Bomber Crew
A strategic survival sim set in WWII with permadeath.
Bomber Crew is a strategic survival simulation video game developed by Runner Duck and published by Curve Digital. It was released on Microsoft Windows, OS X and Linux on 19 October 2017, and later for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch on 10 July 2018. The game is notable for its permadeath mechanic and its comparison to FTL: Faster Than Light.
- Developer
- Runner Duck
- Publisher
- Curve Digital
- Initial release date
- 19 October 2017
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux
- Console release date
- 10 July 2018
- Console platforms
- PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
- Metacritic reception
- generally favourable or mixed reviews
Lore & Background
Bomber Crew is set in World War II, placing the player in command of a crew aboard either the British Avro Lancaster heavy bomber or, with the USAAF DLC, the American Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. The player issues commands to crew members through a campaign of reconnaissance, supply drops, and bombing missions. As the game progresses, new upgrades and equipment become unlocked, and crew members can gain new skills. The gameplay has been compared to FTL: Faster Than Light, and features permadeath on the player's crew, meaning crew members who die are permanently lost.
Reader's Guide
Bomber Crew's significance lies in its blend of strategic command and survival simulation, drawing direct comparison to FTL: Faster Than Light. The game was developed by a team of two, Dave Miller and Jon Wingrove, and published by Curve Digital. Its release spanned multiple platforms, first on PC in October 2017 and later on consoles in July 2018. Two downloadable content packs expanded the game: Bomber Crew Secret Weapons (15 December 2017) added air-to-air missiles and the Dornier Do 335, while Bomber Crew: USAAF (23 October 2018) introduced a new campaign with the B-17 Flying Fortress. The Nintendo Switch version launched in Japan on 6 June 2019. A sequel, Space Crew, was released in 2020. The game received generally favourable or mixed reviews according to Metacritic. A cross-game feature allows players who own both Bomber Crew and Space Crew to recruit the active crew from Bomber Crew via the recruitment bay in Space Crew.
The Impossible Order
The entire narrative of Last Resort detonates the moment the Ohio-class submarine USS Colorado receives what appears to be a routine launch directive: fire nuclear ballistic missiles at Pakistan. Captain Marcus Chaplin, however, recognizes the order arrived through a secondary Cold War communication channel designed exclusively for scenarios in which Washington, D.C. has already been annihilated. His insistence on proper verification triggers a chain of catastrophic events. Deputy Secretary of Defense William Curry strips him of command, installs Lieutenant Commander Sam Kendal in his place, and when Kendal raises the same objections, the attack submarine USS Illinois opens fire on the Colorado. Two nuclear warheads subsequently strike Pakistan from other vessels. Overnight, a decorated Navy crew becomes the most wanted enemy of the United States government, setting the stage for a thirteen-episode fugitive saga in which the crew must prove their innocence and identify who in the government set them up.
Fractures Below the Surface
Beneath the geopolitical thriller, Last Resort is fundamentally a story about a crew tearing itself apart under impossible pressure. Captain Chaplin carries deep personal wounds: his wife Angela died of cancer, one son is estranged, and his other son Jeffrey was killed in action as a Marine just before the series begins. Chief of the Boat Joseph Prosser, portrayed by Robert Patrick, represents the crew's desperate desire to simply go home. His attempted mutiny to seize the Colorado backfires when his own men betray him, revealing their true intention was to sell the submarine to foreign buyers. Senior Chief Hal Anders is dismissed after raping a native girl on Sainte Marina and later orchestrates his own mutiny with the same mercenary goal. Petty Officer Brannan, Chaplin's loyal inside man during a crew uprising, is killed protecting the Captain. Navigator Lieutenant Grace Shepard remains steadfastly loyal to Chaplin until the very end, anchoring the show's emotional core amid the betrayals.
Allies in Unlikely Places
The Colorado's refuge on Sainte Marina, a fictional French island in the Indian Ocean, transforms the submarine crew into a small nation of misfits. Chaplin commandeers a NATO communications and early missile warning facility, and when a pair of B-1 bombers is dispatched to destroy the island, he fires a Trident nuclear missile toward Washington. He has secretly altered the target coordinates; the warhead visibly overflies the capital and detonates two hundred miles out in the Atlantic, its fireball visible from both Washington and New York City. Through a live television broadcast, Chaplin declares a two-hundred-mile exclusion zone around the island. From that point the narrative widens considerably. Chaplin is forced into a reluctant alliance with China while battling the island's drug lord Julian Serrat. Back in the United States, weapons lobbyist Kylie Sinclair teams up with Christine Kendal to uncover the conspiracy, while guilt-ridden SEAL James King builds a relationship with the island's bar owner Tani and quietly aids the XO.
The Final Reckoning
Last Resort closes its thirteen-episode run with a cascade of betrayals that leaves no character unscathed. A series of mutinies culminates in the destruction of the USS Colorado itself. Chaplin, rather than surrender the vessel to Chinese forces, scuttles the submarine and goes down with her, a final act of duty that echoes his refusal to fire the missiles in the pilot. The surviving crew members make their way back to American soil. In the political sphere, the President is assassinated, and the full truth of the administration's traitorous orchestration of the Pakistan strikes is finally exposed to the public. Kylie Sinclair arranges for irrefutable evidence of the president's and his inner circle's criminal activities to be delivered to the press, ensuring the Colorado's crew is vindicated in death. The series, created by Shawn Ryan and Karl Gajdusek and produced by Sony Pictures Television, aired on ABC from September 27, 2012, to January 24, 2013, and was cancelled after its single season.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Bomber Crew?
Bomber Crew is a strategic survival simulation game set during World War II in which you manage a small crew aboard a bomber aircraft and guide them through increasingly dangerous missions.
Who developed and published Bomber Crew?
The game was created by the small studio Runner Duck and published by Curve Digital.
What is the permadeath mechanic in Bomber Crew?
If a crew member is killed during a mission, they are gone for the rest of the campaign, forcing you to adapt your strategy around a permanently shrinking team.
What platforms can I play Bomber Crew on?
It first shipped on Windows, macOS, and Linux in October 2017, and the console versions for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch followed in July 2018.
What game is Bomber Crew most often compared to?
Fans and reviewers frequently liken it to FTL: Faster Than Light because both revolve around managing a crew under relentless pressure with high stakes and run-based survival structure.
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