#anyway. the game was awesome; if you like metroidvanias with awesome pixel art and don't mind this art

[theskoomacat]

i finally got both Blasphemous 2 endings and decided to watch the credits but with headphones off. but for some reason after they've ended, i am back at the last boss arena, standing in front of The Child who is, uh, sunbathing - instead of being dumped at the main menu. can't move or use any buttons. i wonder if this is a bug or this is like. the heaven i was promised lol

[dumbfinntales]

I recently played and beat a metroidvania title I backed on Kickstarter called The Last Faith. It was honestly a pretty fun experience! Although there are things that bogged down the experience quite a bit for me, so spoilers below I say.

First of all, don't get this game on the Nintendo switch. My experience was harmed severely by the performance issues. Almost everything had slight delay, there were heavy frame drops that made me miss inputs and certain attacks just phased through enemies and the game crashed several times for me. I had to fight a boss twice because it crashed after beating it and the game of course doesn't save until you rest so it was like I never fought the boss in the first place.

But to get to the main point The Last Faith is a pretty typical metroidvania title with a very interesting setting that's like a mix between Castlevania and Bloodborne. The Bloodborne influence is obvious in the gothic setting, babbling mad townfolk, "hunters" called the Nyctorn and some slight cosmic influence. It feels like Castlevania in its gameplay and combat design, and instead of werewolves you fight a lot of vampire themed enemies.

The setting was honestly right up my alley and I think they copied the best parts of Bloodbornes atmosphere and executed it flawlessly in 2D format. The story was extremely cryptic and I honestly had no idea what was going on. But I won't pretend like I understood BB either right away. The cosmic horror side of TLF felt a little weak and I wasn't as captivated by it as I was with BB. There are a couple secret bosses that are cosmos themed, but I just feel like there's some special sauce missing.

Enough about story and themes, the metroidvania design was pretty good. The map and the way you were meant to traverse it was very confusing. You'd have multiple paths where to go, but in the end there was only one right way to go and sometimes I'd spend half an hour running into dead ends until I found that one specific place to go to. The upgrades you get are pretty typical as well like wall climb, air dash, double jump etc... The transformation ability was awesome though. Exploring the map once you had all traversal upgrades was honestly pretty fun.

I also have to give compliments to the art style and the pixel art, it is absolutely gorgeous and the designs of the enemies/bosses really pops out. The environmental art was gorgeous as well and there are some rooms in the game that are just empty, but made to look pretty. Games that have strong art design make you forget how simple some rooms are. Like the geometry is just one long hallway, but it sure is a pretty hallway!

I was a bit saddened by the fact that there really weren't any interesting characters. They all had a rather morose and cryptic personality and they'd speak in riddles. Like this one dude that appeared like twice and his voice actor sounded like he was battling asthma. The voice acting in general was fine. Not as bad as launch Blasphemous. The sidequests were odd as well, I'd never know if I finished them or not. Like there was a lady NPC who wanted a dance and I got her one, but then she just disappears from the game never to be seen. Where did she go? Was there a specific place where I'd see her dance? Mysteries.

I do wish there had been a more easier way to get special upgrade materials so you'd be able to upgrade all weapons. Normal upgrade materials become infinite at some point, but all the more interesting weapons are special and you really have enough to fully upgrade one of them. Talking about weapons, I was a big fan of the lightning mace whip. It had short range normally, but in its special mode it'd become a whip with range.

I also appreciate the secrets the game hides. Like new endings, bosses, collectibles and even weapons. The two secret weapons you get are pretty neat, too bad they weren't for my build. But not like I could have been able to upgrade them anyway, I was too far invested in my mace whip. You kinda need to start a new game and save upgrade material for one of those weapons if you inted to use them.

But yeah, holy crap this review ended up long. And it's for a metroidvania title, haha! But I do adore those. My switch experience was a bit meh, but The Last Faith is honestly a pretty good title. If you're a fan of Castlevania especially I do recommend the game!