Last Year
- December 9, 2019
- Undaunted Games
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam"Last Year" is a horror strategy game that offers both single-player and multiplayer modes, allowing 2-6 players to cooperate or compete as Classmates or Fiends. The game features splendid visuals and delightful gameplay inspired by classic horror stories, but is missing some optimization and has several bugs. Players must work together to survive against Fiends in a nightmarish copy of their hometown and unlock powerful abilities through Arcane Secrets.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- gameplay202 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 51 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its unique mechanics, exciting multiplayer experience, and strategic depth, especially when played with friends. However, several players have criticized the game for balance issues, slow and unresponsive mechanics, and long matchmaking times, which can detract from the overall experience. While the core gameplay loop is considered enjoyable and fresh, it is marred by bugs and a lack of optimization, leading to frustration for some players.
“The gameplay is exciting, and the graphics are fantastic.”
“The gameplay is rich and incredibly good, especially when friends are added to the mix.”
“The gameplay is fun and very rewarding when you learn how to play.”
“The overall mechanics of the game feel slow and unresponsive, making it one of the worst movement games I've ever played.”
“Absolute garbage in-game mechanics.”
“The game is totally unbalanced and really just not ready for any kind of serious gameplay whatsoever.”
- graphics101 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics of the game receive high praise for their quality, detail, and atmospheric design, often described as "amazing" or "fantastic." However, players express frustration with performance issues, such as lag and bugs, which detract from the visual experience. Despite these concerns, many reviewers believe the graphics have significant potential, especially if the game receives further development and optimization.
“The game has amazing graphics and sound effects that create a terrifying atmosphere.”
“Graphics are insanely good.”
“The graphics are phenomenal, some of the best in the market for a horror game.”
“The graphics are so bad to the point that the title card looks better.”
“Graphics were bad and difficult to adjust.”
“Because they changed the damn graphics and now I can't run it on my PC.”
- stability48 mentions
- 6 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 94 % negative mentions
The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many players noting significant bugs and glitches that impact gameplay, such as screen freezes, teleporting characters, and game-breaking physics. While some users acknowledge improvements since launch and report smooth performance at high frame rates, others express frustration over persistent issues that hinder the overall experience. Overall, the game is described as fun but plagued by stability problems that need ongoing attention from the developers.
“Game runs great at a solid 200 fps.”
“Runs great and I have so much fun with my friends!”
“A good game, but it can be buggy in the first few rounds.”
“At launch it was pretty buggy and didn't have much going for it.”
“It's a buggy, unoptimized mess with laggy servers and suicidal teammates.”
“This game is extremely unpolished and buggy.”
- optimization44 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with players reporting severe lag spikes, frame rate drops, and overall poor performance even on high-end hardware. Many users express frustration over the game's inability to run smoothly, citing it as a major barrier to enjoyment despite its potential and appealing graphics. While some hope for future improvements, the current state of optimization is seen as unacceptable for a game that has been out for a significant period.
“The graphics and animations are great, really feels like a AAA game, but more optimization is needed.”
“This is the most anticipated game by me ever, it has a really big potential for development that's why I have high hopes for it, beautiful graphics and very good optimization of the whole game. I played it only for a moment but I never had any lag or crashes.”
“It needs some fine-tuning, especially in optimization, but if that gets sorted out, I can see this game being really fun.”
“This game is amazing, but the optimization is horrible, like terrible.”
“The game's optimization is so bad that you cannot even play it on the lowest resolution, not to mention the audio problem, when the in-game sounds randomly lag and are cut out.”
“Overall the game has potential if the devs really care, the art style, music, fun characters, really show a lot of potential but I'm sorry to say I could not recommend buying this game at this stage, it feels a lot like a beta game where the structure of a game is there but it's just not optimized at all, which would be fine but this game has been out an entire year now.”
- humor27 mentions
- 96 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised, with players highlighting its ability to generate laughter, especially when played with friends. Many reviews note the game's funny dialogue, unique characters, and the comedic spin on scary situations, making it stand out from similar titles. Overall, the game is described as incredibly fun and entertaining, often leading to hilarious moments during gameplay.
“It is an amazing fun game that always has me and my friends laughing.”
“The game puts a funny spin on scary situations.”
“The devs have already released 2 patches in less than 48 hours to fix the server issues and added voice chat between survivor and killer, which makes for some hilarious interactions.”
“This game is the biggest joke since Dead by Daylight; though jokes are supposed to be funny, I'm so lost... I thought that was pretty hard to beat.”
- atmosphere22 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its engaging and terrifying qualities, enhanced by impressive graphics and sound effects that create a spooky environment. Players appreciate the dark, immersive settings that contribute to the horror experience, although some suggest that additional content could further enrich this aspect. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered a significant draw, making it enjoyable for fans of cooperative horror gameplay.
“The game has amazing graphics and sound effects that create a terrifying atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere and mood of the game is excellent.”
“Like the atmosphere just needs more content.”
“Firstly: no push to talk... the real horror of this game is joining a game and hearing people breathing over mic, dogs and babies screaming, etc. really destroyed any kind of atmosphere this game had.”
“They overhauled the atmosphere to be dark and scary, making it more of a co-op horror game that is just scary enough to not make you freak out.”
- story18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its lack of depth and lore, leaving players feeling unsatisfied with the narrative experience. While the gameplay offers varied maps and objectives, many users express a desire for a more engaging backstory and character development to enhance the overall experience. Overall, the consensus is that the game could benefit significantly from a richer narrative to complement its mechanics.
“Maps that significantly vary in style coupled with the different story-driven objectives for each and the in-game crafting system for items make for a very fun replayable experience!”
“I have a feeling there is a larger story to be told here, so if anyone wants to fill me in on what exactly happened with this game, or whether it was just a natural bleed of players, let me know.”
“My only faults with the game that aren't balance-based come from a lack of lore in the game. I'm a big sucker for lore, especially around supernatural games, and I think a nice injection of story would be nice. Who are these kids?”
“☑ no story”
“- the 'story arc' of each match, if you will, doesn't feel satisfying.”
“My only faults with the game that aren't balanced based come from a lack of lore in the game, I'm a big sucker for lore especially around supernatural games and I think a nice injection of story would be nice, who are these kids?”
- monetization8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has received mixed feedback; while some players appreciate the absence of microtransactions and the ability to earn everything through gameplay, others express concern about potential future monetization strategies that could detract from the experience. There are calls for better advertising to attract more players, as the current playerbase is limited, partly due to past issues. Overall, the game's current free-to-play model is seen as a positive feature, but there are worries about how monetization might evolve.
“There seems to be no microtransactions, no in-game currency that costs real money; everything in the game must be earned through actually playing it, which is absolutely amazing and rare to see in video games nowadays.”
“- No microtransactions as of now.”
“Negative review because of microtransactions and poor reward rebalancing.”
“The devs would rather create a working microtransaction store and release an unfinished map than focus on attracting players to sustain the game.”
“Unless they mess it up with horrible monetization somehow, it's an incredibly fun game to play for the price of free.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game offers a mixed experience in terms of replayability; while some players find it lacking in variety, others enjoy the diverse maps, story-driven objectives, and crafting system that enhance replay value. Additionally, the inclusion of various characters adds to the fun, making it a worthwhile experience for many. Overall, players appreciate the potential for replayability, especially as future updates promise more content.
“Maps that significantly vary in style coupled with the different story-driven objectives for each and the in-game crafting system for items make for a very fun replayable experience!”
“A fun game with a lot of replayability, with an assortment of students and friends to choose from (more coming in the future), I'd say it's definitely worth its price.”
“Mostly replayable and beautiful.”
“The game lacks replay value, making it feel like a one-time experience.”
“Once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to go back and play it again.”
“The limited choices and outcomes mean that replaying the game feels redundant.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 83 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and unfulfilling, with minimal progression and frustrating mechanics that detract from the overall experience. Many express dissatisfaction with recent changes that have amplified the grind, making it feel more like a chore than an engaging part of gameplay.
“Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding, as it allows you to unlock powerful abilities and gear.”
“The grind is challenging but satisfying, making every achievement feel well-earned.”
“I love how the grinding mechanics encourage exploration and experimentation with different strategies.”
“There's very little progression and it's extremely grindy.”
“Who has time for such tedious gameplay?”
“Don't bother, with all of the recent changes any fun mechanic was removed and the most tedious of mechanics were buffed.”
- music5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The music and sound effects in the game enhance the overall experience, contributing positively to the graphics and gameplay. However, while the soundtrack shows potential, some players feel the game is still in a beta-like state, lacking optimization and a stable player base, leading to mixed reviews. Overall, the music is appreciated but not enough to recommend the game at its current stage.
“The sound effects and music also add to the overall experience of the game.”
“So far, I get into games quickly and only experience one bug, but nothing to make me rage. Nice graphics, fun gameplay, fun characters, and good music.”
“The art style, music, and fun characters really show a lot of potential.”
“The soundtrack and audio are mediocre, rated 3/5.”
“The sound effects and music do not enhance the overall experience of the game.”
- character development4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers praise the game's character development, highlighting impressive graphics and well-designed characters. The promise or perk tree offers diverse possibilities for character progression based on class selection, enhancing the overall experience.
“Also, the promise or perk tree promises to be interesting; it gives many possibilities for character development depending on the class we choose.”
“Amazing game, great graphics, and great character designs!”
“The graphics are great, and the character designs look perfect as well!”
- emotional1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is marked by a sense of heartbreak, as players reflect on the creative potential that was ultimately unfulfilled, leading to disappointment in its decline.
“This game had such creative minds behind the scenes, and it is truly heartbreaking to witness its downfall.”
“The emotional depth of the characters left a lasting impact on me, making their struggles feel incredibly real.”
“I was moved to tears by the story; it beautifully captures the complexities of love and loss.”
