Earlier this year Hello Games released The Last Campfire, their first game since the behemoth that is No Man’s Sky. Built by a small subset of the studio, the game features high production values on a small scale. You play as Ember, a lost soul tasked with relighting the fires that guide the dead through what is essentially purgatory. To do this you must find other souls that have lost their way and awaken them by solving puzzles. Along the way you meet a large variety of quirky characters, explore varied and colorful worlds, and solve unique, challenging puzzles.
What stood out to me immediately was the game’s beautiful art and environments. In first few hours you explore dark forests, murky swamps, and lush green wetlands. It really pulls you into the world and gives off a dark fantasy vibe. While this game takes place at a time of despair and features themes of death, the story is actually about hope. The art, music, and story telling do a great job of balancing these themes while also pulling you forward.
The Last Campfire‘s mechanics are just as mysterious as it’s world. It does a fantastic job of teaching you through doing as opposed using discrete tutorials. The ways you can interact with the world are limited, but the game gets a lot out of a little. Each puzzle features either a wholly unique mechanic or a twist on one you’ve seen before. I came across puzzles that required me to move blocks to activate switches, and others that require me to protect a lit flame from being blown out. The goals are always clear, but how to execute is where the challenge lies.
These puzzles exist in the over world as well, and this is where the adventure game aspects come in. You collect items and tools along your way and must use them when and where appropriate. In one scene I had to find several objects to feed to a massive talking pig in order to proceed. These challenges require you to rigorously explore the levels to find secrets areas and objects. The cast of characters you encounter also reminded a lot of Alice’s Adventure’s In Wonderland; larger than life creatures living in a bizarre, but enchanting world.
It all comes together to form an immersive, challenging, and intriguing game. It’s interesting to see a studio like Hello Games put out a small, under the radar game like this amidst the ever evolving and growing No Man’s Sky. It’s also a great example of what an independent studio can foster within its ranks. The Last Campfire isn’t going to set the world on fire, but its touching story is available to those who seek it out, and it should be a proud achievement for those who made it.
