The Last Faith

Play it on: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, Windows (Steam Deck YMMV)
Current goal: Find the Severance Reaper scythe
Buy it from: Humble Bundle

While folks continue clamoring for a Bloodborne remaster, developer Kumi Souls Games’ The Last Faith might be the closest thing we get to a new Bloodborne outside of the excellent Lies of P. A Soulsvania—Metroidvania and Soulslike—The Last Faith sees you controlling the amnesiac Eryk, who embarks on a quest to uncover his past after emerging from a dungeon prison. The story is fine, but what makes the game compelling is its blend of Metroidvania exploration with Soulslike combat, creating something that’s been dubbed 2D Bloodborne on account of its gothic setting and macabre enemies. There are a handful of weapons, from axes and maces to whips and swords and even guns, but I’ve got my eyes on one specific weapon.

I’m a sucker for katanas, and The Last Faith has two of them you can acquire in the late game. However, relatively early on is a badass-looking scythe that scales with my current build. It’s called the Severance Reaper, and it’s giving Bloodborne’s Burial Blade, my fave weapon in that game. It’s easy to get—found in a chest once you get two movement skills you pick up about a fourth of the way through the campaign—and hits pretty hard. What makes this weapon awesome, though, is its Bloodborne-like moveset. Like FromSoftware’s gothic RPG, The Last Faith’s Severance Reaper has an alternate attack pattern that breaks the weapon in half, letting you attack with just the blade portion in a similar fashion as the Burial Blade. This flurry of strikes is faster than the base combo and ends with a wind gust that deals extra damage while also, on some occasions, pushing enemies back. It rules, and it must be mine. So, I’m hunting. — Levi Winslow