Summary
- Enotria: The Last Song draws heavily from Italian folklore and history to create a beautiful setting on the Amalfi Coast.
- Enotria emphasizes parrying in its combat, but the overwhelming amount of build options may undermine its core mechanic.
- Enotria and Lies of P, both Soulslike games inspired by Italian lore, approach the genre from contrasting angles.
Jyamma Games' Enotria: The Last Song is the latest in a series of Soulslike and Soulslike-adjacent games from new studios, joining the ranks of both Black Myth Wukong and Lies of P as a breakout title for their respective developers. But where Black Myth Wukong errs more on the side of being a traditional third-person action RPG, Enotria sits squarely alongside Lies of P by being a dyed-in-the-wool Soulslike, acting as the sun-drenched Dark Souls to Lies of P's Bloodborne. Beyond both titles being Soulslikes that take inspiration from Italian folklore, though, Enotria and Lies of P have less in common than one might think.
The story and setting of Enotria draw heavily from Italian history and folklore, beautifully recreating Italy's famous Amalfi Coast and its unmistakable vistas. And while Lies of P also pulls heavily from Italian folklore for its story and setting (specifically, Carlo Collodi's timeless children's novel The Adventures of Pinnochio), its setting shares more in common with the gothic horror of Bloodborne than the scenic beauty of the Mediterranean coast. Both games also happen to encourage players into a specific playstyle based heavily on parrying, but where Lies of P's build variety served to strengthen this approach, Enotria almost crumbles under its nearly overwhelming amount of options.
Enotria and Lies of P Tackle the Soulslike Genre From Opposing Sides
The most obvious difference between Enotria and Lies of P is undoubtedly the discrepancy between their settings. Beyond that, Enotria and Lies of P tackle their attempts at the Soulslike genre from almost completely opposite approaches. Where Lies of P commits fully to the parry-heavy combat and horror-tinged atmosphere of Bloodborne, Enotria feels like a riff on many of the ideas that FromSoftware presented in the first and second Dark Souls. And that comparison holds true in each game's approach to combat, as well.
Major Difference Between Enotria and Lies of P is in Combat Approach
While Enotria emphasizes parrying over all other forms of defense like blocking or dodge-rolling, it never fully commits to it in the same way that Lies of P does. Lies of P might feel like a direct mix between the aggression and speed of Bloodborne and the parrying in Sekiro, but it also supports that combat model through the way that it handles elements like character movement, traversal, enemy placements, and gear. By comparison, Enotria somewhat feels like the "catch-all" for different gameplay styles that Dark Souls was and still is, despite encouraging its parry mechanic.
While Enotria emphasizes parrying over all other forms of defense like blocking or dodge-rolling, it never fully commits to it in the same way that Lies of P does.
Enotria's Character Progression and Buildcraft Undermine its Parrying Rather than Support It
The multiple-build aspect of Enotria is definitely one of the main draws separating it from other Soulslikes in an increasingly crowded subgenre, but it's also the main undoing of the game's parry mechanic. Whereas Lies of P's combat places parrying front and center regardless of player builds, Enotria somewhat buckles under the weight of all the options it gives players. Certain boss encounters or fights against tougher enemies become nigh-impossible without parrying, and as a result, players will likely find themselves reverting to a favorite build that makes Enotria's core mechanic obsolete.
Further, Enotria throws a lot of options at the player in terms of what they can do in an encounter. There are three Masks to equip, each resulting in a different build and loadout, and beyond that, there are dozens of weapons, Mask Lines, and Path of Innovators perks that players can tinker with. Surprisingly, some of these actively go against the game's emphasis on parrying, which is self-sabotage that Lies of P never commits as Enotria's "Italian Soulslike" counterpart.
Enotria: The Last Song
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 69 /100 Critics Rec: 31%
- Released
- September 16, 2024
- ESRB
- Teen / Alcohol Reference, Blood and Gore, Mild Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Jyamma Games
- Publisher(s)
- Jyamma Games
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Soulslike
