The Last Faith is an action platformer inspired by Metroidvania and Souls-like games. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth getting.
The Last Faith Review Overview
The Last Faith Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Wonderfully Executed Gameplay Fusion of a Metroidvania and a Souls-like Exceptional Art Direction and Design |
Some Audio Lacks Refinement |
The Last Faith Overall - 82/100
The Last Faith is the premier 2D Metroidvania Souls-like experience. The environmental storytelling and exploration, the basic but deep combat mechanics, the extraordinary visuals, the astounding soundtrack, and the vast exploration all provide for a challenging but enjoyable game. It masterfully implements what makes Metroidvanias and Souls-likes great, and delivers its strengths to the highest regard.
The Last Faith Story - 7/10
As a Souls-like, the game tells its story mainly through the environment rich with details, and with characters you sparingly meet on the way for further lore dumps and exposition. Though the execution is sound, it sticks too close to the well-worn formula, and inadvertently retells a story already told, merely in a different setting with different characters. Be that as it may, it’s still a great adventure with great voice acting performances, plenty of spectacles, and pages of lore to uncover.
The Last Faith Gameplay - 9/10
It incorporates the “limited, rigid, and clunky” gameplay that is famous in both classic Castlevanias and Soulsborne games, and that’s the prominent appeal of The Last Faith. The skill ceiling in mastering all combat mechanics from leveling up stats to button presses and movement controls is what makes playing a Soulsborne game frustrating to a degree, but gratifying in the end. The non-linear exploration is also present, and is expertly applied through the astounding level design in all intertwining areas.
The Last Faith Visuals - 10/10
The Last Faith is a visual masterpiece, where its art direction excels on all fronts. The classic Castlevania sprite work and character portraits, the grand and gothic environments, the spectacular combat visual effects (VFX), and the cutscene animatics are all splendidly made.
The Last Faith Audio - 9/10
Symphonic music echoes all throughout The Last Faith, where it was definitely inspired by the Bloodborne OST. Journeying through areas with unnerving music melodies ringing across the fields, to grand orchestral extravaganzas for grand boss encounters, the music is very well-composed. The sound effects(SFX) are all also on point, with each weapon sound superbly satisfying, with emphasis on the crisp cracking of the whip of which I absolutely adore.
The Last Faith Value for Money - 7/10
The game costs $27.99, which is very much justifiable for those with experience with Metroidvanias or Souls-likes. The Last Faith has magnificent art, great gameplay, and grand music. However, those with little-to-no exposure to either aforementioned genres might have a hard time enjoying the fused experience that is The Last Faith. The difficulty spikes, mechanics and skill check bosses, and the trial-and-error difficulty are prevalent, and it might not be for everyone.
The Last Faith Review: The Definitive Metroidvania Souls-like Experience
I won’t lie, it was love at first sight. I grew up playing Castlevania games, and consequently fell in love with Metroidvanias over the years. It’s where my adoration for dark gothic pixel graphics and side-scrolling combat stems from, and it never went away. Games such as these appeal to my deep-rooted fondness, and upon discovering the existence of The Last Faith, I felt like this game was made for me.
Okay, sappy stuff aside, The Last Faith is really good. Story wise, I need to admit that I frequently lost focus of the narrative from staring at the characters’ sprites and portraits. Combat wise, I died countless times because I was staring at all the monster and boss designs. Sometimes I would die from attacking enemies regardless of their own incoming attacks, because I was hypnotized by the visceral weapon hit VFXs. I would die from running and dodging bosses’ attacks while they’re one hit away from death because I wanted to listen to the magnificent music more. Exploration wise, I got lost on dozens of occasions by observing all the excellent environment and architecture. It’s rather unfair to have all these distractions where I can’t even enjoy the game properly because I keep dying.
In all seriousness, there were so many barriers present in The Last Faith where I perished multiple times, due to more unique enemy attacks, not being leveled up enough, or not properly utilizing the tools in my disposal. At certain times I would think “Ugh, this area’s so unfair, there are so many enemies, what can I even do?” and then proceed to discover how to eliminate them one by one by using a skill or Item I haven’t bothered using. Of course, oftentimes brute force just works. Sticking to a primitive formula or just attacking and dodging may be frustrating to try over-and-over again, but it was still gratifying to eventually make progress in the end. That’s the formula popularized by the Soulsborne games, and it’s ever present here. The ability to persist through hardship and adapt, evolve, and learn, in order to overcome whatever hurdle is placed in front of you.
The Last Faith has a perfect implementation of its visuals, RPG mechanics, combat mechanics, sound, and exploration. With as much depth and freedom as the games it’s inspired by, it triumphs and becomes the definite 2D Metroidvania Souls-like title, in my biased eyes.
Pros of The Last Faith
| Things The Last Faith Got Right |
|---|
|
Wonderfully Executed Gameplay Fusion of a Metroidvania and a `-like Exceptional Art Direction and Design |
Wonderfully Executed Gameplay Fusion of Metroidvania and Souls-like
I acknowledge that the Soulsborne games are inherently 3D Metroidvanias already, but I would argue that The Last Faith takes those 3D translations and reapplies it back into 2D, providing a very unique experience. Such aspects would be the combat and the difficulty.
Traditionally, in 2D games, making physical contact with any enemy means you’ll get damaged. In 3D games, the reverse is the norm, where you don’t take damage from making contact with enemies unless they attack. The Last Faith applies this by placing the player in the foreground, and ALL enemies in the background. This allows no physical collision between the two, except for attacks from both sides. This is a mechanic I’ve wanted more 2D games to apply for the longest, as it allows more freedom to move about the 2D battlefield that has been limited in terms of movement for decades.
The Last Faith also faithfully translates the trademark difficulty of Souls-likes. From the first boss, you are immediately tested to utilize all skills at your disposal. Learning all different mechanics during combat such as precise dodging, learning enemy attack patterns, and knowing when to not get greedy with more attacks to save yourself from death.
Lastly, you can’t have a Souls-like without the Souls currency mechanic (it’s called Nycrux here, but it’s still Souls), the RPG elements of stats screens, and leveling up. The Last Faith implements a very sound stats and weapons system reminiscent of the Soulsborne series, where each weapon’s efficiency is based on your proficiency is certain attributes. Other types of equipment such as armor are absent however, but that’s a good tradeoff for never having to be concerned with weight management and fat-rolling ever again.
Exceptional Art Direction and Design
The art of The Last Faith is truly awe-inspiring, and that still feels like an understatement with how remarkable it is. The gothic architectures are dark and moody, providing a great sense of eeriness and immersion. Even if the environmental structures range from normal to grand sizes, the complexities in their designs are consistent, with details upon details filling up the screen.
The character sprite models are noteworthy, with their inspirations from the classic Castlevania monster sprites clearly being seen. Whether it be a friendly NPC or hostile enemies, they’re all given such astounding designs that immediately leaves an impression. The bosses even moreso, as they are given so much more polish and visual fidelity that I sometimes lose focus on the fight just to admire their art.
The VFX work in this game is visceral, where each weapon strike, each spell cast, and each offensive item use have such satisfying ferocity that makes you want to keep risking attacks. The impact frames when your weapons hit multiple enemies is undeniably delightful, or you can watch as your spells engulf the opposition, leaving corpses in their wake.
Cons of The Last Faith
| Things The Last Faith Can Improve |
|---|
|
Some Audio Lacks Refinement |
Some Audio Lacks Refinement
Even with a great OST and snappy SFX, some other sounds could still be refined. One very noticeable example would be the audio quality from some of the voice actors. Their mics accentuate the “plosives,” where pronouncing some words would subtly blow wind into the mic that consequently produce perceptible side effects. When pronouncing “S” sounds as well, they result in very piercing and distracting hisses. More or less, some voice lines seemed like the actors were a few centimeters away from swallowing their mics during recording.
Proper mic positioning is ideal for good quality audio, and investing in a pop-filter is also a good bet.
This one is more of a nitpick if anything, and isn’t particularly any major gripe or gamebreaking problem. When moving from one area to another, the background music(BGM) abruptly stops, and will start playing another track immediately. I don’t mean the times when it’s used for dramatic effect. I’m referring to casually going between two locations, say into a Save area. I would be walking towards it while listening to the great music, and when I enter it just flat-out stops to be replaced with another background track.
The very sudden cut-and-play is very jarring and ruins a bit of the immersion. It would be so much better if the music gradually faded out instead, and for the next BGM in line to gradually fade into its place.
Is The Last Faith Worth It?
If You’re a Metroidvania or Souls-like Fan, Absolutely!
The Last Faith has so much to offer, with easy-to-pick-up-but-hard-to-master combat mechanics, staggering visuals, and equally stunning soundtrack. However, being a Souls-like, it has numerous instances where you will be skill gated, meaning the game will test all what you have learned or acquired, and you could either learn to utilize all tools at your disposal, or grind your way with a basic strategy through numerous attempts. The game gets quite challenging as you make progress, and you will always have to be on your toes.
If any of that sounds familiar, you have good experience with Metroidvanias and Souls-likes, and this game is worth the $27.99 price tag. However, if any of what was mentioned turns you off in some way, but still have desires to try the game out, waiting for a sale is your best bet.
Regardless of difficulty, it’s still a fun and enjoyable game. Anyone who’s at least interested in the game will be able to have a great, but challenging time with The Last Faith.
The Last Faith Overview & Premise
Eryk awakens to a ruined world with no memories of his past. His conscience and memories continuously degrade over time, forcing him to go on a journey to discover the meaning behind his condition. As he continues his travels, he comes across ancient religions, abominable deities, and all sorts of monstrosities threatening to end his voyage.
The Last Faith FAQ
The Last Faith Release Date
The Last Faith was released on November 15, 2023 for PC, Playstation 5, Playstation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Please refer to our “The Last Faith Release Date and Time | Everything We Know” article available at the linked button from the previous section.
Is The Last Faith Just Blasphemous?
The Last Faith definitely looks similar to Blasphemous, but they are two separate games developed by different studios. Their gameplay systems and level designs are vastly different from one another. However, a couple of pixel artists have contributions to both games, and therefore it is unavoidable to have some very striking similarities in terms of some imagery.
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The Last Faith Product Information
 | |
| Title | THE LAST FAITH |
|---|---|
| Release Date | November 15, 2023 |
| Developer | Kumi Souls Games |
| Publisher | Playstack |
| Supported Platforms | PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One |
| Genre | Action, Adventure, Platformer |
| Number of Players | Single Player(1) |
| ESRB Rating | N/A |
| Official Website | The Last Faith Website |
