic

Your soldiers have different skill sets based on their professions and weaponry. Combat is cover-based like in Company of Heroes.

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Asheborne Games / THQ Nordic

Each of your crew members is an irreplaceable individual and wounds incurred in combat will take time to heal on the strategic layer.

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Asheborne Games / THQ Nordic

While you'll find a few reinforcements along the way, you'll need to do your best to get your crew to the end in one piece.

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The game will feature a full in-game encyclopedia detailing its historical context – a product of the developer’s close cooperation with the descendants of the Czechoslovak Legion, who not only acted as historical consultants to ensure accuracy and authenticity, but even helped film the game’s impressive live-action trailer with their replica of the armored train that was used on this wild adventure a century ago.

Last Train Home will contain between 30 and 40 missions with a playtime of up to 40 hours. It’ll be released at a price of $39.99 on PC later in 2023.