Last Vanguard

TL;DR: Last Vanguard is one of the best metroidvanias released in the last decade, and it deserves a much bigger audience. I’m genuinely surprised this game isn’t more popular. Last Vanguard delivers pretty much everything you could want from the genre: striking art direction, a compelling story, excellent sound design, rewarding exploration, memorable boss fights, tight controls, and solid performance throughout. The game leans a bit more toward platforming and exploration than pure combat, which I personally enjoyed, but there are still plenty of challenging boss encounters to keep you on your toes. It strikes a great balance between difficulty and fairness, meaning it's demanding enough to feel rewarding without crossing into frustrating territory. If you’re a fan of metroidvanias, or you take satisfaction in supporting ambitious indie developers, this is an easy recommendation and an absolute must-play. PS: You can earn 100% of the achievements in a single playthrough if you start on the hardest difficulty.

This is a pretty unique experience. Most of it really good. The platforming was really tight and responsive. It's one of those games were moving around the map feels satisfying once you get the hang of it. You get access to all of the typical metroidvania movement abilities pretty much from the get go: double jumping, air dashes etc. On top of that you get several unique abilities that let you access parts of the map previously unreachable and a selection of weapons and perks. I think the visuals and the music are really beautiful. The latter reminds of the Kyle Thompson games. Another similarity is the difficulty of the game. There are three difficulty levels to choose from. I went for the middle one and the game felt a lot like Islets, making for a pretty chill experience throughout most of the game. However, while Islets was pretty consistent with its difficulty, Last Vanguard unfortunately is not. There are some bosses in the game that are significantly more difficult to beat. On top of that there are also non-optional platforming sections that could rival some of the zestier White Palace sections in Hollow Knight. The only part that I had a huge problem with was th…

its hollow knight with guns. liked it a lot

A solid 4/5. The bosses are all pretty fun and the energy system forces you to get in close regularly, a good way to balance having ranged combat and healing. It made me nostalgic for old flash games that tried to create similar experiences, but on a larger scale. It's quite laid back and slow, and the washed out visuals can get stale. but it's part of the art direction and me just playing long sessions. The Good: - Combat is satisfying for the most part. - Art style is charming. - Short and Sweet The Bad: - Weapon balance is a bit lopsided, with later guns making most earlier options redundant, an upgrade system could have helped weaker guns stay relevant. Unless I missed it somehow. - Electric sash probably could have benefitted from a length upgrade.

Recommended

Last Vanguard is a hand-drawn 2D action-platformer with strong Metroidvania foundations, developed and published by Cool Tapir Studios. Set in a fractured world shaped by war and tyranny, the game places players in the role of a lone fighter navigating interconnected biomes filled with hostile forces, ancient secrets, and powerful adversaries. From the outset, it becomes clear that Last Vanguard is not merely a nostalgic tribute to classic side-scrolling adventures, but an attempt to merge traditional exploration design with shooter mechanics and RPG-style customization systems in a cohesive and challenging package. The world design follows classic Metroidvania structure, built around a large interconnected map divided into distinct biomes. Each region introduces new environmental hazards, enemy archetypes, and traversal challenges, gradually expanding the player's mobility toolkit as abilities are unlocked. Backtracking is a central part of progression, but it rarely feels arbitrary; newly acquired skills often open shortcuts, hidden areas, or optional encounters that meaningfully reward exploration. Secrets are plentiful, and players who carefully examine the environment will di…