War is never good, not even in a beautiful fantasy world. A world that has already been devastated by humanity’s insatiable need for destruction is the setting for the roguelike The Last Spell, which combines tactical RPG and tower defense features.
The game delivers some enjoyable and compelling gameplay mechanics thanks to this unusual genre mash-up. Still, despite its pixel art aesthetic, the Switch adaptation is undoubtedly not without its problems.
In The Last Spell, the action opens after a strong gang of magicians has unleashed absolute catastrophe onto the planet, releasing swarms of demons that have reduced humanity to a handful of small havens.
The remaining mages try to undo the damage they have caused by eradicating magic from the globe every night while a few heroes guard these cities. The setting isn’t complicated, and the gameplay itself doesn’t feel as sinister as the opening cutscene portrays it, but the basic idea is good.
There are two principal phases to the gameplay. You manage the Production Phase during the day. Here, you can spend gold and resources to create structures, heal your heroes, and fortify the town’s defenses.
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You can only use a few simple buildings during your first few runs, but as you advance, more alternatives for self-defense become available. The rate of advancement is well distributed, and for most of our playthroughs, we had at least one or two new toys to use, which prevented The Last Spell from feeling like a slog.
As one might anticipate, evil is most active at night. Many animals are hiding in the mists surrounding your hideaway and are competing for your magic circle. Wave after wave of creatures will approach your city throughout each combat phase, divided into multiple turns.
On a grid-like map, your heroes use their special powers to damage or strengthen their teammates. The battle isn’t over until all of the monsters have been defeated, all of your heroes have perished, or the monsters have managed to shatter your magic circle and stop your mages from saving humanity.
Although the concept is easy to understand, there are many customization options, and survival depends on assembling a balanced party of heroes. Fortunately, you can transform each hero into nearly anything based on the weapons and spells you acquire.
You’ll need to modify your construction approach because everything in the game is random, including the stuff in the stores and the attributes that heroes get as they level up. Fortunately, most of your choices will be respectable enough for you not to feel deceived by the RNG gods if you receive a few unfavorable rolls.
The Last Spell is a rogue-lite and isn’t afraid to be complicated. Most of your runs will fail, forcing you to return to the beginning of your current city. Your resources and equipment will be lost, and you’ll receive a random selection of new heroes; however, everything you’ve unlocked will be back in stock and can be repurchased.
The game’s balance makes it unlikely to perform worse than a prior rua lasts if you commit some egregious errors or encounter the most unfavorable luck. In general, you’ll be able to keep moving steadily toward success.
You’ll need several hours to finish the campaign, but you can cut that time in half by switching to Boundless Mode, which lets you adjust the difficulty by adjusting the number of creatures and their health.
We strongly advise using it during your initial runs as you acclimate to the game and only increase the level once you feel comfortable. As the game is so challenging, we predict that, unless players need a long grind, they will play The Last Spell only on Boundless Mode.
The only issue with The Last Spell is that it takes too long for each run to finish. This is accentuated by the controls on Switch, which feel a bit awkward in their implementation. It would be best to repeatedly press the ‘-‘ button to reach different screen portions, especially during Production Phases.
An annoying mechanic is that you’ll frequently go back through the menu or repeat the same menu, turn after turn. Combat has fewer instances of the problem, but we constantly felt like we were battling the controls just as much as the hordes of monsters.
Ten hours later, we were still making the same errors we did during the tutorial run since the controls didn’t feel natural. It gives The Last Spell the impression that it is a PC game hastily transferred to the Switch at the last minute.
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The pixel art in this game shines in docked mode, which is quite advantageous. Although it looks fine in handheld mode, the writing appears slightly too small, especially when attempting to understand a new character’s powers.
Although it doesn’t make the game impossible to play, this takes away from its advantages. The graphics are simple but effective, and the soundtrack is excellent for this game. The fact that it reminds us of the Crypt of the NecroDancer is a significant bonus in our book.
The humor in the text helps to relieve some of the stress of seeing your town invaded for the fourth time. The game would have been much more enjoyable had the controls been refined for a few more months (creator Ishtar Games is now working on a patch to add d-pad navigation in menus).
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the cities in The Last Spell?
Every map has a city with a magical circle in the middle. Otherwise, the game is lost. Thus the player must defend the magic ring from the monsters. The Last Spell has 4 maps: Lakeburg, Glenwald, Gildenberg, and Elderlicht.
What is The Last Spell instant gaming?
In the tactical role-playing game The Last Spell, you must defend a city against legions of terrible enemies. Prepare your Heroes during the daytime, carefully plan how to repair your Haven, and set up your defenses.
What are monsters in The Last Spell?
In The Last Spell, the protagonists have to defend themselves against monsters. They are thought to have once been humans who were warped and altered by the mist that covered the planet after The Cataclysm.