The Final Station – The Only Traitor (Video Game DLC)
Developed by Oleg Sergeev, Andrey Rumak, and Do My Best
Published by tinyBuild
Available on PC through Steam
Suitable for ages 13+
The Final Station is one of those games that I remember liking more than I actually did. At the time of review I gave it a 2.5/5, citing the tedious gameplay and awful micromanagement as the key factors in giving it a low score. The world it painted was mysterious and beautiful, but underdeveloped in that distinctively indie way that only kids in college with way too much time on their hands actually like. With time, the haunting visuals and killer soundtrack have stuck in my mind more than the uninspired combat. So when I looked back over my previous review while preparing to write this, I was a bit shocked to see I had rated it so low. After reading through it again, I’m reminded with The Only Traitor that my initial opinion was basically correct.
Now obviously you aren’t going to know what I’m talking about if you haven’t played The Final Station (why are you reading a DLC review for a game you don’t own anyways?). So I’m going to discuss The Only Traitor a bit differently. I’m actually going to write this with my audience in mind for once. I know, shocking.
Having played the base game, you fall somewhere on a spectrum of loving it and hating it. If you loved it, I’m assuming it was for the atmosphere. If you hated it, it was because of the tedious mini-games and boring combat. A combination of these two sentiments is what landed me square in the middle between love and hate. Everyone has different preferences/tolerances, so take a second to figure out where you fit on this spectrum before moving on.
The game is at least still very pretty.
If you loved The Final Station, then I hope the thesis you submitted to the speculative story forums was well received. Less sarcastically, The Only Traitor is the kind of thing that will be right up your alley. The new perspective gives a lot of insight into the world, and when combined with the base game they actually answer some pretty significant questions. It’s less metaphysical this time as well, with only minimal reality warping segments. Even when the game does get surreal, it’s usually accompanied by a much more straightforward narrative chunk. If you just can’t get enough of this world, then The Only Traitor will give you plenty more to think about.
Ah, finally! A face to put to the blocky pixelated name.
If you hated The Final Station, The Only Traitor is a mixed bag. The best part is that the stupid micromanagement mini-games are gone. You now travel from point A to point B without having to check a console or pull a lever. On the other hand, you now can only have one companion at a time. There are probably close to a dozen (one per level), meaning you will now have to play through the DLC twelve times to get all the possible stories. If you do that, let me know how it turned out! I’d be interested to hear.
As for the combat, I’m similarly muddied in my opinion. On the one hand, you now have a significantly stronger melee attack that makes fights far less of a slog. The new enemies are also pretty interesting, with a long range spitter mixing it up. On the other hand, you only get a single gun this time around. The pistol is stronger than the one you get in the base game, but the lack of variety is lame. The new enemies just don’t add enough variety to make the combat actually fun. I appreciate the additions, but the base issues still make it hard to enjoy.
This is significantly better than hitting things with my fists
That being said, I did like The Only Traitor more than The Final Station. What stands out is that the maps are now designed bidirectionally, so you can go either left or right at the start. The goal this time isn’t to find a breaker code, but food, water, and fuel for the trip to the next town. You no longer have to worry about feeding or healing your companions, so you only have to keep track of pistol bullets and medkits for yourself.
Companions now have different skill levels in healing, crafting, and “socializing.” Higher healing means they can heal you for more between towns, crafting reduces the resource cost of making bullets and medkits, and socializing does something I guess. I really don’t know what it does, since I won’t be playing through the DLC a dozen times to find out.
I’m sorry Bill, but you better get a medical degree or else you’re being left for the shadow monsters.
And that’s all there is to say about The Only Traitor. If you liked The Final Station, then the $5 you’ll drop on The Only Traitor will be worth it. If you didn’t like The Final Station, The Only Traitor won’t do enough to change your mind. If you were neutral, you probably won’t find The Only Traitor as interesting. It doesn’t go to as far of extremes, with much less of the bizarre that made The Final Station so memorable. I’m giving The Only Traitor a higher score, but only slightly, and only because the gameplay was slightly more tolerable. Maybe it just wasn’t long enough to outlive its welcome.
-
DLC
Categorized:Horror Gaming Reviews
