The Last Oricru Reviews
The ambitious Czech RPG paid the price for unnecessary mistakes, which make it one of this year's gaming disappointments.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
The old adage that “Gameplay is King” holds firm and true here. With some frustrating gameplay driving the story, players may find it hard to give this game a chance. Like No Mans Sky, Final Fantasy XIV and Destiny before it, I hope that with time The Last Oricru can evolve and garner itself a passionate community of players. I would definitely like to return in the future to see updates and find out how my story pans out.
The Last Oricru tried to balance its design between in-depth narratives of CRPG and Souls-like heavy action. On top of that, a world that is a mixture of myth, science and magic is also compelling. However, it becomes frustrating when you realize the shortcomings of Souls-like (no maps, no explanation) and the element of CRPG that every action affect the ending does not make a good synergy.
Review in Korean | Read full review
I can appreciate a game with some jankiness if its world is rich, the characters are well fleshed out, and the story is compelling. I loved GreedFall for this exact reason, despite its flaws. Unfortunately, The Last Oricru feels like it’s still in early access, and none of its other attributes are strong enough to make up for its shortcomings. As it stands right now, I would have to recommend waiting for it to go on sale or until more patches are released to make it more playable.
The world too is absolutely beautiful. There’s a view you get early on of a seduction of the cover art that’s currently serving as my Xbox’s home screen. Problems with the type of story they’re trying to tell being told the way they’re trying to tell it aside, I do find myself enjoying that aspect of the game. Knowing I’ll come back to make other choices to see just how far the game changes, and finding myself wanting to see more. I’m a sucker for setting though, what can I say. Talking any further about the progression of the game is just spoilers for their own sake, maybe I’ll make a deeper story analysis, but not in this article. With a heavy handed and uncomfortable racial conflict at its center, every choice alters the way the game progresses. Fight this Soulslike fight alone, or with a friend, but maybe wait for the sale.
The Last Oricru can be terrible in some parts, but when it's good, it's delightful - though, I can't recommend it outside of its co-op elements, and I'd avoid it as a single-player title overall.
Having said all that, despite the fun that co-op brings, it isn’t enough to turn The Last Oricru into a recommendation, unfortunately. The amateur-hour writing and uneven combat are just too difficult to overlook especially considering just how stuffed the genre is with competing titles that do just about everything The Last Oricru does, only better. Sure there is fun to be hand in exploring Wanderia and its intricate level design, but every “wow” moment is typically followed by a facepalm, as Silver says something that is tonally deaf, or falls to yet another attack that should have had no business hitting him. If you’re after another slice of Soulslike action in 2022, then your $40 can absolutely be spent better elsewhere, with The Last Oricru serving as little more than a pale imitation that struggles to even nail the Soulslike fundamentals.
I wanted to like The Last Oricru very much, I was intrigued by the fish out of water story, but the abrasiveness of the main character and the basic feeling combat just killed it for me. There is a case here for a strong presentation, the vistas and some of the levels were a joy to explore, also the fact that the game kept what felt like a solid 60 fps was a big plus in this ‘next-gen’ age but there was always something just keeping me from really enjoying myself. Be it the so-so story, the wasted use of souls mechinics or just Silver himself, sadly The Last Oricru just doesn’t add anything new to the genre.
The Last Oricru was a very ambitious idea, and in its final form, it is not exactly a failure, but compared to other games in its genre, it cannot defend its name well enough. The constant technical difficulties, the cumbersome combat system, and the poorly told story are blows that a knowledgeable player can't shake.
Review in Czech | Read full review
The Last Oricru is a souls-lite title with a strong RPG edge. Furthermore, it has a dry sense of humour, a rich story, and interesting characters. However, poor acting, tainted visuals, and repetitive combat hold it back. Accordingly, you may wish to look elsewhere to get your Soulsborne hit.
The Last Oricru is a masterpiece of bad design. When a game has to warn its players not to invest in half the available skill points because they’re worthless, you know you’ve got something special, and that’s what Oricru is - special. It’s so profoundly wrong it deserves to be studied, dissected, remembered for years. Its creators should tour universities and give talks about their artistic philosophies so future generations can learn how never to make a videogame. If you’d told me aliens had developed it, I’d struggle to argue, such is the incomprehensible absurdity on display.
The result is a game that, despite the notable effort put forth into its writing and storytelling, is constantly dragged down by technical issues and an unrefined combat system.
The Last Oricru is a cynical attempt at a Dark Souls successor. So many aspects of the game fall short to capture the same thrills within the series and its other imitators. With unsatisfying gameplay, a cliche-ridden story, and poor graphics, The Last Oricru is a difficult game to recommend.