A Liminal Subway Nightmare
I once fell asleep on a Tube train in London and ended up at the end of the Northern Line, at 1am, in a place called Morden. As I opened my eyes and looked around, I realised that the train was empty, and so was the platform.
It is a strange sensation where nothing feels quite real; the whole world has left you alone, and you just have to survive the journey home. THE LAST TRAIN: Baquedano is a game that deals with a similar scenario. However, this world is a lot stranger than Morden Tube station, mostly as a costumed maniac is hunting you down with a club.
A Chilean Landmark Turned Surreal
THE LAST TRAIN: Baquedano is a first-person psychological horror game made by Chilean developers, set in the real Baquedano metro station in Santiago. The station is a famous landmark and serves as a major hub connecting lines and passengers. In this story, you play an unnamed protagonist who wakes up on the train after falling asleep. It is late at night, the train is deserted, and there are only a few people left on the platform. There is talk of a homeless man who dresses up in a strange costume, and soon, it is up to you to figure out how to escape.
There aren’t any instructions on how to play this game or what you need to do, but it is very easy to pick up. However, it is worth noting that if you are lucky, you could complete the game quite quickly and unlock one of its four alternative endings. But where would be the fun in that?
Exploring the Santiago Metro
When you first start exploring the station, it seems like a normal, real place. But much like the strange liminal spaces that have packed the horror genre recently, this station is definitely not what you think it is. Inside, you will find strange rooms containing oddities such as a small orca-like creature swimming in a pool, or a strange god-like statue outside accompanied by choral music. You can meet people along the way and interact with them; they might give you hints about how to escape, or they might just talk to you about themselves and what they are doing there.
There are collectables to find throughout the station. One set consists of a selection of paintings on the walls; I believe these are real paintings rendered for the game, and there are seven of them to find. Special items, like candles and more, can also be found. However, do not hang around in one place for too long, because you are being stalked.
The Hunt of Tung Tung Sahur
I wasn’t aware of the internet horror “Tung Tung Sahur” before playing THE LAST TRAIN: Baquedano. It is apparently a recent AI-generated meme that went viral, depicting a sort of long-faced monster holding a baseball bat with a terrible grin on its face. Well, it is here in this game, and if you see it, you need to run. What is clever about this mechanic is that the entity will suddenly appear standing in a room where it wasn’t a moment ago. This is very freaky and made me jump a few times. If you listen carefully, you can hear a terrible, repetitive sound signalling its approach. If it catches up to you, it’s game over, and the whole game starts again.
This is a bit annoying as there are no checkpoints, and restarting can be frustrating. However, I couldn’t resist having another go because exploring this strange world is so much fun. It feels like there is a secret around every corner, and I liked the way the game made me feel disorientated.
Lighting the Way to Dread
This isn’t the best-looking game out there in terms of raw graphical power, but it does a great job with the resources it has. The atmosphere and lighting of the station and its rooms are effective and scary throughout. And frankly, the figure of Tung Tung Sahur is going to haunt my dreams tonight, and every night.
The sound effects are excellent too, forcing you to listen with trepidation to every creak and echo. It is weird in a good way, featuring strange voice-overs when you click on a painting, or the sudden introduction of a choral soundscape that vanishes as quickly as it arrived.
A Unique Descent into Subterranean Terror
As enjoyable as it is, THE LAST TRAIN: Baquedano feels unique in the horror marketplace. There’s a severe lack of hand-holding, but the strange station that is ripe for exploration holds a host of brilliant secrets. And yes, Tung Tung Sahur is as terrifying as it should be.
Personally, I would have liked to see some checkpoints in the game so you don’t have to start from scratch every time, but this is a deep enough experience to tease you into visiting Santiago in Chile one day.
Perhaps you won’t want to go to Baquedano station after playing this game, though.
Important Links
The Last Train: Baquedano Delivers A Creepy Ride Through A Viral Meme – https://www.thexboxhub.com/the-last-train-baquedano-delivers-a-creepy-ride-through-a-viral-meme/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/the-last-train-baquedano/9pp37clnlm5n
