When a genre breaks ground and plants its feet firmly on the foundation, others will follow in its footsteps. Ever since Demon Souls in 2009, the Souls genre has established a firm foothold and many have followed the path. The Surge introduced Souls-like mechanics in a specific world dominated by cybernetics and sweatsuits. Hell point put players on the fringes of the universe to fight demons, not of our dimension. There were several games in the genre at PAX East, including a comedic take on the genre, Nostalgia. At the Prime Matter booth, an International PR warrior (Sir Tobi) presented a new take on the Souls genre with The Last Oricru. At PAX East, I had the opportunity to play a demo of the game for myself, and after some time with it, I hope The Last Oricru paves the way for new Souls games just like it.
First Impressions
At first glance, The Last Oricru appears to take place in a tried-and-true fantasy setting, however, upon further inspection, actually takes place on a faraway planet. The planet is partially terraformed but abandoned. After years of fighting, life has become primitive, and any advanced technology is considered sacred. The factions on the planet fight as if it were in medieval times, with swords, shields bows & arrows. However, out there are more advanced technologies, which some see as a source of magic. In the world, only The Last Oricru can wield some of the ancient technology left abandoned on the planet. This already is a refreshing setup for a Soulsbourne-like game, as typically, the genre leans heavily into traditional fantasy and magic. With The Last Oricru, we see a game that is merging different settings into its own original experience, which is a refreshing sight to see.
The Rat People
For the sake of the demo, I was pitted in a battle between humans and another faction that we nicknamed “ The Rat People.” At the beginning of the demo, the castle is under siege by a faction of The Rat People, and as expected, all hell breaks loose with fire and explosions. I jumped into it, engaging in combat with ranged attackers and those up close. It’s traditional Souls-like combat; With its slow-moving speeds, stamina, and even how the basic enemies hit hard. I spent five minutes playing this by myself until (Sir Tobi) introduced me to the meat of the game, online co-op and choice.
Choice
When Sir TOBI said “choice”, I came to the conclusion that he meant little choices affecting certain events, which is something that has been seen in other games before. However, with The Last Oricru, I came to realize that choices will have big implications for the overall story. In an alternate demo, Sir Tobi introduced to me that choice will have e big role in the game.
The other demo had it so that I was fighting alongside the rat people instead of the humans. Suddenly, my appearance and weapon changed and I was fighting against the humans. It was a rather thrilling change as it showed The Last Oricru wasn’t a one-sided affair but an adventure you can make all your own. Other RPGs will allow some choice for players, affecting a smaller event, but The Last Oricru is looking to have choices that affect the entire outcome of the game. This change was a sight to behold, and given that The Last Oricru will have a large world inhabited by multiple factions, the possibilities in regards to storytelling are large. This is something that RPGs have been needing for quite some time!
Co-op
The two of us teamed up and fought the human armies in co-op, which was incredibly exciting. The co-op was in split-screen, and the two of us coordinated our attacks to defeat enemy forces. One item fired a healing bolt of electricity, like a rope. It connected to me and healed me, but any enemy caught between would receive damage. Our attacks were also elemental, so we were able to combine fire and ice. This did further damage to our enemy combatants. Even in co-op, the enemies proved formidable, with the two of us working to heal ourselves while slashing and stabbing enemies. We persisted, slashing the foul humans, and proceeded to take the castle. I came away from The Last Oricru very impressed.
Writer’s Choice
Later on at PAX East, I awarded The Last Oricru a Writer’s Choice award, much to the delight of Sir Tobi. My reasoning behind this was the inclusion of choice. Many games, including RPGs, offer choices that may affect a mission or reward items, but seldom does a game offer a decision that can affect an entire outcome of a game. The Last Oricru, in addition to top-notch gameplay and incredibly fun split-screen co-op, has the ambition to allow for the choice to affect the outcome of a story. A story that affects a planet and all of its citizens, and potentially even more. There are plenty of mysteries to uncover in The Last Oricru, and a lot I haven’t seen. My small journey with The Last Oricru has me only wanting more.
The Last Oricru is slated to be released in 2022 for Steam, Xbox Series X, and PlayStation 5.
