Summary
Jyamma Games’Enotria: The Last Songis yet another Soulslike to grace the stage in an attempt to evolve the formula that FromSoftware created and has established over the last 15 years. There is a burning question some fans may want to see answered, and that is whetherEnotria: The Last Songaccomplishes that goal of innovation. This often happens with new Soulslike games, and it’s become a sort of rite of passage.
WhileEnotria: The Last Songstrives to be uniquein a variety of ways, it doesn’t necessarily reinvent the wheel. Its creative systems and distinctive artistic expression all make up its most defining characteristics, but it might still mostly be just another Soulslike.
Enotria: The Last Song Is Mostly Just Another Soulslike
Enotria: The Last Song’s Uniqueness Largely Fails to Stand Out
It could be thatEnotria: The Last Songjust dropped at the wrong time, shortly afterElden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLCand, although technically not a Soulslike,Black Myth: Wukong, and that’s why it’s difficult to look beyond its generic formula and see its uniqueness. Regardless, however, much ofEnotriajust feels like everything that has already been done before. What ultimately does setEnotria: The Last Songapart from other Soulslikes is its atmosphere, as most games in the genre are known for being dark and foreboding, whileEnotriais very bright and exaggerated the majority of the time.
Apart fromEnotria’s atmosphere, the game does boast some creative systems unlike those found in other Soulslike games.Enotria’s elemental system, for instance, is a concept that games like it rarely take advantage of, intending to encourage players to approach each fight strategically as opposed to sticking with one build. This idea also factors intoEnotria’s loadout system, which allows players to create and customize three unique loadouts that they can swap to at any time.
Unfortunately, these systems don’t always seem to function as intended, allowing players to approachEnotriajust as they would any other Soulslike game.
For example,Enotria’s Malanno elementhas all but taken over the game, as it has a natural advantage overEnotria’s other elements and is therefore a top pick among players looking for the best build in the game. Furthermore, Colossal Greatswords are widely considered one ofEnotria’s best weapons, if not the very best weapon type in the game. As such, many players have been able to power through the entire game using a Colossal Greatsword and the Malanno element, thereby removing the need forEnotria’s elemental and loadout systems. Inadvertently, this makesEnotriajust another Soulslike game, as this is all the same pattern that has repeated itself throughout the genre’s history.
Enotria: The Last Song Doesn’t Stray Too Far From Dark Souls
While some might not consider it a shortcoming,Enotria: The Last Songdoesn’t stray too far from the originalDark Souls. Progressing through each region, it’s easy to seeDark Souls' influence onEnotriain everything from the movement and animations of the Maskless One to the level design. Unlike more recent Soulslikes likeElden Ring,Enotria’s level design relies heavily on verticality and dense environments. There is also not a map screen inEnotria, much like the originalDark Souls. As far as movement goes,Enotriais janky to its core, conjuring memories of the firstDark Soulsgame that could be considered far too dated to return to.
Enotria’s tendency to play it safe and go back to basics with its formula might be embraced by fans of the firstDark Soulswho say it is still thegreatest Soulslike game ever made, but that also simultaneously datesEnotriaand works against it. In light of that,Enotriais one of those games that can be truly appreciated by those who prefer its classic design choices and held in contempt by those who have since moved on.
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.
