Enotria: The Last Song Review

Veni, Vidi, Vici

When I reviewed last year’s challenging yet rewarding Lies of P, I would have never imagined that just a year later I’d encounter another game that, at least on paper, sounds like a similar take on the Soulslike action RPG genre. However, Jyamma Games’s adrenaline-fueled tour of Italy is far from an imitation, sharing some similarities but carving out a unique identity. Enotria: The Last Song is an engrossing, hard-as-nails, and incredibly gorgeous romp through an enchanting land smiled upon by the gods themselves — even if those gods currently seem more interested in making life a living hell for the poor souls who inhabit it.

In the fantasy land of Enotria, the arts reign supreme. Creative expression of all types is akin to godliness, and those with unparalleled ability in the humanities enjoy near-godlike status. At some point, a group of brilliant artistic minds, known as the Authors, created the Canovaccio, an all-powerful play that essentially consumed the world, transforming it into a facsimile of its former self where humans are cast as mindless puppets doomed to act out an eternal script. Enter the Maskless One, a puppet born of the Tree of Change, free of the Canovaccio’s influence and able to act with autonomy to pursue the Authors and put an end to their devious reign.

You’re the Maskless One, last hope of doomed Enotria.

As the Maskless One, players are set on their path by Pulcinella, one of the Authors who has seen how corrupted his one-time partners have become and wants to put an end to their machinations. The game follows the Maskless One across three distinct areas, mirroring a play’s three-act structure, as they explore intricate environments, battle Enotria’s denizens, and hunt down the ruling Authors. While on the surface the game takes many cues from the genre’s established formula, Enotria cannot be said to be a mere clone, as its design is so polished that it easily stands apart from the pack, while a few key deviations help to give it its own flavor.

The game’s standout feature, which will keep players returning throughout its 20-to-30-hour runtime, is the joy of exploring Enotria‘s beautiful environments. Enotria does so much with its well-realized setting that it absolutely nails this aspect. It’s one thing to say the setting is inspired by Italy, but quite another to capture the nation’s beauty and spirit in a digital facsimile so successfully. From cliffside fishing hamlets with stunning Mediterranean views to sprawling twilight-lit cities crisscrossed by canals, open-air coliseums hosting brutal battles, and fields of towering sunflowers, the game immerses players in breathtaking Italian-inspired scenery.

The game is a sizzle reel of one gorgeous sight after the next.

The amount of fun derived from poking into every corner of the game’s world, enjoying the sights and drinking in the visual storytelling, helps make the overall experience. Careful exploration also reveals a wealth of satisfying shortcuts seeded throughout each area, doorways that double back to previously explored sections, elevators and ladders that create new pathways through areas that may not even have been hinted at before. Even in the more linear areas, players can expect surprising discoveries around every proverbial corner. The path is rarely, if ever, straightforward, but shot through by twisted passages and labyrinthine alleyways. There’s never a moment when exploring isn’t fun, no area that isn’t a joy to poke around in for hours on end.

It doesn’t hurt that the game looks absolutely gorgeous and features an incredibly high level of detail in its visual design. From sandy beaches and crystal oceans under cerulean skies to cities bathed in warm hues of an afternoon sunset, stunning vistas are a matter of when, not if. Environments feel hand-crafted and lived in, with lots of unique personal touches and interesting details aplenty. Other locations offer interesting set pieces to explore, like a large cave housing crumbling temple ruins and a gigantic statue of a deity as its centerpiece, not only overseeing the space but providing access to its various levels. The game’s entire second act takes place during a naval invasion of Enotria’s shoreline, amid the wooden stockades and military camps set up by the two warring factions, forcing the Maskless One to engage foes while dodging canon fire raining down onto the battlefield. There are even some cosmic horror overtures in later areas, with Lovecraftian themes first hinted at via the game’s narrative delivery structure and later manifesting on-screen for players willing to dig deep enough to uncover them.

The game’s lore is primarily delivered through codex entries found in letters, notes, and exploration milestones. This makes them optional to engage with, unobtrusive yet less cryptic than in other games. While not necessarily critical to the game’s central narrative, they do a good job of enriching the overall experience, lending far more background and character to the different locations players will spend their time in. The same is true for enemies, who are fleshed out in the same way. In this manner, even rote combat pays off, as there are multiple tiers of lore unlocked for defeating increasing numbers of each enemy type. Little by little, these bits and bobs of world-building coalesce into something grander, giving the setting a greater presence. In the end, however, all the graphical flourishes and flavorful lore only serve as a backdrop for the game’s intense action.

Prepare for a challenge. Bosses will not take it easy on the Maskless One.

At the heart of Enotria: The Last Song lies, without a doubt, its challenging but satisfying combat. Similar to FromSoftware’s SekiroEnotria‘s battle mechanics revolve around parrying enemy attacks to stagger them, opening windows of opportunity to dish out major damage in return. Standard enemies can often be dispatched quickly through parrying, with unlockable perks even offering instant kills against staggered foes. The timing window is forgiving enough to master with just a little bit of practice. Even without this, run-of-the-mill enemies are more than manageable simply using the game’s standard melee attacks. However, bosses are a different story, demanding near-perfect precision to slowly build up a stagger meter that is often the only path to doing enough damage to mention, with most of them being quite spongy and hitting like trucks in retaliation. While these fights rightfully act as skill checks and are greatly satisfying when bested, they can easily halt progress and be the source of frustration for some. To address this, the developers implemented a post-launch story mode that substantially tones down the difficulty. While this makes the game more accessible to those focused on exploration and atmosphere, it also trivializes boss battles, so seasoned players will likely want to avoid it.

The second element that becomes helpful in many boss battles is Enotria‘s four-pronged element wheel. The elements in question here are Vis, which decreases defense but jacks up damage and stamina regeneration; Gratia, which heals over time but can harm if taking other damage; Malanno, which poisons the carrier and saps their HP; and Fatuo, which ups elemental damage but causes incoming damage to heal the enemies that inflict it. Each element is weak to one of the others, and bosses are typically susceptible to one of them, making attacking them with a weapon imbued with it helpful. However, the drawback to this system is that it is a lot to keep up with, and though there’s a helpful color-coded wheel depicting the hierarchy always visible on-screen, tool tips and weapon descriptions feature no such color coding, making it less of a hassle to simply bring a preferred powered-up weapon into a boss encounter, regardless of their elemental affinity.

There is plenty of lore and worldbuilding to steep yourself in if you so choose.

The affinity wheel is just one of numerous combat mechanics. The Maskless One is also able to bring three distinct equipment loadouts into combat, which can be switched between with the press of a button. These loadouts include not only the equipped weapon, but also four special abilities, called Lines, selected from an always-growing pool of abilities that expands throughout a playthrough, many of which also tie into the affinity wheel. Defeating bosses and specific numbers of standard enemies gives the Maskless One access to their masks and aspects, which can be separately equipped to any loadout and provide cosmetic flair as well as further bonuses for a variety of situations. Those who love indefinitely tinkering with their character builds should absolutely love the level of customization offered here, but given players have access to three of these loadouts, there are simply way too many variables to memorize and constantly fidget with for everybody else, leading the rest of players to create a favorite early-game loadout or two that provide plenty of bonuses and familiarity and simply stick with them.

Once the combat system’s learning curve is conquered, it becomes immensely satisfying. Being a melee-focused game, combat is at all times suffused by the swishing and singing of steel blades cutting through the air, biting into flesh, or bouncing off of armor. Perfectly timed blocks, necessary in order to stagger enemies, produce great aural feedback with loud, meaty clangs. A wealth of attainable weapons spell out plenty of offensive options, ranging from two-handed greatswords to cruel polearms or lighter, faster one-handed blades. Apart from pure powerhouse physical classes, other stats lend themselves to building more nimble fighters or those who place more stock into the game’s elemental damage system.

Arlecchino and the other Authors await.

The environment itself is often skillfully reflected in the game’s sound design. As players traverse Quinta, a city of actors in the throes of celebration, sounds of music and merriment can be heard carried on the air from afar, while climbing wooden structures or treading the boards in the actor’s academy produces rich, woody creaks and groans with every step. Music is typically absent during exploration, but bosses are often accompanied by musical highlights, like a mad, frantic jig while facing off against Curtis, the Prince of Laughter, one of the game’s first true skill checks. Larger bosses like this have also received authentic accented voiceovers, though this isn’t the case for every single NPC players will cross paths with. Over the course of the review playthrough, a handful of other technical hiccups reared their ugly heads, like a side boss that was defeated but didn’t register as such, or some sidequests finished during the post-game not registering as completed. Overall, however, the game ran smoothly and with few issues.

Enotria: The Last Song is a very promising debut from a new development studio, and an impressive benchmark to compare future releases to. In a crowded Soulslike market, Enotria distinguishes itself with its unique setting and impressive production values. Combat is satisfying, despite carrying the baggage of a few too many systems with it, most of which can however be safely placed on the backburner. The real star of the show, however, is the level design, which creates a series of showstopper moments that permeate the game’s full runtime and never let a dull moment arise. With its optional story mode, the game offers something for every type of skill level, becoming an easy recommendation for players of all types looking to get into the genre.

 

Disclosure: This review is based on a free copy of the game provided by the publisher.

Scores
BATTLE SYSTEM
    
INTERACTION
    
ORIGINALITY
    
STORY
    
MUSIC & SOUND
    
VISUALS
    
'Great' -- 4.0/5
ps5
20-40 HOURS
HARD

A gorgeous mythical Italy to explore

Combat is satisfying and responsive

Interesting, varied level design filled with arresting showstoppers

High production values ensure a treat for the eyes and ears alike

A wealth of loadout options lead to awkward memorization issues before finally being abandoned wholesale

Elemental affinity system is a neat idea but lacks smooth implementation

squiggyleo

Pascal Tekaia

Pascal joined up with RPGamer in 2015 as a reviewer and news reporter. He's one of THOSE who appreciate a good turn-based JRPG grind almost as much as an amazing story.

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