The Last Spell | PS4 Review

Ishtar Games', "The Last Spell" is a tactical turn based roguelike RPG all about the dangers of power. It takes place in a medieval fantasy world on the brink of total destruction brought on by magic gone awry. With the source of destruction coming from a mage looking to put the fear of war into the surrounding nations in order to stop war. By willfully unleashing a devastating purple flame through spell casting the mage raises an unsuspecting kingdom from the ground. Killing off all of it's peoples in the process including that of royal lineage. In doing so creating an adversary of a surviving king who lost his own family amidst the devastation. Thus causing said king to retaliate in kind through his own mages. Forming in the wake of the events a vicious cycle of death and war amongst neighboring kingdoms. Putting at risk all life.

In the midst of the ensuing and ongoing chaos the king's band of mages search for and eventually find in that search a spell that might just save what's left of their world. That spell being "The Last Spell". The end of all magic, if it were to be cast. The problem is only a handful of heroes exist willing to protect these heroic mages as they do their required casting ritual. An undertaking that takes time, and focus. Something the people have very little of considering the nightly unleashed plague of clawers that are sent against the would be saviors ...

Consisting of a turn based combat during nightly phases, and daily micro-management during production phases filled with pre-planning options, "The Last Spell" has the player strategically utilizing the heroes, the resources, and the ritual site in an attempt to last long enough for the mages to cast their spell. It's an undertaking that starts with the defense of the ritual site, it's buildings, and it's defenses. Gradually intensifying as the days pass by. This task at hand is, of course, made possible by a trio of customizable heroes or heroines that each have two swappable equipment sets. By successfully defending the base of operations with said heroes you will earn gold, materials, and essence. Things that can be put into use for the heroes themselves, the ritual site infrastructure, and outer defenses to block against the invading army of clawers.

Through the night phases turn based combat is the means by which you'll defend the mage and the ritual site. Heroes can only move a certain amount of spaces during this phase, and are governed by both health and mana. Their equipment such as armor, weapons, and accessories adding bonus stats pertaining to performance. Giving buffs to damage, health, armor, evasion, and other useful things that can be stacked with the hero leveling system and their respective skill trees. Using perk points, and gained XP that are earned during a night phase playthrough to do so. 

As far as movement and actions go the heroes have a limited amount of action points. These points play into attacks, skills, and movement. As such strategy is very crucial to overcome the waves of clawers, undead, and other creatures that make their way in closer and closer to the ritual site. Knowing when to fight, when to buff, and when to move being half the battle. Depending upon the weapon class specific skills or attacks can be used at the expense of mana. Some class based weapons are ranged, others are up close brawler types, and others mid-range. Minding the hero's range and reach, as a result, is part and partial to combat effectiveness and evasion.

The Phases ...

During nighttime in the campaign your end goal is simple. You must fight off, and kill all the waves of enemies while keeping at least one hero alive. If your heroes all fail it's GAME OVER. If the mage, and the ritual site gets attacked and loses all health it's GAME OVER. The only reprieve is the production phase that takes place during daylight hours. It is here where resource, hero, and building/defense management takes place. The resources gained from the previous night's success can be spent or used to better prepare for the next night in line. You'll find that you have access to a character sheet for equipment management, perks, and stat leveling. That with the earned gold you can buy and equip new gear from the shop, or sell unused items for gold in return. Equipment items, alone, come in different rarities and levels as well. The selection in the shop is always randomly generated during each phase cycle. Potentially making or breaking your chances at a full playthrough. In total each hero can equip up to two different weapon or class based loadouts, and all heroes can wield all weapon types. Making them further customizable beyond their cosmetic customizations.

In the way of ritual site management you will be able to earn, and unlock new structures that can be added for a price plus worker labor as well as materials. These include houses for more workers, mana fountains, and other useful service filled structures meant to help you last. Each upgradable for a price. You can even spend gold to repair structures, outer walls, and defenses when needed. With the waves of enemies coming in at all four cardinal directions, and sometimes simultaneously it is crucial to prepare accordingly, and the game does let you know beforehand where the enemy hordes will be coming in at before you end your production phase turn. 

In addition to site upgrades/add-ons you can spend an alternative currency known as essence for the more permanent upgrades from a duo of light and dark deities to improve upon arsenal offerings as well as structure availability and stat boosts. This along with selected Omens that cater to buffs of things like health, mana, movement, and essence gain can be selected in trios after a failed run. These too are also unlocked via the two essences in the dark and light upgrade menus that are accessible during a playthrough.

With limited heroes, limited resources, and limited workers defending the mage as he does his thing can be quite the undertaking. Thankfully the previously mentioned light and dark deity's services act as a way to permanently improve upon randomized playthroughs without totally starting over from scratch. Allowing paid for stat boosts, site upgrades, and equipment upgrades to be available the next go around. All you need to do is mind your strategy, and what you have available to maximize on the profit to be made. Clearing out the mobs each night, and using what you loot to better both your heroes and the site's defenses/services. 

The Customization ...

As far as customization goes heroes or heroines can be made with a variety of different facial features, clothing options, and color palettes. Even their name can be changed according to your preferences. Making the experience more personal than it would have been otherwise. Visually the game is going for an isometric pixel constructed art style with attention to detail taken into consideration. It is a gorgeously rendered, and animated game with a unique look that's all it's own. 

Gameplay is also noteworthy by design. Despite their being only one mode of play the game's replay value is extended by it's roguelike experience. A randomization of heroes, sites, and item offerings that change after each completion or failure. Giving to the player a boxed in playing area based experience. Complete with a performance grading system that awards you alphabetically and resourcefully according to your feats in-game after each and every night. Things like surviving with all heroes alive, or not taking damage being tallied in, and evaluated for a final grade.

The Verdict ...

As complex or complicated as this RPG roguelike may seem it is done in such a way as to be more streamlined an accessible on consoles. Most of all that you need to know is explained away in the options menu through feature tabs and textual descriptions of what each feature entails. Making it more user friendly. There's even a tutorial to take part in before committing to the grind. 

I particularly loved the story, and the concept of "The Last Spell". How it kind of mirrors our current real world problems revolving around the potential for nuclear warfare. Using the destructive spell as a metaphor for nukes, and nuke deterrent. I also love the pixel art style that accompanied it all. 

Gameplay-wise it's the kind of strategy RPG that one can invest a decent amount of time into, but not so long as to be off putting. The day, and night cycles break the strategy elements up quite nicely giving you some challenging combat scenarios, and some reward focus. A perfect balance. It makes each won battle have more impactful, and the fight to let the mage cast that last spell all the more meaningful. It gives the player purpose, and a seemingly insurmountable goal that when achieved is truly rewarding. If you've not yet given "The Last Spell" a chance I'd say it's worth a buy, especially for RPG fans who are into tactical turn based strategy adventures. The budget pricing is notable for an indie of this caliber.