Last Vanguard (v1.0.1)

A ruined kingdom held beneath a tyrant’s grip becomes the backdrop for a demanding side-scrolling adventure built around mobility, firepower, and hard-won discovery. Last Vanguard is a hand-drawn Metroidvania shooter-platformer that mixes the careful map progression of the genre with RPG-style build choices. Its frame-by-frame animation gives every enemy, attack, and oversized boss a lively illustrated quality, even as the world itself leans into war-torn desolation. The result is a focused action experience with an adventurous sense of scale rather than a purely linear run from level to level.

Combat revolves around adapting to threats with a growing arsenal of 15 weapon types, then supporting your preferred approach with active skills, passive upgrades, and customizable helmets. Some encounters reward aggressive close-range pressure, while others call for spacing, evasive movement, and selecting gear that better handles a boss’s particular attack patterns. Nine distinct biomes provide new enemy types and mechanical wrinkles as the map opens up, encouraging players to revisit areas when fresh abilities expand their options. Progress is driven by exploration as much as combat, with new paths, environmental secrets, and potential allies breaking up the constant pressure of hostile territory.

The standout attraction is the breadth of its boss lineup: 28 major battles, each designed around its own animation work and combat identity, give the campaign a strong sequence of skill checks. Equipment customization also means the protagonist is not locked into one prescribed playstyle; players can experiment with weapons and ability combinations instead of simply equipping whatever has the largest number attached. Handcrafted environments and a bleak but colorful illustrated presentation help it stand apart from more pixel-art-heavy entries in the genre. Fans of Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, or action platformers that ask for both sharp reflexes and thoughtful build planning should find plenty to like, while newcomers can enjoy it if they are willing to learn boss patterns and explore thoroughly.