The Last Express

The Last Express
Developer(s)Smoking Car Productions
Publisher(s)Broderbund
Interplay
DotEmu
Director(s)Jordan Mechner
Designer(s)Jordan Mechner
Writer(s)Jordan Mechner
Tomi Pierce
Platform(s)Windows, Mac OS, MS-DOS, iOS, Android
ReleaseWindows, Mac OS, MS-DOS
April 16, 1997[1]
Windows (Collector's Edition)
January 14, 2011[2]
iOS
September 27, 2012[3]
Android
August 28, 2013
Windows (Gold Edition)
November 21, 2013[4]
macOS (Gold Edition)
March 17, 2015
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

The Last Express is an adventure video game designed by Jordan Mechner and published by Broderbund in 1997 for PC. Players take on the role of an American who accepts an invite by a friend to join them on the Orient Express, days before the start of World War I, only to become involved in a maelstrom of treachery, lies, political conspiracies, personal interests, romance and murder, upon boarding the train. The game is unique in how it was created, its non-linear story, and in how events in the game are conducted within real-time.

The game was a commercial disappointment following its release, but received highly positive reviews and a positive post-release response. A Sony PlayStation port was in development, but was cancelled before it was finished. The game was later reacquired by Mechner, who worked with DotEmu to make portable versions of the game for iOS and Android, and later released a remade version for Steam, entitled The Last Express – Gold Edition.

  1. ^ "Online Gaming Review". 1997-06-06. Archived from the original on 1997-06-06. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  2. ^ "DotEmu.com launches " The Last Express Collectors Edition"". Gamasutra. 2011-01-14. Archived from the original on 2014-01-12. Retrieved 2014-01-11.
  3. ^ Kubba, Sinan (24 September 2012). "The Last Express rolls onto iPhone and iPad September 27". Joystiq. Archived from the original on 2012-09-26. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  4. ^ Valve (2013-11-21). "Now Available on Steam – The Last Express Gold Edition, 25% off!". Steam. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2014-01-11.