The Last Hero of Nostalgaia Review (PC)

I know the room I am about to enter will feature three enemies, ready to drop from the ceiling when I reach its center. I battled them before and their sudden appearance surprised me. I retreated to a door, slashed all three at the same time once, rolled backward again, and then dealt with them individually. I then expired when I wasted stamina trying to hit a fast-moving enemy and left my stick figure open to its counterattacks. Now that I know exactly when the enemies come in, I wonder. Should I try to simply run past them, see more of the level I am exploring, and maybe spot the next beacon? Or is it a better idea to carefully move forward, kill enemies, and create muscle memory while constantly improving my approach? These are questions that exist in most video games inspired by Dark Souls and reveal much about the nature of The Last Hero of Nostalgaia.

The game is developed by Over the Moon and published by Coatsink. I played on the PC via Steam, and it is also offered on the Xbox Series X and S and the Xbox One. The title offers some pretty standard Dark Souls-inspired mechanics with a distinct world and art style.

The action takes place in the world of the title, built around video games and regressing towards pixels from more modern standards. This means eventual destruction for all inhabitants, with the powers that have protected Nostalgaia so far unable or unwilling to act. Gamers become a hero made up of stick figures, the only one ready to fight for this world.

The game’s narration is very much linked to nostalgia, with moments when the narrator breaks the fourth wall, and plenty of references to other franchises, especially when it comes to weapons and armor. It leads to some funny moments, but the overall tone gets tiring after a while.

In terms of gameplay, The Last Hero of Nostalgaia deviates very little from the Dark Souls formula. Combat is hard, with even the lowliest of enemies capable of stunning and killing the player character. Success in battle is linked to stamina management, with dodging and parrying more important than delivering damage. There are mini-bosses that should be approached stealthily, if possible, to deliver as much damage as possible before they react.

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The game features beacons, which are bonfires by a different name, allowing players to rest, refill their health flash, and level up. Using one repopulates the area with enemies, which means players need to have a clear objective for each run, like reaching a boss or opening a shortcut. On death, the character needs to find his remains to recover XP.

The Last Hero of Nostalgaia also features boss fights, with all the core elements one might expect. They have clear attack patterns to learn, multiple phases, and the ability to deliver a ton of damage very fast. Avoid their strikes, understand how they move, get attacks in when an opening is left open, and move away quickly. Try to always dodge toward the enemy, even if it goes against every video game instinct you have.

The game’s world is linked by plenty of doors and pathways, initially locked. Gamers will need to open them up to avoid moving through the same battle scenarios when they die.

The most interesting new idea is the link between items and locations. Players will want to improve their gear and that involves exploration. An item will hint that it can be awakened at a certain location. Get it there and it will gain improved stats and a special ability. It’s a great way of linking narrative, world design, and mechanics. Restoring equipment also gives players a boost to their own capabilities.

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The system shows how developers can tweak the core of souls-like gameplay to encourage more engagement with the world. But this is the only big innovation in The Last Hero of Nostalgaia and that’s a shame. I never fully clicked with the Dark Souls series, but I admire the way its developers have made difficulty and repetition the core of the experience, something that players are drawn to.

For the group that wants more of that, in a new universe and with a layer of irony, The Last Hero of Nostalgaia is a good fit, even if it is not as polished as other experiences in the same genre.

But I find the frustration level associated with repeated runs through the same areas and boss fights a little much. The game is not welcoming for anyone who has never before played a souls-like. Give players smaller objectives to move towards and clear explanations about the bonfires and how to best use them. A system that drops the difficulty level after a certain number of boss deaths would also do wonders for new converts.

The Last Hero of Nostalgaia is not afraid of playing up nostalgia in its presentation. There’s pixelated art everywhere, complete with plenty of visual gags that link it to other well-known titles. Otherwise, this is a solid souls-like series of spaces, with plenty of room for combat maneuvers and decent boss arenas. The sound design is less successful, mainly because of the narrator, who is interesting for about half an hour before his interventions become annoying (which serves the game well in one area). There’s no soundtrack to speak of, while combat sounds decent.

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The Good

The Bad

Conclusion