The Last Hero of Nostalgaia: A Stickman in a Souls World

How have I not heard about this game sooner? How has the entire world not heard about this game sooner!

I was bouncing around on some indie game websites and found the demo for The Last Hero of Nostalgaia. Did a quick search and found that it is a Souls-like game with a mixture of comedy, all while being harassed by a cynical narrator. Sounded just like my kind of game!

The Gameplay

Coatsink, the creators behind this game describe it like this:

“As the most hideous pixelated hero to ever spawn in Nostalgaia, you must fight through an army of its mindless inhabitants, while being jeered by a cynical narrator who despises your very existence” – Coatsink

Let me tell you, the narrator in this game is pure gold! It is on point, funny, witty, and at the same time feels like it fits right in. More on that in a bit. As far as actual gameplay goes, this game feels like it fits into the Dark Souls would perfectly. The movement is spot on, it feels like a clone of the code. The attacks, dodge, run, all felt like a real fighter game. Even in this not so serious world I still felt like I was playing an intense fighter at certain times. The final boss you face definitely is intense. Trying to charge up attacks and jump away at the exact right moment will get you sweating.

Before you can begin taking on these adventures you must create a hero. The customization is extremely advanced and allows you to fully customize your stick figure. You can change… well, nothing. But what would you expect to be able to change on a stick!?

This is where you start to get a feel for how serious the game is going to take itself. Sure you have a customization menu with lots of options and sliders, but they don’t do a thing. I will not confirm or deny how long I may have been looking for what was changing before I caught on…

Once you load into Nostalgaia you are greeted with an empty welcome desk. The narrator continues to talk down to you while you are left to figure things out. Past the desk, you begin finding clues on the ground that have messages for you to read. These will give you the basic controls, and from here you get to go test them out.

As you progress you will begin finding armor, new weapons, and lots of items. These will help you fight harder mobs and cover those little stick arms to look a bit more intimidating.

The World

The original world of the game has a realism to it. It feels like a once vibrant land. But in the game it is decaying into a pixelated reality. Why it’s pixelated we don’t know yet, but it seems it is our job as a little stick figure to restore it to what it once was.

The land of Nostalgaia is the “world of video games”. It definitely brings a lot of nostalgia with it. The world is filled with references and nods to past games that many in the community will recognize quickly. With many references to Dark Souls to be expected, it also pays respect to others as well (A key-shaped sword to name one). I will definitely be on the lookout for as many references as I can find.

While the game does pay respects to the more serious genres out there, it doesn’t get too deep into those games’ realms. Instead, it pokes fun at things and remains on a lighter note. Don’t be fooled, there are still some gruesome parts but nothing like a souls game. The big change here is the narrator that is with you the entire time. You never feel alone. He may be heckling you and not working with you, but it keeps things funny and moving quickly. The sense of humor that this game has is going to be its identity.

If you want gruesome combat and intense games stick with Elden Ring. If Elden Ring was a bit hard and too serious but you like the theme, come check out The Last Hero of Nostalgaia.

Release and Multiplayer

When I saw this this game was coming to Xbox as well as PC I was actually a bit surprised. But sure enough, you will be able to play it on:

• PC (Steam)
• Xbox (Xbox One, Series X, Series S)

Good news for my console gamers out there!

This game will also support an Online Co-op (no local co-op unfortunately). With the many classes to choose from this could be a lot of fun playing with friends and being able to balance out each other’s weaknesses and vulnerabilities. I’m definitely going to be grabbing some guys and giving it a try.

The game is releasing very soon, with a planned release date of October 19th 2022.

Final Thoughts

I’m pumped for this game in all honesty. The appeal to me is in the comedy and narration guiding you through what is otherwise known as somewhat stressful games. I think they found the perfect balance of being a souls type knockoff while still creating their own unique identity in this genre.

I hope to see a really flushed out world that gives lots if interesting customization and story arcs. The final boss of the games demo definitely showed that they can create a boss that is a worthy opponent and won’t always go easy on you. I think they have the formula down for this genre of game, and it will be all about how they present it with their own twist.