Side-scrolling exploration mixed with a light dash of strategy and a heavy dose of zombie slaying returns in the DLC for tinyBuild’s The Final Station. With more of the same 2D retro style gameplay, The Only Traitor brings a few new tricks to the table regarding objective’s found in the original. Add some new enemies, locations and a new character with a new mode of transport, and this add-on delivers more of the same obsessive gameplay with a renewed way to play it. Deboard the train and buckle up in an American muscle, because this one’s going to be a road trip.
Swapping the railways for the highways you travel from town to town in search for a functioning shelter. Exploring each disastrous town in similar fashion, however now you’re on the prowl for the utter essentials: water, food and fuel. If you spot a survivor waiting in the wings you can bring them along for the ride as well, but don’t expect them to stay for good. The long road to the shelter proves difficult and you’ll need the help of strangers to keep you healthy and armed, but with a new approach to the game comes new decisions to encounter along the way.
The biggest difference you’ll notice is, much like reality, you only have room for one other person in your two door muscle car. Unlike the train where you could rescue as many survivors as you could find, this DLC forces you to pick which survivor stays, and which one goes. You’ll make your decisions based on three stats varying with each character: crafting, medic and sociality, all of which prove crucial for survival down the road.
Each stop sticks you in the middle of an area allowing you to trek either left or right, having to explore both directions in able to find the required resources to continue onward. Sometimes not much exploration is needed in order to acquire your food, water and fuel checklist, leaving the decision up to you whether to continue exploring for survivors and salvage or hit the road to the next town. Though the levels aren’t very extensive when compared to the original game, they still give you plenty of rooms to explore and even throw in new enemies to keep you on your toes.
Good survival games puts you up against all odds, trying your patience when outnumbered and hanging on by a thread. Leaving players with informative dialogue in an unraveling story only adds more depth to an otherwise bleak setting. With returning addictive gameplay bringing a new survivor’s point of view, The Only Traitor is an exciting and somewhat challenging addition to last year’s side-scrolling shooter.
