New Czech video game transports players to rural Bohemia in the year 2000

Take a trip back to rural Bohemia in the year 2000 in Last Holiday, a new Czech-made video game set to release on Steam later this year. Developed over the past three years by startup studio Boomer Games, the game proudly bills itself as a "redneck simulator," and leaves no Czech village stereotype untouched.

Last Holiday invites players to experience what life was really like in the Czech Republic at the turn of the century. Food and drink meters are represented by a rohlík (a classic Czech bread roll) and a beer. The player also has a stress meter, which can be lowered by smoking a cigarette.

"Last Holiday is set in a picturesque North Bohemian village during the holidays in year 2000, where a good little singer seeks refuge from an angry old man," reads the game's description on Steam. "You have to take care of all your needs, such as food, drink, cigarettes, beer, girls, and just about everything that goes with village life."

The game's first trailer debuted on YouTube last month. In Last Holiday, players see the world though the eyes of a protagonist named Ben, who has been sent to live with his grandparents. They depart from a train at a rural station to begin the journey, and one of their first encounters is with an old woman left in the dust at the station.

"This wouldn't have happened under the communists, they used to respect the old," the character moans after no one helps with her luggage.

Last Holiday is set in the real-life villages around the Hradiště v Čechách train station, which the developers have painstakingly recreated in the game.

"We have four square kilometers in the game that correspond to reality," one of the developers, who wishes to remain anonymous, told CzechCrunch in a recent interview. "We scanned houses, streets, spent three weeks in a local community hall shooting scenes with motion capture technology. And all that with the blessing of the mayor."

Players start with a beat-up Trabant at the start of the game, but the vehicle can be upgraded throughout the storyline with new interiors and bodywork. It can even be used to compete in local village races.

Because the Trabant is an integral part of the experience, Boomer Games took to crowdfunding to raise money to purchase a real-life vehicle in order to help the game designers accurately recreate the vehicle.

The studio blew past their initial goal of CZK 55,000, and have currently raised nearly CZK 350,000. A new series of crowdfunding goals includes a console release if the company hits CZK 10 million.

Last Holiday is set to release in early access mode on Steam between April and June of this year. Keep an eye on the game's Steam page and official website for updates.