The Schools of Magic’s arcane arms race nearly resulted in the complete destruction of the world. This calamitous spell enveloped the land in a mist filled with hellish monsters. Everything and everyone touched by the mist was killed, driven mad, or transformed into abominations themselves. The only solution is to cast one last spell to utterly eradicate all magic from the realms.

To cast this final spell, those left alive must band together to protect magicians as they attempt to break seals protecting monstrous bosses. Prepare each day by building new defenses, setting traps, replacing any mages devoured by the beasts, and equipping weapons. The Last Spell’s class-less characters have a high degree of customizability — weapons determine their abilities, and each hero can equip two instruments of death.

By night, eradicate the onslaught of horrors with devastating area-of-effect attacks and spells before they can reach the magicians. Hundreds of enemies can swarm the heroes every night, so fight each battle like it’s the last. Fast-and-furious grid-based combat encourages party optimization and aggressive play instead of hunkering down and anticipating each move the demons make. 

Publisher The Arcade Crew and developer Ishtar Games (formerly known as CCCP) announced that The Last Spell is bringing humanity’s battle to survive throngs of attacking beasts to Steam Early Access on June 3 for $19.99. A 10% discount will also be available to tacticians who join the cause within two weeks of the game’s Early Access launch.

The newly released gameplay overview shows the extinction-threatening plight awaiting humanity’s best (and only remaining) strategists: slaying and fending off endless hordes of monsters as they swarm civilization’s final Haven. The Haven’s mages need time to banish the accursed magic spawning these beasts; calculated plans of attack and careful fortification of city defenses is vital, but even defeat brings valuable new lessons.

Until them, you can also try the free multi-hour Prologue demo via Steam.

The Last Spell’s Prologue asks players to command their Haven through five in-game days (about 2-3 hours of gameplay depending on skill level) of defensive preparations and tense fights for survival. Leaders will implement enhanced effects, injury management, and a fresh defensive operation into their cunning plans to fend off an unending wave of monsters charging forth from a toxic mist.

Pluck the very souls out of enemies by dealing mortal blows to them. Striking down multiple creatures in a single combo earns more souls. Beware, each character can die permanently. Upon death, Beings of Light and Darkness will exchange harvested souls for permanent boons that will help in the next attempt.

Witness the grim hopelessness of humanity through The Last Spell’s high-quality pixel art. An electronic soundtrack fusing heavy metal with dark synth punctuates the medieval post-apocalyptic fantasy horror atmosphere. Grab an axe, hurl a fireball, and save the world or die trying.

The Last Spell comes to PC/Mac (Steam) in 2021, with a Nintendo Switch version coming at a later date.