The Last Flame
- January 17, 2024
- Hotloop
- 25h median play time
Get on Steam"The Last Flame" is a single-player Role Playing game with ingenious gameplay and good graphics. It's a roguelike auto-battler focused on build creation, strategy, and decision-making, offering over 55 heroes, 250 items, 120 relics, and 55 origins for unique and challenging runs. In-between automated combats, players must make smart decisions on resource management, path selection, build creation, and strategic positioning for combat, ensuring good replayability.
Reviews
- The game offers a unique blend of autobattler and roguelike mechanics, providing a refreshing experience for fans of both genres.
- There is a vast amount of customization available with a large roster of heroes, items, and relics, allowing for diverse and creative builds.
- The gameplay is engaging and addictive, with many players finding themselves immersed for hours as they experiment with different strategies.
- The game suffers from RNG issues, where runs can feel frustratingly dependent on luck, especially when it comes to hero and item selection.
- As more content is unlocked, the item and hero pool can become bloated, making it difficult to create cohesive team compositions.
- Some players have reported balance issues, with certain heroes and items feeling underwhelming compared to others, leading to a lack of viable strategies.
- gameplay96 mentions
- 34 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this title is praised for its depth, variety, and engaging mechanics, combining elements from auto-battlers and roguelikes to create a satisfying and addictive experience. Players appreciate the strategic placement of units, diverse hero interactions, and the ability to experiment with numerous builds, although some mechanics and balance issues have been noted. Overall, the game offers a polished and enjoyable gameplay loop that encourages creativity and replayability.
“Very cool game with fun battles and interesting mechanics, many different items, abilities and passives, abundance of heroes and interactions!”
“The gameplay goes like this: pick heroes, equip them, choose upgrades, buy stuff, position your characters correctly on the battlefield, cross your fingers as you watch them fight, then analyze the battle data to figure out how to improve your team.”
“The straightforward yet deep mechanics allow for an unparalleled level of creative and customizable ways to approach each encounter.”
“Most of the complaints are about mechanics.”
“Right now, most mechanics can be ignored and the only challenge is the post-act-3 boss.”
“The UI needs work on showing critical gameplay info, along with the over-explanation of abilities/items/relics, which makes it a chore to read through and try to figure out if the build you're playing is working out or not.”
- replayability41 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 37 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
Overall, the game exhibits high replayability, bolstered by diverse challenges, custom modes, and a variety of play styles that encourage experimentation. While some players note a lack of depth in certain areas, many find the game addictive and filled with potential for endless runs and strategic combinations. However, a few critiques highlight the need for improved metaprogression and content to enhance long-term replay value.
“Replayability to the moon, and lots of challenges that stand for completely new game modes.”
“The game itself is a great time sink with tons of replayability and different combos of heroes, items, origins, etc. to tinker with and test out.”
“Infinite replayability, every run is different... endless possibilities.”
“For a roguelite, it lacks replayability, possibly due to insufficient metaprogression or content.”
“After completing all the achievements and doing basically everything the game has to offer, my biggest critique is the previously mentioned lack of replayability coupled with a stale run variability that hurts the longevity of the game.”
“I've fully completed every mode and challenge the game has to offer in 20 hours, so I got my money's worth, but for a roguelite, I'm expecting at least 40 hours of content and replayability that isn't just flipping a coin ten times and hoping you get heads each time for it to be enjoyable.”
- graphics26 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the beautiful visuals and appealing character designs, while others note that the graphics could be smoother and lack variety. Some players find the art style reminiscent of early titles in the genre, suggesting it may not be as polished as expected, but the fun gameplay and mechanics often compensate for these shortcomings. Despite some criticisms regarding specific character models and spell effects, the game's graphics are generally considered above average for auto battlers.
“Fun auto battler with good graphics, good performance, an interesting cast of characters, and good synergies.”
“Exceptionally fun auto battler with great graphics and an appealing soundtrack.”
“Im not a huge fan of auto battlers but this one is refreshingly quick, tons of smart synergies, appealing visuals.”
“Graphics and character designs are kind of meh, but the gameplay is fun; it sort of reminds me of League of Legends at launch in that aspect, not pretty but fun.”
“Graphically, 'The Last Flame' is nice to look at, but lacks variety.”
“Only downsides for me are the spell effects and models for some characters leave a lot to be desired (a notch lower than retail WoW graphics), but the game just came out so I'll give it a pass while they focus on the actual gameplay.”
- grinding9 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 11 % neutral mentions
- 78 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and overwhelming, with excessive micromanagement of items and a lack of meaningful progression beyond certain levels. While some appreciate the absence of paywalls and excessive grind, many feel that the lengthy unlock systems detract from the overall enjoyment, leading to a frustrating experience.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“The heroes end up feeling very samey and you're overwhelmed with 300 items and item recipes over the course of the run, demanding a lot of micromanagement that just gets tedious.”
“After like 12 hours of grinding, I reached level 22 on the Flame Master endless mode and did not get an achievement.”
“Many games nowadays try to increase playtime/replayability by adding lengthy unlock systems or cramming the game with complex, grindy systems.”
- story9 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its lack of depth and background, with users noting that there is no significant narrative or RPG elements to enhance the experience. The main mode, which could be considered a story mode, is minimal and can be completed quickly, leaving players wanting more in terms of storytelling.
“The graphs do help but it can be hard to parse the story of the battle from them.”
“My only gripe is I wish for a bit of background story and maybe a slight RPG element.”
“There's no backstory at all.”
“The 'main' mode (story mode? if you can call it that) consists of 3 zones at the moment; you can complete a run through it in about an hour.”
- optimization5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally well-received, with most users reporting good performance and minimal issues. While there are some minor performance hiccups noted, the engaging gameplay, character models, and extensive customization options contribute to a positive experience. Players appreciate the balance between challenge and replayability, enhancing the overall enjoyment.
“Fun auto battler with good graphics, good performance, an interesting cast of characters, and good synergies.”
“Performance is good and challenge + replayability is supreme.”
“There's endless team building/customization and you're met with tough decisions as far as optimization goes early and constantly.”
“There are endless team building and customization options, but you're faced with tough decisions regarding optimization early on and constantly.”
“Has some minor performance issues, but the challenge and custom modes offer some nice replayability.”
- humor5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely appreciated, with players finding the comedic elements, such as funny relics and character interactions, to be a highlight. The combination of gameplay mechanics and humorous scenarios adds to the overall enjoyment, making the experience both entertaining and engaging.
“Chase the highs in the game, because they are so worth it, and so hilarious.”
“We found some of the relics to be pretty funny and neat, particularly the many faces piece that allowed a hero to get everyone else's passives.”
“The origins are hilariously fun to try and play around.”
- music4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players praise the soundtrack for its vibrant and enjoyable qualities, others find it to be bland and mediocre, lacking in variety. Overall, the soundtrack contributes positively to the game's atmosphere, but opinions on its quality vary significantly among users.
“The soundtrack is gas and big vibes.”
“Exceptionally fun auto battler with great graphics and an appealing soundtrack.”
“Some of the character models don’t look that great, but the sound/music is mediocre, and I wish there was a bit more enemy variety.”
“The music is no better - it sounds like some sort of auto-generated orchestral blandness.”
“The sound/music is mediocre, and I wish there was a bit more enemy variety.”
- character development2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is a mixed bag; while some users find the graphics and designs underwhelming, others appreciate the fun and satisfying character designs, along with the depth of build crafting and strategic gameplay that enhance the overall experience.
“Fun character designs, satisfying visuals, plenty of build crafting and strategy make this game a gem.”
“The character development feels shallow and uninspired, lacking the depth that would make me care about their journeys.”
“I found the character arcs to be predictable and clichéd, which made it hard to stay invested in their stories.”
“The lack of meaningful choices in character development left me feeling disconnected from the characters and their growth.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users express a lack of emotional attachment to the game's world, indicating that it fails to evoke feelings or connections that enhance the overall experience.
- stability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Overall, users report that the game exhibits strong stability, with minimal bugs noted, which is particularly impressive given it was developed by a solo developer.
“It seems bug-free, which is a very nice achievement for a team of one.”
“The game runs smoothly without any crashes or major issues.”
“I appreciate how stable the gameplay is; it really enhances the overall experience.”
