Developer: Elastic Games
Publisher: Elastic Games
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Last Year: The Nightmare – Review
High school is a nightmare in its own right with teenagers, hormones and homework that makes for a deadly cocktail. This is especially true if you’re not among the popular kids. However things can still get much worse as you might get stalked by a relentless serial killer. If this makes you nostalgic for a good slasher movie such as Scream, Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street, then keep on reading.
Story
The easiest way to explain the story of Last Year: The Nightmare is to compare it to one of the many slasher horror movies of the 90s as the aforementioned Scream, Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street and many others. The premise is that a group of teenagers, five in this case, are being chased by a serial killer. The teenagers follow the pattern of strong stereotypes: Chad the quarterback, Nick the nerd, Amber the prom queen, Troy the cool kid and Sam the geek. On the other end of the spectrum we have three serial killers with very descriptive names: Giant, Strangler and Slasher. Not much can be said about them except that they are or act exactly as there name states. The only bit of story can be found at the start of each map in the form of a small clip in which the teenagers explain their escape plan. Beyond that there is no real story or character development. The origin of the serial killers is also kept very vague. Not that this has ever stopped a game or movie from being successful so no points are deducted for this.
Graphics
The graphics look great as the characters and their stereotypes are well recognizable, even from a distance. The serial killers are all distinct looking and scary. It is clear that a lot of effort was put into creating some memorable bad guys. Same goes for the environments and level design with plenty of dark places and corners where death could be lurking. The death scenes are also rather elaborate as you don’t just drop dead to the floor but you get chopped into pieces, gutted or skull smashed in a way that would make a certain Game of Thrones character jealous.
Sound
Last Year: The Nightmare has a soundtrack that gives you the chills. The sound matches the atmosphere of the game really well, serving its purpose to get your blood pumping. There is a mixture of electronic sounds and regular environmental high school sounds, making it hard to say which is scarier.
Gameplay
Last Year: The Nightmare is a 5 vs 1 multiplayer asymmetrical action game. On one side of the ring we have five teenagers and on the other side one serial killer. The game is basically a cat and mouse game, either the cat kills the mouse or the mouse gets away. The only way for the teenagers to win the game is by opening the exit gate and going through it before it closes again permanently. The game is on a timer so the matches don’t drag out endlessly, because that would be a real nightmare. Reaching the exit however is not an easy task because several obstacles are blocking the way. Luckily for the teenagers they have a plan. Each of the currently three available maps has a very specific plan. This more often than not involves finding items scattered around the map to open several locked doors.
If you play as a teenager you will get one of the five characters assigned to you randomly . You might not be able to pick the character itself but you sure can choose which class you play. There are four classes to choose from: assault, medic, scout, and technician. The character that was assigned to you is not a restriction to which classes you can be, you can be the assault nerd or the quarterback technician if you want to be. Each class does however have a limit to how many players can pick that class at any given time. As in any other game with classes each class has its own strengths and weaknesses and a different loadout. Each class starts with a few basic items but you can find crafting materials to upgrade existing tools or create new ones. This is technically not necessary to win but it might just make your life a lot easier. In total there are twelve items in the game, divided in defensive and offensive items. To craft items you must first find crafting materials that are scattered around the map and are stored in various containers.
There is always a tradeoff, if you want to find more crafting materials you will need to wander the map a little more, which not only makes you vulnerable but it takes time away from completing the main objectives. It’s more a when you get killed then an if you get killed, as long as there is one more active survivor you will respawn in a locked room, the only way you can rejoin the game is when someone opens the door for you. This gives the teenagers a little more chance to win.
If you get to play as the serial killer your only task is to run around the map killing everyone in sight and making sure no one reaches the exit gate alive. As you are outnumbered you get a couple of special abilities depending on which of the three serial killers you are. All three share the ability to quickly move around the map in stealth so they can jump into action in a moment’s notice. None of the serial killers is invincible and might be taken down by the teenagers if they work together. When this happens the player who struck the killing blow will switch places with the player who controlled the serial killer. The new serial killer will also adopt some new moves as to make things more interesting.
Conclusion
Last Year: The Nightmare is a fun multiplayer game. The graphics and sound all contribute to a great and scary experience. Both ends of the spectrum are fun to play and neither feels overpowered as long as you don’t try to go solo attack the Giant. That being said, much relies on the active community. Your experience may vary depending on the people you play with or how active the community remains after a couple of months. As a side note, this is also one of the first games available on Discord, so if you don’t find the game on the regular channels where you purchase your games, have a look at the new Discord store.
Last Year: The Nightmare - Review,
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