The Last Spell is a new pixel-style game released on Steam. It combines Roguelike with elements of wargames, and introduces tower defense elements that allow players to build bases, develop heroes, and repel large groups of zombies that surround the city. The game is now in early access, but it already has fairly detailed content and is a new game worth trying.
When magic is abused and about to devour the entire world, the remaining mages try to chant the "last spell" to completely erase the magic from the world. What players need to do is to lead the heroes who stand up to defend them. Spells take twelve days, and each day of day, players need to build a city on the ruins to equip and supply the heroes, while dealing with the zombie hordes approaching the city at night.
This is when we come to the wargame part of the game. At the beginning of each turn, a large number of zombies will be refreshed in the purple mist at the edge of the field, and gradually approach the magic circle in the center. Initially, the zombies will only attack from one direction, but after a few days, they will become a two-piece sandwich and eventually form a four-sided encirclement. When it's their turn, players can dispatch heroes as they please, smash all the zombies they want, and let time return to daylight again.
These heroes are proficient in eighteen martial arts, and as long as they change the weapons in their hands, they can have different skill groups. In this game, there are many kinds of weapons, in addition to the classification of melee, ranged, and magic, there are also different positioning such as single body, group, control, and armor breaking, making each weapon look very unique. Heroes can choose to become experts in a certain field, or they can "double repair", with a heavy axe in their right hand to chop melons and vegetables, and the right hand to hold a magic ball lightning and thunder, while the player can also configure two sets of weapons and switch freely, making the hero an all-rounder with up to four functions.
However, at the beginning of the game, heroes only have few weapons to choose from, and can only unlock the Roguelike content of the game after killing zombies, obtaining and investing a certain amount of "Filth Essence", or achieving certain achievements. Even if the player's base is destroyed, the unlocked buildings and equipment types will be inherited into the subsequent weeks. With the increase in unlocked content, facilities such as ballistas, trebuchets, and traps will also be put into use, which will share the pressure of the heroes and also allow the game to have more tower defense elements.
This "farming and fighting zombies" game sounds very relaxed and comfortable, but my actual feeling of playing is not so.
One of the reasons is that this game has a lot of difficulty. There are hundreds of incoming zombies every day, and even if the heroes are skilled, they are powerless in front of such a large number. Not to mention that once these high-blooded heroes are surrounded, they are likely to be killed by a turn. Due to the lack of recovery means, the hero's health and blue amount will often be tight, resulting in the inability to exert full strength in front of the corpse tide.
The amount of potion recovered was insignificant in the face of the corpse tide
Moreover, compared to other Roguelike games on the market, the impact of the player's individual ability in this game is also very limited. Unlocks can give heroes several times the strength boost, and in a wargame game, the player's strategy can hardly bridge such a huge intensity gap. In the face of the zombies of the "strongest form" of the target heroes, a player with insufficient play time, no matter how carefully planned the action, it is difficult to survive in the bag in multiple directions. In the process of clearing the level, I have never had the illusion of "I am getting stronger", but only the relief of "unlocking so many things and finally winning the BOSS".
Another reason is that the process of this work is too protracted and long. In the operation mode of wargames, the use of narrow strike range and limited attack power to destroy hundreds of zombies has made the pace of battle slow, and the high difficulty, strategy, and the process of laying out defense facilities in advance have extended its process, so that I feel tired of playing. At the same time, although the character growth system of this game is very rich and free, for a roguelike game that needs to repeat many weeks, it always makes me feel that it seems a little too complicated to slow down the progress of the game.
Like the production team's previous work, The Dead Vinland, The Last Spell incorporates many classic elements and brings players a whole new wargame experience. Enriching the rich unlocks and a certain depth of strategy allows it to attract players to invest dozens of hours and enjoy it. However, it is more difficult, the rhythm is slightly delayed, and the process of too long is easy to make people feel tired.