The Last Friend

Genre: Tower Defense / Arcade Brawler

Players: 1

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Review:

The Last Friend, released on PC in 2021 and ported to Nintendo Switch in 2022, is a game that combines elements of the Tower Defense and Arcade-style Brawler genres. The game takes place in a colorful, cartoony post-apocalyptic wasteland following the gruff bearded mostly-silent protagonist Alpha as he travels across the land rescuing various dogs, who then become the units in his growing army of dog-piloted mechanized emplacements.

The presentation here uses a combination of simple, colorful 2D visuals and simple 3D visuals that fit in with the 2D stuff to give the game a stylized look that fits its silly tone. This is backed by a soundtrack with some energetic rock-style music that does a good job putting the emphasis on the game’s action.

As for that action… The Last Friend is basically Plants Vs. Zombies (complete with multiple ‘lanes” to defend), but with players controlling a Brawler-style character instead of a cursor. It’s a fun combination that does a good job of getting players to think about how they spend their time during the current wave of enemies – do you focus on building and repairing your doggo-powered gun turrets, defensive emplacements, and support units? Do you go around collecting the “scrap” dropped by support units and enemies that you need to build more units? Or do you take the fight straight to the enemy, keeping those enemies from reaching your emplacements. Depending on the stage and the units you took into battle with you, you may want to favor one approach over another, or balance them out.

One of the clever things this game does is that new dogs you rescue can be emplacements, or they can be equippable character upgrades that give your brawler new abilities or enhanced stats… but equipping them requires using up one a slot that could go to an emplacement, so you’ll need to be careful about choosing which dogs to bring with you into a battle. And like Plants Vs. Zombies, the game does a good job mixing up the challenges you’ll be facing from stage to stage, with some stages limiting the emplacements you can bring into battle with you, or offering hazards you need to contend with. There are also challenges in each stage for completionists looking for something a bit more to do beyond merely surviving.

Unfortunately, even with these challenges, this is still a fairly short game, although the relatively low $15 price tag does help to make that short length sting somewhat less. This game also lacks the multiplayer mode and minigames that Plants Vs. Zombies was absolutely filled with. And in the end, since I’m comparing this to Plants Vs. Zombies, I have to say that this game’s meshing of genres, while fun and well-implemented, just isn’t as elegant as the more straightforward and focused gameplay of Plants Vs. Zombies, and the frenetic nature of the gameplay may not appeal to everyone.

I should also note that while the game purportedly offers multiplayer co-op play, I did not see the option for that. Perhaps i just missed it, and if so I may revisit this review in the future. However, I can only review what I saw personally, and for now this is it.

While this game may not knock the crown off the head of Plants Vs. Zombies… you can’t currently play Plants Vs. Zombies on Nintendo Switch, and this game offers enough unique different gameplay ideas that it’s not merely “a sufficient replacement”. Those craving a solid Tower Defense game who might enjoy a bit more of a frenzied action focus will find a lot to love in The Last Friend, and while it won’t last you very long, it’s more than worth the $15 price tag.

Oh… and yes, you can pet the dog.

tl;dr – The Last Friend is a colorful, cartoony post-apocalyptic game that combines Plants Vs. Zombies-style lane-based Tower Defense with Arcade Brawler style action, and while it’s not quite on the same level as Plants Vs. Zombies, it’s still a lot of fun, with the Brawler elements bringing both an added layer of strategy and a more frenzied pace. The game is a bit short and lacking in features, but for the $15 price tag, this is a very good doggo.

Grade: B+

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2022 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Strategy Game / Simulation

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