The world of video games is going through a strange regressive evil. Polygons are slowly being replaced by pixels and 4K is slowly becoming an old memory.
O Game Review The Last Hero of Nostalgaia reveals an action-adventure game that satirically follows in the footsteps of Souls-like. We travel through Nostalgia, the world of video games, collapsing into a strange pixelation.
As the frame rate drops, a particularly hideous pixelated hero will rise up to fight an army that even the narrator despises. You'll find the combat system of the genre, a variety of equipment, narrative mechanisms and a story as twisted as it is complex. The game also features a cooperative online duo mode.
Game Review The Last Hero of Nostalgaia
Trying to break into the Soulsborne genre is daunting. With titans like Elden Ring, Bloodborne and Dark Souls loved by many, known for their difficulty and steeped in a whole tome of knowledge, knowing how and where to start isn't easy. I should know, I tried them all and never managed to complete Sekiro.
This is the ultimate nostalgia hero showing off his Keyblade-inspired weapon and imposing Master Chief armor with a big welcoming smile on his face. As someone with something of a reputation as an IP lover, I couldn't help but feel that Nostalgaia was the new introduction to the genre that I was asking for.
Last Hero of Nostalgaia plays like a slightly simpler Dark Souls, but it also takes place in a much more interesting and lighter world with tons of references and respect for the game world. It stumbles in some areas and brings up some of the genre's issues, but it manages to be something that both newcomers and die-hards will love.
The Last Hero of Nostalgaia sees you playing as a stickman sent to the corrupt land of Nostalgaia, described as the "world of video games", which essentially resembles Wreck-It Ralph's Game Central Station, but if everything inside was a bootleg. Instead of the Dagger of Time from Prince of Persia, you'll find the Dagger of Cycles, and instead of Isaac Clarke's armor from Dead Space, there's the Forgottenspace set.
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The pirate vibe combined with the low-poly visuals creates an extremely charming experience, where nods and winks go a long way. Of course there are references to Resident Evil and Final Fantasy, but there are also more surprising ones like Ducktales and Golden Axe. Running around like the chicken from Hotline Miami wielding Sephiroth's sword makes the game quite challenging, a little funnier and more ironic, and finding all the Easter Eggs is a great incentive to explore.
At first, it may seem that these references are only superficial, but they actually serve a deeper purpose, since most weapons are not at full strength when you find them and need to be restored by reading the knowledge and then finding a specific location in the game. At a certain point, you can even completely remove the memories to make the weapon instantly more powerful, but remove its knowledge and special abilities from the world forever.
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It's a unique mechanic that sets Nostalgaia apart from other Soulsborn and cleverly turns those easter eggs and nods into something more substantial. The choice to put in the effort and remember a weapon, rather than just quickly switching it on and removing what makes it special, is also linked to tradition and the main theme of the difference between remembering something with love and obsession.
Nostalgaia is fairly light on story in general, but this theme pops up all over the world and meets characters, and it's an interesting mirror for the player, especially as he's happily walking around with a bunch of gaming-inspired tattoos.
What doesn't differentiate Nostalgaia is the way it plays, and that's not really a bad thing. When I say that Nostalgaia is Souls-like, it could well be a side project of FromSoft itself.
In addition to memorizing weapons, Nostalgaia plays like the first Dark Souls games, where the world was smaller and interconnected. There was no dedicated jump button and parrying was the key. It's not quite on the same level thanks to less polish and less forceful attacks across the board, but it's a Souls game through and through.
Graduated in Languages - Portuguese/English, creator of Escritora de Sucesso, she also writes for Great App, expanding the knowledge of all technology lovers, through movie and series reviews, game reviews and the main news of the moment.