The Last Friend

Developer: The Stonebot Studio, Ludus Games | Publisher: Skystone Games | Release Date: 2021 | Genre: Action / Tower Defense / Beat ‘Em Up | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

There are plenty of post-apocalyptic games about saving humanity, but The Last Friend has its priorities straight. Humanity might be struggling with mutants, gangs, environmental collapse, and the usual collection of end-of-the-world problems, but the real emergency is that someone has been kidnapping all the dogs. This is where Alpha and his talking Chihuahua companion T. Juan come in, travelling across the wasteland in an armoured RV while rescuing every dog they can find and punching anyone foolish enough to get in their way. 

The premise is deliberately ridiculous, and the game leans heavily into dog jokes, exaggerated villains, and Saturday-morning-cartoon humour. Alpha is the mostly silent muscle of the operation while T. Juan handles the talking, and the story mainly exists to provide an excuse for travelling to new regions and rescuing more dogs. It is not particularly deep, but the cheerful tone works well with the colourful presentation and prevents the post-apocalyptic setting from ever becoming grim.

What makes The Last Friend interesting is its mixture of tower defense and beat ’em up mechanics. Most stages are divided into several horizontal lanes with Alpha’s RV parked on the left and waves of enemies entering from the right. The objective is usually to stop them from reaching and destroying the vehicle, but unlike something such as Plants vs. Zombies, players are not limited to simply placing units and waiting. Alpha can personally run between the lanes, punch enemies, perform combos, and help whichever defensive position is currently under the most pressure.

This combination works remarkably well. The tower-defense side gives players something to plan and maintain, while Alpha’s direct involvement prevents the action from becoming passive. If one lane suddenly becomes overwhelmed, he can jump across and start knocking enemies down while the dogs continue firing behind him. Likewise, a well-built defense can handle weaker enemies automatically while Alpha concentrates on tougher threats elsewhere.

Defenses are constructed using scrap dropped by defeated enemies or generated by certain utility dogs. Each dog rescued during the campaign unlocks a new option, with different breeds performing different roles. Some operate turrets, others create barriers, produce resources, heal nearby defenses, slow enemies, or provide bonuses directly to Alpha. 

The dog theme is more than a cosmetic gimmick. Different breeds are matched with abilities that often make sense for their real-world characteristics, which gives the roster plenty of charm. The Newfoundland, famous for water rescue, provides healing support, while other breeds specialise in barriers, elemental attacks, or passive bonuses. Around forty dogs can be rescued throughout the adventure, and building a favourite team becomes part of the fun. 

Players can only bring a limited selection into each mission, so there is some strategy involved before a stage even begins. One dog might provide a reliable offensive turret while another produces scrap, and a third could reinforce Alpha instead of occupying the battlefield. Later areas introduce enemies with different resistances, attacks, and elemental properties, which encourages experimenting with the growing roster instead of simply sticking with the first few unlocks forever.

In practice, however, the game is forgiving enough that careful optimisation is rarely essential. We barely saw the Game Over screen while completing the entire game and earning 100% of the achievements. Alpha himself is a major reason for this. He can punch, kick, perform combo attacks, dodge, and use special abilities while freely moving between the active lanes. The brawling feels satisfyingly responsive, and weaker enemies can often be dealt with before the turrets even get involved. Once upgraded, Alpha becomes strong enough that large portions of a stage can be handled personally while the defenses act as insurance.

This does make the tower-defense component feel less essential than it probably should. Poor placement or an inefficient loadout rarely results in immediate disaster because Alpha can compensate by simply beating enemies into submission. Players who enjoy squeezing every bit of efficiency out of tower-defense layouts may therefore find the strategic side somewhat shallow.

The game at least provides plenty of different enemy types. The wasteland is populated by mutants, ranged attackers, heavily armoured brutes, elemental enemies, and various other oddballs who require slightly different responses. Some can set portions of the battlefield on fire, others resist particular attacks, and later groups arrive in increasingly large numbers. Unfortunately, those large numbers create the game’s biggest problem.

The later stages become an absolute mess visually. Hordes of enemies pour onto the screen while several dog defenses fire simultaneously, poison clouds spread across lanes, explosions go off, projectiles fly everywhere, and massive character sprites obscure whatever happens to be behind them. At its worst, it becomes difficult to see Alpha at all, never mind work out which lane he is standing in or whether his punches are connecting with the intended target. The action can look spectacular, but readability is far more important in a game where players constantly need to switch lanes and react to threats.

Poison smoke is especially bad because it can obscure large sections of the battlefield while oversized enemies occupy much of the remaining space. We frequently found ourselves attacking based more on where we assumed Alpha was than what we could actually see. The fact that the game remains relatively easy prevents this from becoming completely disastrous, but it turns some late encounters into chaos rather than satisfying strategy.

The campaign does more than repeat identical defense missions. There are dedicated boss fights, brawling-focused stages, side missions, challenge rooms, and other objectives that break up the standard formula. Some stages impose specific restrictions or require particular dogs, forcing players out of their preferred loadout. Other missions focus more heavily on Alpha’s combat abilities instead of building defenses.

This variety is important because the central loop can otherwise become repetitive. Defeating enemies, earning scrap, constructing the same favourite turrets, and upgrading them through several waves is entertaining, but there are only so many times the formula can repeat before it becomes predictable.

Bosses are generally large, exaggerated opponents with distinctive attacks and plenty of health. They fit the cartoon tone well but are rarely as difficult as their appearance suggests. By the time most are encountered, players have access to enough strong dogs and upgrades that the fights are more spectacle than serious obstacle.

Progression is spread across several systems. Dogs can be upgraded using treats earned throughout the campaign, improving their effectiveness and sometimes unlocking stronger versions that can be built during missions. Stars awarded for completing stage objectives are used for broader RV upgrades, including improvements to areas such as scrap efficiency and vehicle durability.

Individual missions can award up to three stars based on additional conditions, such as finishing quickly or preventing the RV from taking excessive damage. This provides a useful reason to replay earlier levels after unlocking stronger dogs and upgrades. Since the campaign itself is easy, chasing perfect ratings is where more of the challenge lies.

There are also side activities and challenge rooms associated with improving Alpha, while camp areas allow players to interact with the rescued dogs and manage upgrades. The game even lets players pet the dogs, which feels like an essential feature given the premise. 

The Steam version contains 56 achievements, many of which go considerably beyond simply finishing the story. They include completing rescue missions, collecting optional items, using particular dog abilities, fulfilling stage-specific challenges, and completing every mission. This gives completionists plenty to work toward and was enough to keep us playing until the full 100% was earned. That said, anyone only interested in reaching the ending will find a relatively compact campaign. The time will vary depending on how thoroughly everything is pursued, but a full achievement run generally falls somewhere around the low double digits in hours. 

Once the game is finished, a boss-rush option becomes available along with another dog, providing some additional content for players who want to keep upgrading their team. There is no substantially harder campaign mode, though, which feels like a missed opportunity considering how easy the standard journey becomes once the strongest upgrades are unlocked.

Local two-player cooperative play is also supported, along with Steam Remote Play Together. This suits the chaotic nature of the game nicely, although the already considerable amount of visual clutter naturally becomes even more pronounced with another player involved.

Visually, The Last Friend is extremely appealing. The artwork uses bold colours, exaggerated proportions, and a clean cartoon style that makes the post-apocalyptic wasteland look strangely cheerful. Regions range from ruined badlands and cities to military facilities, jungles, rivers, and other increasingly bizarre locations, providing enough environmental variety to prevent the campaign from becoming visually monotonous.

The dog designs are obviously the stars. Every breed is recognisable while still fitting the exaggerated art style, and their little animations give them plenty of personality. Alpha’s attacks are equally expressive, with satisfying impacts and over-the-top movements that make even simple combos enjoyable to watch.

The only major visual criticism is the aforementioned readability. Individually, the sprites and effects look excellent. Put dozens of them together with smoke, projectiles, explosions, turrets, and giant enemies, though, and the screen can become almost indecipherable.

The soundtrack fits the action with energetic guitar-driven music and upbeat themes that keep the tone light. In general, the audio is pleasant and unobtrusive rather than particularly memorable. Sound effects make more of an immediate impression, especially the chunky impacts from Alpha’s punches and the constant racket produced by the defenses.

Controls are responsive and easy to understand. Moving between lanes, attacking, dodging, and building defenses quickly become intuitive, while the game slows down when selecting something to construct, so players are not punished for navigating the build menu during a hectic wave.

The game bears an obvious resemblance to Plants vs. Zombies through its lane-based defenses, but direct control over Alpha gives it much more of an arcade feel. Rather than sitting back and watching a carefully constructed formation do all the work, players are constantly running around repairing weak spots and beating enemies personally. The result is less strategic but considerably more immediate.

Overall, The Last Friend is a charming and entertaining mixture of tower defense and beat ’em up gameplay that works better than the unusual combination might suggest. Rescuing new dogs continually provides fresh defenses and abilities to experiment with, while Alpha’s responsive combat means there is always something to do even after a strong defensive line has been established.

Unfortunately, the game is simply too easy for most of its campaign. Strong upgrades quickly overpower the enemies, bosses rarely present much resistance, and players familiar with either genre may finish most stages without ever seeing the RV seriously threatened. The later areas compensate by throwing much larger hordes at the screen, but this creates an entirely different problem when the visual clutter becomes so extreme that Alpha, enemies, and even individual lanes can become difficult to distinguish.

Despite these issues, we still had enough fun to earn every achievement. The colourful presentation, huge collection of dogs, varied mission types, satisfying brawling, and constant stream of upgrades make the campaign enjoyable right through to completion, even if it rarely provides much resistance.