Enotria: The Last Song
Last updated: 2025-04-02
- Visually stunning, varied environments to explore.
- Unique Italian setting and distinct atmosphere.
- Satisfying and accessible parry-based combat system.
- Excellent and memorable music enhances experience.
- Diverse builds and customization options available.
- Clunky combat system and flawed enemy design.
Verdict
Mixed
Summary
Positive 62% · Negative 38%. Score: 38 / 100
Positives:
- The game features stunning and varied environments inspired by Italian landscapes and Renaissance art. The bright and colorful aesthetic is a refreshing change from the typical dark fantasy setting of Soulslike games, making exploration visually rewarding and immersive.
- The game's unique setting in Italian folklore and Renaissance Italy, combined with excellent Italian voice acting, creates a captivating and immersive atmosphere. The incorporation of Commedia dell'arte and other Italian cultural elements adds depth and originality to the Soulslike formula.
- The combat system is well-executed, with a strong emphasis on parrying. The parry mechanic is responsive, satisfying, and more forgiving than in some other Soulslike games, making it accessible and rewarding for players to master.
- The game boasts an excellent soundtrack that complements the atmosphere and enhances boss fights. The music is memorable and adds emotional depth to the gameplay experience, with some reviewers expressing a desire for the OST.
- The game offers a wide variety of weapons, skills, and character customization options through the mask system. This allows for diverse builds and playstyles, encouraging experimentation and replayability.
Negatives:
- The combat system is frequently described as clunky, unpolished, and lacking satisfying feedback. Specific criticisms include stiff animations, imprecise controls, poor hitboxes, and a general lack of fluidity. Many reviewers felt the combat system needed significant refinement to be enjoyable.
- Many reviewers found the boss fights to be underwhelming due to uninspired design, repetitive movesets, and inconsistent difficulty. Some bosses are simply reskinned versions of regular enemies, while others suffer from AI issues or are too easily defeated. Some bosses are also reused as regular enemies later in the game.
- Enemy design and AI are flawed, with issues such as hyper-aggressive attack patterns, inconsistent parry windows, and a lack of variety. Many reviewers also criticized the over-reliance on parrying as the primary combat mechanic, making other playstyles less viable. Some enemies also have perfect tracking, making dodging unreliable.
- The game suffers from numerous technical issues, including frequent crashes, game-breaking bugs, and optimization problems leading to unplayable frame rates. Many reviewers reported these issues severely hampered their experience, sometimes preventing them from completing the game. This point is consistently mentioned and reflects a critical flaw.
- The game feels unfinished and lacks polish, with many reviewers noting missing features, unrefined animations, and a general sense that the game was rushed to release. Some reviewers specifically mention the absence of voice acting for many characters and the need for extensive patching.
Gameplay:
- The game offers both a story mode and a soulslike mode, catering to different player skill levels. The soulslike mode primarily increases enemy HP and damage, potentially lengthening fights without adding complexity.
- The game features a unique mask system where players collect masks from enemies, granting new abilities and stats. Players can switch between three pre-set builds on the fly, encouraging experimentation and adaptation to different combat situations. This system allows for diverse playstyles and strategic depth.
- The game incorporates a 'rock-paper-scissors' elemental system, where specific elements counter others. Players must exploit enemy elemental weaknesses to maximize damage, often requiring frequent weapon switching. This system adds a layer of strategy to combat, but can also trivialize or frustrate encounters if not properly utilized.
- While the game offers a wide variety of weapons, weapons within the same class share similar movesets. Weapon stats and scaling can be unclear, making it difficult to determine the effectiveness of different weapons. This lack of distinctiveness and feedback can make weapon selection less impactful.
- The game requires players to understand enemy weak-point attributes and choose the right weapon accordingly. The game provides enough weapon enhancement materials to equip weapons for each attribute, making countering enemy attributes an enjoyable system.
Performance:
- Players have experienced various control and UI issues, such as directional input being ignored when using a gamepad, requiring a switch to mouse control. Other issues include the inability to interact with NPCs or use certain in-game features, often necessitating a game restart.
- The game features very fast loading times after deaths, allowing for quick respawns.
Recommendations:
- Many reviewers suggest waiting for a sale or price drop before purchasing the game, as the full price may not be justified given its current state. Some specify a price range that would make the game a worthwhile purchase. This is often tied to the game's perceived lack of polish, bugs, or limited content.
- Many reviewers recommend waiting for patches and updates to address bugs, performance issues, and missing features before purchasing. The game is often described as feeling unfinished or like an early access title, with the expectation that the developers will continue to improve it. Some reviewers plan to revisit the game after updates are released.
- The game is frequently recommended to fans of the Soulslike genre, with many reviewers comparing it to other titles in the genre. Some suggest it as a good entry point for newcomers, while others recommend it to experienced players looking for something new. Some reviewers recommend Lies of P as a better alternative.
- Many reviewers express overall enjoyment of the game, describing it as fun, engaging, and worth playing despite its flaws. They highlight the game's positive aspects, such as its atmosphere, world design, or unique features. Some reviewers give the game a positive score or rating, while others simply state that they recommend it.
- Many reviewers express hope for future content, such as a sequel or DLC, to expand upon the game's world and story. They are interested in seeing what the developers will create next and hope that they will continue to improve upon the game's existing strengths.
Miscellaneous:
- The game is the first major title from a new or indie studio, which is reflected in its AA quality and scope. Reviewers are generally more forgiving of its shortcomings due to the studio's inexperience and limited budget.
- The developers have released a roadmap outlining future updates, bug fixes, and content additions. This roadmap is seen as a positive sign of their commitment to supporting the game, but also suggests that the game may have been released prematurely.
- Some reviewers found the game to be shorter than advertised, with completion times ranging from 18 to 30 hours. The game's story also felt rushed, particularly in the later chapters.
- The game's story is difficult to understand, even compared to other Souls-like games known for their obscure narratives. Additionally, some reviewers experienced balance issues, impacting their enjoyment of the game.
- The game is a low-budget project, which is evident in its technical issues and overall polish. However, the developers have made efforts to promote the game, including showcasing it at The Game Awards.
