Don’t Go Alone in The Last Oricru

Splitting the attention of all, GoldKnights is having an impressive showing at the EK Water Blocks Booth. That’s right, The Last Oricru is taking the attention of any that dare gaze upon its beautiful graphics and stunning gameplay. The combat is difficult and gritty, with free movement and tough choices around every corner. Quick decisions are a requirement in The Last Oricru. This is not meant to be a barrier to enjoyment but rather encourages the player to take advantage of the cooperative system when in need of help. This creates a unique environment for a challenge while also inviting options to interact with one another. This was an impressive title both in performance and in a solid combination of ideas and mechanics. Let’s dive right into this demo of The Last Oricru.

Thrust in Civil Conflict!

Sitting down and getting to play the title was an exciting opportunity. The game was running on a beautiful PC filled with plenty of colors and its internal hardware was submerged in water. Furthermore, having a chance to play was exciting and allowed me to see all the beautiful mechanics shoved into this amazing story. Since this title is a little unique in how it is designed, I wanted to address something before continuing. The Last Oricru has a short playtime (around 15 hours). GoldKnights Studio instead focuses on the branching narrative timeline of the game. At Pax, I personally was able to meet Sir Toby, the PR manager for Plaion, who had plenty to share on the game and its current development. Toby was more than willing to share plenty about the story and gameplay you find yourself in when we began our trial demo of The Last Oricru.

A Trial of Fire and Steel

Taking the reins of a wizard, Toby (my cooperative partner on this demo) was a figure with a shield/sword. I was experimenting with my controls, finding them to be quite intuitive—especially for fans who love Souls-like games. This made the cat and mouse combat that I love so much a reality. I was instantly filled with joy that only the burning of an enemy could correct. Toby knew what was needed and we took our path on the Ratkin’s story path. This first run revealed the Ratkin trying to invade the city displayed in the first image. This will be the location where most of the game takes place and is controlled by the Naboru. Exploring this detailed area was initially very exciting until I turned a corner and got 7 arrows to the chest from Naboru soldiers. It gave me and Toby a quick laugh as I realized we were trying to be stealthy, but this was a revealing moment since my character had died and I chose to self-revive. Since I chose to self revive this forced my character to revive with even less health than normal. I learned that if you used your companion to revive you within an allotted time you regain all of your health back. You will find this to be tough in combat since the revive timer is around 10 seconds making it impossible to just spam revive.

Not concerned at all with such a small encounter, Toby and myself continued until we were able to see a Ratkin General about to be executed in the middle of the stone roads. We couldn’t do anything about it since we saw it from far away, but Toby made a point to keep it in mind. Continuing along, we did some simple fights. While I played in the back launching fireballs, he would play upfront slicing out enemies. My favorite encounter was the one when I locked onto Toby and through his character amplifying a magic shield and I elected to shoot him creating an amplified spell. This was phenomenal as he was just deflecting and I was able to launch fireballs around the corner. This was the teamwork I was expecting to see when I was told that the game focuses on providing tools for a fun cooperative experience. Shortly after, Toby wanted us to go again, but this time start from the perspective of the Naboru. The Naboru are the opposing faction in the game.

My encounter with the Naboru was not as much combat but a more display of the story that can come from the branching narrative. The queen of the Naboru meeting my character was initially distant but when looking over the rail that she stood near, we saw that saw Ratkin General from the other playthrough. The Queen shortly after has a discussion with us asking us to represent her and kill the Ratkin General. This was interesting since it was from before he was defeated in combat and we see him healthy screaming from below for a challenger. I believe this to be an excellent example of replayability in this title, showing the ability to mess with timelines in different paths is fantastic. On this run, I was also switched to a melee class which was nothing too crazy but Toby wanted to share a new shocking toy. His character was switched as well, one with the ability to create an electric tether between himself and me. This ability would damage any targets that would touch it, some of course not having the choice as I rushed them. All of these skills would lead to an amazing boss fight with the Ratkin General. Since the game is Souls-like it required quick dodging and precise weapon attacks. Toby and I had to work together, even with one of us falling in battle the other would distract the general to let the other run quickly back. Through some trial and error, we completed the demo of the game by defeating the Ratkin General – funny enough right after he is defeated the player is given the choice to complete the kill or let him run to save his race(got to love the ability to switch story tracks).

Final Thoughts

The Last Oricru was absolutely a pleasant experience. Something worth addressing is the lack of story I was really able to see, with quick cutscenes (due to time difficulties) and the small amount I was truly able to watch was limited. Although small, the story feels solid and I look forward to being able to see a more complete narrative when The Last Oricru releases on October 13, 2022. Some great comforts to find in multiplayer are the fact that you can play locally or online. The online aspect is heavily focused on creating an experience that is meant to support the first player. Since player one is the only one that can progress objectives on the map, this means that the second player cannot outrun you, or complete the mission way ahead of you. You can also kick or invite players to switch friends if needed. I believe that not only is the gameplay fun, but the idea of a shorter experience that is more detailed in choices is exciting. If you agree and want to find this RPG, you can find it here on Steam. Make sure to wishlist this game or follow it to keep your eye out for it.