Summary
While many games have been released recently claiming to be Soulslike games,Enotria: The Last Songtruly is a Soulslike, to the point that it imitates the originalDark Soulsgame in a lot of ways. However,Enotria: The Last Songsets itself apartin one major area that traditional Soulslikes aren’t known to do.
There is a certain expectation that comes with Soulslike games in the way they look and feel. WhileEnotria: The Last Songmay feel like a Soulslike in many ways, it goes out of its way to look like anything but a Soulslike.
Enotria: The Last Song Brightens Up the Soulslike Formula
Soulslikes Are Known for Being Dark, Tense, and Foreboding
Astaple of the Soulslike genreis its dark, foreboding atmosphere, as it goes hand-in-hand with the intense challenge each game offers its players. Unlike most games that feature a heroic protagonist capable of defeating the most arduous foes, Soulslike games are meant to make players feel insignificant and small, as though they are somewhere they don’t belong and are simply trying to find a way out. Using dark, desaturated colors, dimly lit pathways, and tight, mysterious corners, the Soulslike genre does everything in its power to shrink the player down to a size not immediately perceived as heroic, knowledgeable, or strong.
Despite being the developer who created the action RPG Soulslike subgenre, FromSoftware’sElden Ringdid brighten things up a bit in some ways, simply due to its open world being much larger than anything the developer had ever done before. However, this was also reflective ofElden Ring’s increased accessibilityover other FromSoftware titles, as brighter atmospheres and broader environments help ease the stress that earlierDark Soulsgames were always known to inspire.
All of that being said,Elden Ringstill has plenty of dark moments, and it is filled with countless fatal surprises hidden around every corner, keeping even the most experienced players on their toes.
Enotria: The Last Song Is a Sunny, Saturated Soulslike That’s in a Much Better Mood
Unlike the majority of Soulslike games out there,Enotria: The Last Songis deeply saturated in color and various shades of light, to the point that many have referred to it as a “sunny Souslike.” While attempts are made to be unique with creative mechanics likeEnotria’s elemental systemor its loadouts, those systems are hardly necessary in the long run, with many players confirming they have been able to make it through the game with one build, never concerning themselves withEnotria’s most defining mechanics. WhereEnotriadoes differ, however, is in its bright, colorful, and sometimes humorous presentation.
These characteristics makeEnotriaa far cry from traditional Soulslikes, although its Maskless One protagonist does still feel rather insignificant in its world. Stepping out into the open ofEnotria’s first region involves walking into the middle of a field of sunflowers, the sun itself shining down on each flower’s petals to emphasize bright hues of yellow and orange. Things do darken up a bit inEnotria’s second region, but the deep colors in the environment still liven things up more than what is seen in most Soulslikes. It isEnotria’s standout characteristic, which makes the shortcomings of its more intentional creative mechanics all the more noticeable.
Enotria: The Last Songproves itself to be an experience with a few flaws, but it does have its visuals going for it. The graphics may not be the best in the Soulslike landscape, but the colors and tones themselves are what help makeEnotriathe unique experience it istrying to be. Any future updates made to the game should lean into this priceless characteristic ofEnotria, as well as any games that may come after it.
Enotria: The Last Song
WHERE TO PLAY
Enotria: The Last Song is an Action RPG SoulsLike set in a fantasy world based off Italian folklore and culture.It aims to take the genre in a new direction, with a vibrant and sun-lit world based off Italian summer where the gameplay allows you to alter the world & enemies in systemic ways.It is defined as a Souls-Like but unlike other souls-likes we are depicting a world based on Italian summer colours, as we call it, ‘‘Summer-Soul’'.The objective is to bring Italian rich past and culture to the fore in a new way that is appealing to the broader public.What we need to convey from the art direction is the colours, vibrancy and general feeling of visiting Italy.Enotria: The Last Song wants to capture the heart & soul of souls-likes fanbase, with rewarding exploration, diverse player builds, varied enemy designs while giving a unique twist.With Ardore, the player always has access to different strategies, allowing them to influence enemies behaviors, dynamically alter the world around them, solve puzzles & harness the very elements of Enotria.
