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By Thom Stone on October 9, 2024 in Reviews
(Italian) Chef’s Kiss
HIGH Visual variety and fresh gameplay breathe new life into an oversaturated genre.
LOW Lack of multiplayer. Some original ideas are underutilized.
WTF You call that a final boss?
Over the past decade, countless titles inspired by FromSoftware’s Souls have come and gone, but few have managed to stand out from the crowd or even meet the bar that’s been set, especially now that it’s been raised once again by the wildly successful Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree.
Enter Enotria — a new and soon-to-be classic third-person soulslike from Italian studio Jyamma Games that dares to be different by drawing inspiration not only from FromSoftware, but also the rich cultural traditions and aesthetic appeal of Italy.
Enotria is a world populated by people trapped in a never-ending play, doomed to perform their roles according to a script they didn’t write. This fate is interrupted by the player in the role of the Maskless One — he enters the scene as a mere puppet, but will ultimately go on to liberate the unwilling actors.
This theatrical concept works well as a device to explain the reason why NPCs are stuck in a loop of performing scenes on the shoreline or dancing in the street to a melody that can be heard in various forms throughout the city of Quinta.
According to Jyamma Games, the city of Quinta and its surrounding area were inspired by Tuscany, and this can be observed in small details like traditional Italian dishes found on tables, and imposing structures like the Church of Maja where the player must face their first boss. The virtual tour of Italy continues with later areas that are reminiscent of Venice (Litumnia) and Sicily (Falesia Magna).
The combat is fast-paced and requires not just skill, but patience.
The third-person perspective allows the player to see a broad view of their enemies and surrounding environment which allows them to telegraph enemy move patterns, tactfully dodging or parrying their attacks before going in for a strike, but they must also know when to step back and conserve stamina.
Landing an attack charges (at varying speeds) up to four “mask lines” which are special attacks that deal different kinds of damage known as Ardore, which can be especially effective against certain enemies.
A crucial piece of the gameplay for players to understand and take advantage of is that they get up to three loadouts which allow them to equip separate sets of weapons, quick items, mask lines and masks. Unlocking certain branches on Enotria‘s skill tree allows the player to select abilities to suit their style, like staggering weaker enemies whenever they successfully dodge an attack. Although the player can only alter the equipment, skills and abilities for each loadout at a checkpoint, they can switch between their loadouts on the fly, which is helpful when facing different types of enemies in a given area.
There are many masks that can be acquired throughout the adventure. Some will be received upon defeating a boss, but the majority can only be crafted after collecting a certain amount of mask shards. It was satisfying to piece them all together and make my first mask — the Gardener. I automatically received it after farming gardeners (an enemy type that appears in the first area) and one of its effects is that it makes a certain healing item more effective. Later in the adventure, players can gather enough boss mask shards to make their corresponding masks which allows the player to use some of their abilities as mask lines.
Apart from the masks, one of the most important mechanics is the elemental system which functions much like rock-paper-scissors. Certain mask lines or weapons infused with an element will be especially effective against an enemy aligned with another.
For example, Vis, a status effect that inflicts dizzying damage, is super effective against enemies aligned with the poison effect, Malanno. Midway through the campaign I fought a god named Veltha, God of Strife who was aligned with Gratia (holy damage) but weak to Malanno, so I maxed out my favorite Malanno weapon and took pleasure as I watched her stagger and suffer from poison damage every time one of my attacks landed. Leveraging this vulnerability didn’t mean the fight was quick work, but it was significantly easier to wear her down than by using the other weapons in my arsenal.
The level of difficulty presented by bosses like Veltha (both a powerful ranged fighter and relentless swordswoman) was on par with other Soulsbornes, which is to say, very high. Thus, players who are new to the genre will need to learn the basics quickly if they are to progress. When it starts to feel impossible, they can always farm currency from enemies and use it to upgrade their equipment or level up before taking another stab at whatever boss they’re stuck on.
Speaking of bosses, most of Enotria‘s were guilty of one cardinal sin or another, and for some, their vices manifest physically, such as the gluttonous cannibal Zanni who had feasted on fellow actors and turned into a balloon of a man with multiple mouths and an insatiable appetite. It was a delightfully horrifying and imaginative monster design. However, one of my favorite battles was the duo boss fight starring Balanzone and Pantalone. Rather than strong and silent types as many soulslike bosses are, they were a comically dysfunctional pair, often damaging each other when trying to attack me while bickering throughout the fight, voicing their self-interest and avarice.
Shockingly, the final boss proved to be the most underwhelming boss fight of the whole campaign. His attacks were fairly predictable and not much changed during his multiple phases, except that a few ranged attacks were added. At no point did I have to significantly change my approach — it was mostly just a matter of pulling it off. While the majority of Enotria is excellent, this mediocre final encounter was just one of a few things that left me feeling underwhelmed when all was said and done.
Even though I didn’t need any help on the final boss, there were a few that made me wish I did. Summoning friends and strangers alike is one of the things I enjoy most about soulslikes, as it adds to the feeling of “jolly cooperation” — a big part of what makes these titles so special to me. Unfortunately, there’s no online or multiplayer of any kind to be found here.
There were also a few underutilized mechanics that are unique to Enotria, like the Ardore Burst — a stomp that staggers enemies and materializes platforms and ladders when the player stomps on a gold seal, allowing them to reach previously unreachable areas. Whenever I saw one, I’d be filled with the spirit of adventure and feel excited to see where it would take me. Sadly, they’re all too rare.
It’s also worth mentioning that during my time with Enotria, I encountered some sudden difficulty spikes and observed some enemies with odd AI pathing getting stuck in certain places. The devs have since released a patch to address these issues and they plan to release more fixes in the near future.
Ultimately, my time with Enotria: The Last Song was fantastic. The unconventional Italian theming swept me off my feet, and the gameplay was pleasantly familiar, yet offered enough differences and new ideas to let it stand on its own. If any Souls fans are looking for something to lighten up the dark autumn days that lie ahead, they should consider this summery theatrical adventure their remedy.