Italian Mask-Swapping Soulslike Enotria: The Last Song Stuns at PAX | PAX West 2023

mmorpg.com:

With so many great RPG’s hitting the scene lately, last year’s award-winning game Elden Ring feels almost like a distant memory. The Soulslike subgenre hasn’t stopped, however, and nestled in prime real-estate on the PAX show floor was Jyamma Games’ next offering, Enotria: The Last Song. Should this song be added to your Wishlist?

I haven’t been a Soulslike fan for long, but I recently went to town on Elden Ring and completed all of the achievements, with a takeaway that I really like the style of play quite a bit. When I entered the squared-off monitor-lined pen that Enotria inhabited for my demo, I sidled up to someone that was already in the midst of combat and was encouraged by what I saw. Death. Repeated, brutal deaths from multiple opponents. There’s certainly something to be said for games that are too difficult, but I’ve never shied away from a challenge.

“This is an Italian take on a Dark Souls game,” David from the marketing team told me, as I was handed an Xbox controller. Built in Unreal Engine 5, Enotria looks beautiful, and unlike the Dark Souls games from which it borrows its inspiration, this single player experience wasn’t very dark at all. “We like to call it a mediterranean, sun-soaked take on the Soulslike genre.” He explained. The game comprises Italian history and Italian folklore with the world based on an actual coast in Italy, which seemed to be the primary defining theme as Jyamma games themselves are an Italian studio, composed of 50 Italian developers.

The entire feel of the game was meant to embody more of that Italian flair, right down to the music and themes, which expel the dark ambience of many of the current Soulslike games, in favor of something more sprightful and upbeat. As a