Entoria: The Last Song is a soulslike RPG made by Jyamma Games. In the second quarter of 2024, its Steam demo was released with more than 8 hours’ worth of content to play through. A few days ago (it’s June 2 right now), I got to try it out on stream and got about an hour’s worth of gameplay in. Story-wise, I probably didn’t get far but I thought I’d still share my thoughts on it. Just a heads up, there are a lot of negatives in my experience but I hope it does not discourage anyone who want to try it (or the developers if they somehow manage to read this).
My Enotria: The Last Song First Impressions (Enotria: The Last Song Review)
I was able to boot up the game and get to the main menu screen after installing Enotria: The Last Song from Steam. Immediately, I thought I’d fiddle around with the settings as I knew there would be optimization problems with the graphics as per usual with early access versions, demos, and in general new games. Everything was set in Ultra, so I wanted to lower them to a mix of Low and Medium at least so the game could perform better.
Afterward, I tried starting the game and nothing showed up. The loading screen was mostly black, with the loading icon on the lower right not moving or changing. I waited a few minutes until I just gave up and closed it.
I reopened the game again and the same thing happened, and closed it a second time. Opened it a third time until it finally played the introduction cutscene, albeit with a buggy audio.
However, the game still did not start even though the introduction cutscene finished, the ambient sounds of the open world played, the loading screen finished, and the HUD finally showed up. I was still stuck in a black screen, and I had to close it a third time.
I tried it once more and clicked on Continue, and the same thing happened. The fifth time seemed to be the sweet spot and I reopened it, and chose “New Game” instead and not “Continue.” Finally, I am now in the actual game and can move my character.
This whole ordeal took more than ten minutes, and it was honestly so frustrating. Still, let’s move forward with the gameplay.
Enotria: The Last Song Gameplay
Entoria: The Last Song’s gameplay is pretty much what you would expect from a soulslike. It features a health bar, mana bar, and stamina bar which you will have to manage when engaging in combat. Your stamina is consumed by doing attacks, dodges, jumps, or using skills.
Enotria: The Last Song Combat
Enotria: The Last Song lets you use combat skills called Mask Lines. You will receive different Mask Lines depending on which Mask you equip. What is this Mask you equip?
Masks are not items that you equip similar to a helmet or regular armor. Instead, Masks are “preset” character archetypes that provide different Mask Lines and stat bonuses.
If you have played Mortal Shell, you would find this mechanic familiar as you would constantly change Husks to suit your playstyle. Similarly, Enotria: The Last Song lets you do the same thing.
Aside from skills, Enotria: The Last Song also features parrying, backstabbing, and its own form of poise. You can time your block to instead parry an enemy attack. Doing this will not consume stamina and reduce the enemy’s “poise.” This process is called Unraveling, and once you have reduced the enemy’s poise to 0, they will be vulnerable to a Backstab. Doing so will deal extra damage, and most likely kill them if they are a normal enemy mob.
Overall, the only standout feature in Enotria: The Last Song’s combat is its Mask Lines and Masks.
Enotria: The Last Song Skill and Stat Progression
To further improve your character, you will need to be active and interact with the game’s bonfire called “Corda Risonante.” You interact with these gold glowing lights and sit by them. Here, you can rest which brings you to a menu showing Loadouts, Path of Innovators, Level Up, and Fast Travel.
Loadouts let you adjust your equipment and Masks in rotation while Fast Travel lets you travel to other Corda Risonantes you have interacted with. Level Up is for increasing your stats, done through allocating points to certain characteristics called Virtues.There are five Virtues: Fortitude, Cunning, Attunement, Alacrity, and Erudition. Each of these affects a couple of stats such as Health, Stamina, Attack Power, Ardent Power, and more. This is an interesting way of making a system for your stats and skills.
However, at this point there is so much in-game terminology that the game has thrown out at you (at least on my opinion) that you might forget some of them. Overall, the Skill and Stat Progression doesn’t seem too unique.
Enotria: The Last Song Optimization
The meat of my criticism against Enotria: The Last Song would be its optimization. While I understand that the game is still in development and my experience came from the demo, I am alarmed by how unplayable it can be and the bugs it possess even on the most basic gameplay elements such as equipment, combat, and jumping.
September of 2024 is the target release date of Jyamma Games and I hope that they polish the game by then. I can see their vision and find that there is great potential in the game. However, its horrendous optimization is something left to be completed. My hopes for the demo was that I at least get to play part of it smoothly enough for me to judge the actual gameplay. Instead, I have to give some leeway to see the good in it.
All in all, Enotria: The Last Song doesn’t seem to offer anything special that Mortal Shell or any other soulslikes has already delivered. There is great potential and it looks pretty, but it is among the many that aspire to be the next Dark Souls.
Enotria: The Last Song FAQs
What platforms is Enotria: The Last Song on?
Enotria: The Last Song will be on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Find more here.
What is the release date of Enotria: The Last Song?
Jyamma Games aims to release Enotria: The Last Song on September 19th, 2024, but an early access deluxe version will be available on September 16, 2024.
Is Enotria: The Last Song co-op?
No, Enotria: The Last Song is a single-player game.
Is Enotria: The Last Song in a Souls game?
It is not part of Miyazaki’s Souls series nor is it made by From Software. It is a soulslike game.
Related Questions: Is Enotria: The Last Song co-op?, What platforms is Enotria: The Last Song on?, What is the Entoria last song?Will Enotria be on Xbox?
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