The Last Hero of Nostalgaia

82%
Game Brain Score Based on 571 reviews
  • gameplay
  • story
  • humor
The Last Hero of Nostalgaia Game Cover
The Last Hero of Nostalgaia is an effective Soulslike that has a few plaguing issues like an underwhelming script and a lack of response from bosses.
Starting at $24.49Buy now
Get on Steam Get on Xbox Games Store

"The Last Hero of Nostalgaia" is a challenging action-adventure game set in a haunted, hand-drawn world. As the final hero, you must explore precarious platforms, solve puzzles, and defeat enigmatic enemies to uncover the truth about your ancestry and save Nostalgaia. With its unique combat system and beautiful art style, this game offers a deep, emotional narrative that will keep you engaged until the end.

Play Modes

Reviews

82%
Audience ScoreBased on 571 reviews
gameplay35 positive mentions
stability25 negative mentions
  • The game features a unique and humorous narrative that cleverly references various video game franchises.
  • The interconnected world design is reminiscent of Dark Souls, providing a rewarding exploration experience with numerous shortcuts.
  • The 'remembering' mechanic for items adds an engaging puzzle element, encouraging players to explore and interact with the lore.
  • Combat can feel clunky at times, with inconsistent hitboxes and issues with attack tracking.
  • The lack of fast travel between beacons can lead to tedious backtracking, making exploration feel less rewarding.
  • Some NPC questlines are convoluted and can be easily missed, locking players out of content and achievements.
  • gameplay147 mentions

    The gameplay of "The Last Hero of Nostalgaia" is a mixed bag, drawing heavily from the Dark Souls series while introducing unique mechanics like the "remembering" system that encourages exploration and engagement with the lore. However, many players find the execution lacking, citing clunky controls, unpolished mechanics, and tedious enemy encounters that detract from the overall experience. While some appreciate the humor and world design, others feel the gameplay fails to innovate beyond its inspirations, leading to a frustrating experience for those familiar with the genre.

    • “The gameplay is solid and is enough of a recreation of souls combat while still remaining its own thing that the experience feels fresh.”
    • “The remembrance mechanic allows you to power up items that you collect by solving a riddle tied to the specific item.”
    • “Fun, tight gameplay in a really unique world.”
    • “Every single time this game introduces a mechanic or idea, it quickly becomes annoying.”
    • “You can tell that a lot of the love and care in this game went towards the first 3 to 4 areas, but once you hit the second tutorial section, the game quickly drops in quality in terms of level design and overall gameplay, as you'll just be facing swarms of enemies with a little bit too much health and forced waiting sequences.”
    • “The difficulty in The Last Hero of Nostalgaia isn't due to the game but the unpolished mechanics; the enemies can attack seemingly as fast as they want while you have a 2-3 second delay between your attacks.”
  • story138 mentions

    The game's story is a blend of humor and depth, offering a unique narrative that critiques nostalgia and the gaming industry while incorporating clever references to other titles. Players appreciate the environmental storytelling and character quests, though some find the convoluted quest design and lack of fast travel frustrating. Overall, the story is engaging and well-crafted, with a mix of comedic and serious themes that resonate with players, despite some criticisms regarding its conclusion and quest accessibility.

    • “The world design is pretty wonderful, the story is nice and well written.”
    • “It's a project with a great soul that tells a story that, in the beginning, may seem just parodistic but has a lot of meaning behind its idiotic cover.”
    • “The story is relayed very well through environmental storytelling and the remember weapon texts.”
    • “The story was rather forgettable and I was not impacted by it.”
    • “The absence of fast travel in a nearly purely linear world that requires backtracking to the main city to return items becomes grating after the first boss, leaving only the story and world to hold the player's interest.”
    • “I would say that there are definitely glaring flaws, especially after the first major story thread (this involves the king), as the game just turns into an unfun frustration at that point, and you can kind of see that part of the game is also just really really rushed.”
  • humor106 mentions

    The humor in "Last Hero of Nostalgaia" is a mix of clever references and lighthearted gags, often drawing on video game culture and parodying the soulslike genre. While many players appreciate the witty dialogue and amusing narrator, some find the humor repetitive or overly reliant on clichés. Overall, the game is seen as a fun experience that balances challenging gameplay with a comedic twist, though opinions on its effectiveness vary.

    • “Very nice soulslike full of funny gags and a ton of references to historical franchises.”
    • “The whole experience of Last Hero of Nostalgaia was gratifying as it ended up being a comedic souls-like with some interesting surprises and funny moments to be had, especially if you're an avid video game player.”
    • “What a wonderful adventure, lovingly crafted by people who appreciate the good old days of gaming, and understand how to weave a troubling but humorous tale.”
    • “Not funny at all.”
    • “Most of the game you'll forget he's there, and even when he does talk, it's so try-hard, hammy, and not funny at all.”
  • graphics54 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received praise for their unique art style, which effectively blends 2D pixel art with 3D models, creating a visually engaging experience that complements the game's narrative. Many reviewers appreciated the attention to detail and the way the graphics contribute to world-building, although some noted that the visuals could feel derivative at times. Overall, the art direction is considered a strong point, enhancing the game's atmosphere and charm despite some technical issues.

    • “The graphic style is pleasant and very well thought out, with the mixing of 2D and 3D parts, and I like that it's tied to the world-building too.”
    • “The art style is a beautiful balance of the retro game aesthetic that I've normally grown tired of, but it's done so well here that there were multiple times I had to just admire the pixel/voxel/poly blend.”
    • “It manages to squeeze beauty out of its intentionally low-fidelity aesthetic in surprising ways, and it has the courage to look at its inspirations and successfully identify some cool new ways to play with them.”
    • “Unfortunately, the art style consistently left me wanting more; both the 2D and the 3D art felt very derivative and lacked a personality of its own aside from occasional bits of standout character design and architecture.”
    • “The combination of the styles still gave Nostalgaia a unique aesthetic that I won’t forget, but I still felt like it could have been taken further with component parts that were as original as the combination.”
    • “A first glance at the trailer might give you the impression that this is another game just trying to cash in on retro graphics - do not be mistaken!”
  • stability25 mentions

    The game's stability has been widely criticized, with players reporting frequent bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, such as freezing during attacks and getting stuck in the environment. While some users find the game enjoyable despite these issues, many agree that it feels unoptimized and buggy, impacting the overall experience. However, there is hope for improvement as the developers are actively working on patches and updates.

    • “Oh and this was just me but for some reason my achievements refuse to activate for this game and even though I have the DLC and did everything required to activate it, the way to get into the DLC is still blocked in-game, so yeah, this game was buggy as hell for me.”
    • “I really can't recommend this unless it's free. I understand the challenge of having a soulslike design to your game, but when it's this buggy and clunky, it ends up feeling really stupid.”
    • “The 'attacking leaves you open' mechanic is taken to an extreme, where your character sometimes freezes still after attacking, and no amount of roll button can get you out of the way.”
  • grinding22 mentions

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly due to the cumbersome remembrance system that requires frequent backtracking and inventory management. While some appreciate the novelty of the mechanics, many feel that the slow combat and clunky movement detract from the enjoyment, making certain sections feel unfair and overly repetitive. Despite these issues, some players still find the game enjoyable, albeit with significant drawbacks related to grinding.

    • “Another issue is the combat itself; it's just tedious and not fun. I have finished every FromSoftware game (other than Sekiro, but I'll get to it), and maybe that's why my brain is trained a certain way. There are a lot of times where I feel I should have absolutely gotten a hit on an enemy and it doesn't connect. The enemies also barely react to you hitting them, but you'll be stunned for a solid 2-3 seconds from getting hit once. It's just not fun.”
    • “The gameplay itself is not the greatest; it's slow (similar to Dark Souls 1 and 2), and that made some portions feel unfair or tedious to get through (the train portion in specific). Overall, the game is not more challenging than any of the Souls games.”
    • “The remembrance system is really cool, but also super tedious, and necessary for your own progression. To improve upon the system, I would have had an aura glow around the character when an item is ready to 'remember'.”
  • music9 mentions

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting a significant lack of a cohesive soundtrack, leading to a quiet and sometimes boring experience. While some appreciated the sound design and found the music enjoyable when present, others felt it was insufficient to enhance gameplay, often resorting to external soundtracks for a better experience. Overall, the absence of consistent music detracted from the game's atmosphere and engagement.

    • “The soundtrack bangs too.”
    • “The sound design is decent and the music is alright.”
    • “I loved the subtle references from different series throughout the game, good humour, the bosses were fun as well as being very challenging, there is so much to explore, a great story with unpredictable outcomes, and the soundtracks were a bop.”
    • “Not really much of a soundtrack (I fixed this by playing the Crypt of the Necrodancer soundtrack in the background).”
    • “There is a huge lack of music, stale gameplay, bugs galore, and too many interesting ideas that failed to realize their full potential.”
    • “The lack of music makes the game incredibly quiet and boring as you slosh through Paper Mario enemies who range from green-looking zombies to red-looking vampires and a few armor-clad enemies.”
  • atmosphere8 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its melancholic and immersive qualities, drawing strong comparisons to the Dark Souls series. Reviewers highlight the effective world design, unique area atmospheres, and engaging soundtracks, alongside a blend of humor and challenging gameplay that enhances the overall experience. The game's aesthetic successfully captures the essence of a decaying world, complemented by memorable characters and quests.

    • “I saw this game on a YouTube video where a guy tried souls-like on Steam and instantly fell in love with the atmosphere of this game.”
    • “Good atmosphere and aesthetics: one of the conventions of a 'souls-like' is a world in decay and this game sells that aesthetic pretty well.”
    • “But, if until yesterday the only title unbranded from software that had unreservedly convinced me for its atmosphere, its melancholy flavor, and its effective mechanics (a little less so for its faces) was Salt and Sanctuary, one of the demonstrations that a few people can create great games, as of today I can count among the titles I love The Last Hero of Nostalgaia.”
    • “The game is clearly a declaration of love to Dark Souls, both in terms of mechanics and atmosphere and settings.”
    • “I love the sarcastic narrator, the various NPCs and their quests, and the creepy atmosphere in some parts of the game.”
  • replayability5 mentions

    The game offers good replayability through diverse choices, builds, and multiple endings, alongside engaging lore and item collection. While the journey is relatively short, the content is sufficient to encourage multiple playthroughs. However, some players note that the overall replayability may not be extensive, and the game has some janky elements.

    • “Good replay value, especially for the choices and builds you make.”
    • “+ Lore storytelling, multiple endings, and item collect-athon gives some replayability.”
    • “The journey isn't long, but there is enough content and it has good replayability.”
    • “Tldr: it's fun but janky, plus don't expect a whole lot of replayability.”
    • “The lore storytelling, multiple endings, and item collect-a-thon give some replayability.”
  • optimization3 mentions

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with players noting that while performance is generally acceptable, it suffers from noticeable slowdowns in areas with heavy lighting, particularly in the initial zone. Overall, many users describe the game as buggy and lacking proper optimization.

    • “The performance is generally fine, but in certain areas with lots of lighting, the game slows down noticeably, including the very first area.”
    • “The optimization of the game is a key aspect that enhances the overall experience.”
    • “While the game runs well most of the time, there are specific locations where performance dips due to heavy lighting.”
    • “Something I have to mention though is the performance; it's fine most of the time, but in certain areas with lots of lighting, the game slows down noticeably. This includes the very first area.”
    • “Tldr: it is buggy and not optimized.”
  • character development2 mentions

    Character development in the game is hindered by poorly executed combat mechanics and a lack of originality in the art style, which fails to create a memorable experience. While some character designs stand out, the overall execution leaves players wanting more depth and personality.

    • “Unfortunately, the art style consistently left me wanting more; both the 2D and the 3D art felt very derivative and lacked a personality of its own aside from occasional bits of standout character design and architecture.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    The monetization strategy has been criticized as feeling like a cheap cash grab, suggesting that players perceive it as exploitative rather than fair or value-driven.

    • “It still felt like a cheap cash grab.”
    • “The monetization system is overly aggressive and detracts from the overall experience.”
    • “I was disappointed by how much they pushed for in-game purchases.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

72% average critic score

Buy The Last Hero of Nostalgaia

Videos

Similar Games