The Last Spell

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The Last Spell review
Camrin Santchi

Review

War Never Changes

I Am Become Death


The story of The Last Spell begins with escalation- a fantasy world of near endless war, with constant development of new magic spells or other weapons that allow for even more effective warfare. This led to the creation of what could only be described as a magical nuclear bomb, a spell of ominous purple energy that can wipe out an entire town in its blast. This spell was hoped to end all wars by threat of the sheer power and destruction that it held, but tragically it was quickly adopted as the main weapon of warfare, with multiple cities being destroyed daily as a thick purple haze began to fill the world. This mist was deadly to the living, and revived the dead as monsters that aim to destroy what few survivors remained after the magical bombs dropped.

Gamers in The Last Spell take the role of a skilled tactician with the goal of helping a settlement survive until the wizards in town are able to cast the titular sorcery - a spell that would remove all traces of magic from the world in hopes that it would also remove the fallout from the destructive spell, thus removing the threat of deadly mist and hordes of monstrous undead. It's a complicated spell, of course, so casting it is a massive undertaking that takes several days, allowing for The Last Spell's day/night cycle to come into play.

Dusk to Dawn


By night the game plays like a strategy RPG, coordinating characters known as Heroes to fight back the hordes as they appear in waves and attempt to invade the safe haven. There are multiple classes of Heroes that each have different weapon and ability type s- with an emphasis on crowd control attacks that can do damage or cause effects to multiple enemies at once, see normally Heroes are vastly outnumbered each Round. Resources are limited, particularly a Hero's health and mana, so players need to conserve their most effective attacks for when they will do the most damage, carefully aiming Hero skills so that they hit as many foes as possible- just be careful not to hit other Heroes, friendly fire is very much on in this game and the Heroes will call each other, and thus the player, out if an accident happens while fighting the undead.



The sole goal of the night phase of the game is to protect the Mages trying to cast The Last Spell, so players may need to occasionally sacrifice their Heroes so that they can keep the Mages alive another night. This can be a bit tough to do, since there are some customization options regarding the Heroes including what skills they acquire and even their names, so attachments and a desire to keep them alive could definitely come into play, making strategic plays more difficult to make if it means sacrificing a Hero you’ve invested heavily into or grown fond of.

Dawn to Dusk


Once the sun rises in The Last Spell the undead halt their advances and Heroes get a chance to lick their wounds and try to recover for the next night, giving way to something that feels more like settlement management, rather than the strategy RPG gameplay of the night phases. During the day, gamers are able to build new fortifications, purchase new weapons and armour for their Heroes, level them up, and otherwise prepare as best they can for the night. The amount of upgrades available is limited to the amount of Workers available- who can only do so much in a single day. So players will need to decide what they think will make future nights more survivable. It does feel a bit odd that the shops charge the Heroes for weapons that would make defending the village and Mages so much easier, but I suppose capitalism cannot be escaped even in a magical apocalypse filled with mutants. The Fallout jokes write themselves it seems.

Rogue Roguelite Elements


Something that is made clear in the description of The Last Spell but not its tags on the Steam page is that the game actually contains roguelite elements. Put simply, players are expected to fail at least early on, receiving metagame upgrades that will improve future 'runs' at trying to save the world. This was a bit of a surprise for this reviewer, but it makes for a rather satisfying gameplay loop - especially since The Last Spell gives players the option to give up on a run at almost anytime if for whatever reason they feel its a lost cause, making it so gamers don't need to wait until a 'game over' to restart the cycle and try again if they had bad luck or made an error.

A World Devoid of Hope


In all, The Last Spell is a genuinely enjoyable game that allows for strategic planning and makes use of a dark atmosphere. That being said there are times when the atmosphere feels almost too crushing and difficult - leaving it up to the player to latch onto hope as best they can. The Last Spell is the end of days for this world wreaked by war, and your group of Heroes is all that stands between what remains of humanity and a slow demise as the fog encroaches and the undead approach. The dark atmosphere and challenging gameplay can make for a really satisfying experience however, and it is in the darkest of times that one’s worth as a hero is truly shown.


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7.8

fun score

Pros

Satisfying Gameplay Loop, Atmospheric

Cons

Challenging, Dreary