As a seasoned Soulsliker who has traversed countless realms of darkness, I must confess that Enotria: The Last Song piqued my curiosity with its enchanting Italian motif and intricate character designs. However, like a long-lost relative with an excessive fondness for pasta, it seemed to overindulge in its own cultural heritage.
You may recall the initial Soulslike game that gained massive popularity in the past 15 years, a subgenre that I first encountered with the original Demon’s Souls on PlayStation 3 in 2009. This game was challenging and came with a strategy guide to assist players in navigating its mercilessly difficult world and innovative mechanics for the time. Today, we see this style of gaming everywhere, with aspects of the genre becoming standard. Now it seems like we get a new Soulslike game every few weeks. Jyamma Games pays tribute to FromSoftware’s early work while blazing their own trail with Enotria: The Last Song, as it draws inspiration from the roots of the genre and incorporates Italian culture and folklore. The stunning landscapes and captivating story compensate for the combat, which can be a bit awkward despite its ambition.
In the game Enotria, players assume the role of the “unmasked one,” a living marionette charged with lifting the Canovaccio curse that has enveloped the land. The inhabitants appear stuck in an eternal performance, unwillingly repeating melodies and dances. The story is primarily conveyed through in-game menus or subtle hints dropped by the game’s NPCs. Players will traverse diverse landscapes such as verdant backdrops, with some areas deviating from Tuscan villas and Roman baths to include ominous, damp passageways. Along your journey, you’ll encounter campfires at each new location where you can replenish potions, upgrade weapons, and spend Memoria (the game’s equivalent of Souls, acting as both experience points and currency) to boost levels and enhance stats.
To put it simply, the focus is on battle, which we’ll make clear. Mastering enemy movement patterns helps players decide when to dodge, roll, block, or attack. Proper parrying and chaining combos increase what can be seen as a stagger meter. Once filled, players can unleash a powerful finishing move. The abilities of your maskless character evolve by unlocking perks and skills (known as “mask lines”) through a skill tree, offering more personalization options.
In Enotria, gamers can swiftly switch among three customizable configurations, or loadouts, granting versatility for multiple playstyles. These loadouts enable players not just to alter weapons and skills, but also masks that offer unique advantages or traits. Strategic players will create loadouts that accumulate substantial benefits across various situations, all while smoothly transitioning between loadouts during battle. Additionally, there are elemental aspects to consider, introducing intricacy – initially, perplexity – due to the elements maintaining their Italian names.
At first glance, it appears complex with numerous elements to manage such as masks, weapon types, and so forth. However, with time, most of it becomes familiar. The combat may feel slow, particularly when multiple actions or abilities take an extended period to perform, making them susceptible to interruptions by enemies. The variety of weapons and abilities is appealing, but using too many of them can become awkward, diminishing their usefulness. Nonetheless, there are plenty of tense combat scenarios, particularly during the confrontations with aggressive bosses. These encounters offer numerous opportunities for the player to demonstrate skill. The enemies are massive, intricately designed, and deadly.
There are some wrinkles to exploration, including sigils which will alter the environment when activated – like generating a bridge to get across a large gap – making it possible to travel or access secret areas. Other sigils will unlock a gauntlet of enemies in exchange for rewards. It’s an interesting mechanic, and I love the visual changes to the environment when a cadre of enemies are summoned, but it didn’t happen as often as I’d like. One thing that surprised me, however, was the absence of any online components that are frequently a staple in Soulslike games.
In this game, you’ll encounter intricately designed characters, such as masked NPCs and adversaries whose visages eventually become yours. The assortment of masks is impressive, and their elaborate details are visually captivating. Common enemies range from possessed villagers, ferocious dogs, enslaved witches, and many others. There’s a haunting charm to observing masked villagers dance eternally under the curse’s influence. The settings are diverse, detailed, and vibrant. It’s a breath of fresh air to traverse sunlit fields and mystical forests instead of the usual dungeons, making the inevitable dungeon exploration more bearable. The game is aesthetically pleasing, with careful attention given to the smallest details in the environments. As you wander through Quinta, you’ll find detailed sketches of jesters scattered around, along with other hints of the lives led by the people who inhabited here before the curse, which adds a sense of authenticity to the game world.
The music is scarce yet carries a somber and immersive vibe. Most notably, the sound design is often grandiose and ominous. In unfamiliar territories or even after clearing a bustling space, there’s a subtle unease when you hear an enemy’s bell tinkling nearby; or when your footsteps are suddenly interrupted by a blood-curdling scream echoing down the hall. This serves as a gentle reminder that no location can be considered entirely secure.
Enotria’s Italian influences are one of its appealing aspects that initially drew me in, yet it sometimes seems overly reliant on them, similar to the classmate who returned from a summer abroad in Italy and constantly reminded everyone about their experience. At first, the game’s quirky touches like saying “you died” in Italian were endearing, but when I need to use Google Translate for attributes and game terms, it becomes excessive.
There are other slight quibbles: much of the exposition is told through in-game menus, but the user interface and font make it difficult to read. It’s puzzling that so many design foibles seem lifted out of the early iterations of the genre: the game reminds me of Demon’s Souls or Dark Souls more than Elden Ring. If you are going to imitate, why not aim for the brightest and best the genre has to offer? I’d complain about the lack of maps, but the pathways are generally linear enough that getting lost seems like a challenge on its own.
As a dedicated gamer, I’m thrilled about the latest updates the developers have been rolling out. These updates aren’t just about cosmetic tweaks, but also substantial improvements, all part of their plan to enhance the gameplay experience. They’ve even added difficulty settings, which I believe will cater to players like me who’ve been struggling with the parry mechanics. The upcoming story mode seems to offer a more forgiving approach, and it’s exactly what some of us might need. With these anticipated changes, along with the ones that have already been implemented, it’s evident the developers are aiming for something big in the coming months, and I can’t wait to see it unfold!
The Last Song” is a decent addition to the Soulslike genre, appealing to fans with its vibrant visuals and unique narrative. Despite some clumsy combat, I found myself drawn in by the game’s dedication to its concept in the end. It might not always hit the right notes, but “Enotria: The Last Song” deserves recognition for managing to hold a tune.
7
Additionally, “Enotria: The Last Song” can be played on Xbox Series X|S and personal computers as well.
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2024-10-10 10:56