The Last Spell review: turn-based roguelike meets zombie survival

After hours of intense gameplay, finally done — I’m cured last spellThe first town of purple smog to rejuvenate the remnants of civilization like hope.

In developer Ishtar Games’ cursed fantasy world, the Archmage decided they were fed up with constant warfare, so they developed a ritual of mass destruction to finally end it all.Oppenheimer’s bogus spell has blanketed the skies in a toxic fog and spawned a murderous horde of mutants, so as Commander you are about to banish magic. many Brave heroes die for giving seemingly OK mages enough time to banish the magical seals that plague the world.

last spell It takes the squad-centric gameplay of turn-based strategy games like Fire Emblem and XCOM and increases it up to 10 by combining it with massive hordes. they are billionsRather than face off against an army of equal size, your hapless heroes will clash with an onslaught of bloodthirsty enemies, sometimes numbering in the hundreds. For the first few nights, my heroes were frail and skinny, but as the days went by, they turned into zombie-killing machines, leaving a trail of carnage. You can upgrade attributes such as damage and grant hero perks that change your play style.

Surviving against so many enemies requires units and heroes that can control the masses.I did some runs last spell It didn’t have a distinctly bulky body to counter ongoing attacks, or crowd control specialists who could chip away at the health of a cluster en masse. By upgrading his and block skills, he was able to turn one mage into a tank. We could also swap out one damage-oriented piece of equipment for another one for survivability.

Structurally, last spell It is divided into two phases, day and night. In the former, you’ll use resources to build buildings, strengthen your defenses, and upgrade your hero’s gear to prepare for the undead army that follows. Your nightly goal is to defeat all the giant crawlers, survive until morning, and repeat the cycle over and over to protect the mages in the center of town. Once all the demons have been eliminated and night is dawn, a roguelite progression system is introduced. This system lets you unlock passive abilities, stronger weapons, greater defenses, and new omens (buffs you can set before you run). Increase the strength of your hero and your Haven).

Image: Ishtar Games/The Arcade Crew via Polygon

Each night, legions of zombies invade the town in waves from pre-warned directions, giving you time to build defenses and position your heroes on the right side of town. You have a certain amount of Action Points that you must use to reduce it to a reasonable level. Spend some points to drop meteors into hostile clusters or cut and dash through enemy lines. I used every possible means to drive the plague out of this town, but I made the foolish mistake of believing that the mana would be restored when the sun rose. The next night I was caught with her pants down. In a game where enemy forces are suffocating and overwhelming, tanks are essential for controlling crowds while mages deal damage to monsters, but without mana, angry mobs face little to no resistance. walked around me.

You have the usual resources: gold, materials, and workers, but you also have a fourth resource, which is your most precious resource: time. When a beacon of light breaks through the purple haze that surrounds the world, a wave of relief comes one step closer to warding off calamity. 5 hours terminate its execution. last spell Requires a longer, dedicated play session than a regular roguelite.That’s not inherently bad — if you’ve been good for 5 hours, you’ve been well for 5 — but pacing is internal We had quite a few problems in those 5 hours.

Essentially, you’re forced to eradicate the first few feeding waves, only to meet the true champion of the undead army on subsequent nights. Just meet queens, rooks, knights, bishops and even pawns. Each repeated run requires you to spend hours picking your way from early in the morning hoping that you can finally defeat the boss and advance to the next town. It was a blur of medieval metal music and meticulous planning. Despite unlocking and progressing upgrades in roguelikes), the prospect of taking such a long journey without moving to the next haven can put off less enthusiastic players.

Image: Ishtar Games/The Arcade Crew via Polygon

I appreciate Ishtar Games for providing so many options. last spell More familiar in certain runs.Before you reboot, you can set up Omen to power up your heroes and shelters, but you can also make the game easier by reducing enemy numbers and reducing item and defense costs. add an omen of last spell It’s less stressful and less time consuming, but just as much fun.

Even though I spent 1/15th of my day running, I was consistently drawn to the head-shattering music and drawn into the tactical decision-making process. Ishtar Games clearly know how to induce a flow state, warp time, and balance challenge and familiarity.playing last spell Means calming down in the long run. But when long distance is this thrilling, I keep coming back.

last spell Released March 9 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows PC. This game was reviewed on PC using a pre-release download code provided by The Arcade Crew. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not affect editorial content, but Vox Media may earn commissions on products purchased via affiliate links.discoverable Additional information on Polygon’s Ethics Policy can be found here.