I just finished Enotria The Last Song, and overall… I liked it, and I really hope they make a sequel, but at the same time, there are a lot of frustrating issues that hold it back from being truly great.
The biggest strength of this game is easily the story, tone, and world. Unlike a lot of Soulslikes like Dark Souls or even Lies of P, this game actually tells a clear and easy to follow story, and honestly, it’s a beautiful one. The atmosphere is strong, the themes land, and it’s one of those games where you genuinely want to see more of the world. If you’re playing this for anything, play it for that. (Although the ending can be a bit confusing)
Gameplay-wise, it has a solid Soulslike foundation. Movement feels good, combat can feel good, and progression is fast since you earn currency quickly.
The mask system is a cool idea, and I like that you don’t have to deal with the whole “boss soul vs weapon” dilemma like in other games. The upgrade system is also nice, you can undo upgrades and experiment, which is something I appreciated.
That said, a lot of the systems feel like they don’t go far enough. The mask system sounds great in theory, but in practice you just end up using one mask most of the game. The line system (basically abilities/perks) is cool conceptually, but it feels underpowered, limited, and kind of like an afterthought. Same with the skill tree it just doesn’t feel impactful enough. Even status effects, while interesting, are used so often that they become more annoying than strategic.
Combat is where things start to fall apart a bit. The auto-tracking is way too aggressive. enemies will rotate mid-attack like turrets, which makes dodging feel unreliable. There were plenty of times where I felt like I dodged correctly, only for the enemy to snap toward me at the last second and still hit me. On top of that, hitboxes feel inconsistent sometimes your weapon goes straight through enemies with no damage, and other times you get hit when you’re clearly out of range.
The deflect system also feels off. Blocking locks you into animations and doesn’t feel very effective, and deflecting just isn’t as satisfying or reliable as it should be. Honestly, the game becomes a lot easier once you stop trying to engage with deflect and just focus on dodging instead. That disconnect between what the game teaches you and what actually works is a bit frustrating.
Boss design is really hit or miss. Some fights are mechanically simple but frustrating due to bugs or design quirks. Others spam the same moves over and over with no real cadence. There’s also a heavy reliance on life-drain mechanics, which gets exhausting, especially when multiple bosses use it. And on top of that, damage scaling feels weird there were plenty of times where I’d just get one-shot regardless of my level or build, which makes progression feel less meaningful.
There are also a lot of smaller frustrations that add up. Healing locks you in place and cancels easily if you move. Jump and interact being on the same button is annoying. Some walkways are too narrow for how far your dodge goes. Enemies are hard to read because their speed varies wildly within the same moveset. And honestly, the game might even have some input lag (i played on PS5 and there were definitely moments where it felt like inputs just didn’t register.)
exploration is another mixed bag. The world itself is cool, but it feels more linear than it should be, with very few secrets. There’s maybe one real secret boss and a hidden ending, but beyond that, not much.
Shortcuts also feel kind of pointless since fast travel exists. NPCs are there, but they feel underdeveloped, and I didn’t always feel connected to their storylines.
Enemy variety is also a bit lackiing. Most enemies are humanoid, and while that fits the theme, it does make things feel less visually interesting. That said, funny enough, the dogs in this game are probably the easiest enemies I’ve ever seen in a Soulslike, which is kind of hilarious.
Probably the biggest issue overall is just bugs and polish. There are animation glitches, missing weapons, enemies spawning weirdly, bosses getting stuck in loops, or even becoming temporarily invincible. There are moments where it genuinely feels like you’re fighting the game itself, not just the enemies.
But despite all of that, I still really liked it. There’s a great game here. The story, the world, and the core ideas carry it hard. This honestly feels like a first game from a studio with a lot of potential. If they clean up the bugs, expand the systems, add more depth to the world and N PCs, and refine combat, a sequel could be incredible.
At the end of the day, I’d recommend it but with a caveat: If you can push through the frustration, you’ll find a really beautiful and enjoyable experience underneath it all.
I would ng+ it but I also accept it may feel less rewarding and more frustrating the second time around, I do hope we get a sequel and I hope they learned from theor mistakes.