Asymmetric multiplayer horror has become an unlikely genre over the past year or two, and Last Year: The Nightmare has managed to drive some early interest upon its release today, especially on Twitch. Viewership has managed to top the likes of PUBG and Dota, and has occasionally graced the #3 gaming spot today – right behind Fortnite and League of Legends.
Some number of those viewers come along with sponsored broadcasts from a number of major streamers, but it appears much of that interest is genuine – at least, it’s been enough to kill the game’s official site a few times today.
Last Year is fairly similar to games like Dead by Daylight and Friday the 13th, where a team of weak human players have to work together to escape the wrath of one player controlling a killer. Here, the hook is that the murderous player has three killers to control, and so you respawn with new abilities and a new playstyle every time you die. There are three killers, five survivors, and three maps available right now, and more are set to come as free updates throughout 2019.
It’s part of the First on Discord programme, so the Discord store is only place you can pick it up for now. The game will eventually make it to other PC platforms and will offer full cross-play when it does. In the FAQ, the developers say Steam is a “top priority,” and though they don’t specify timing, they do make note of their 90-day exclusivity agreement with Discord.
This is the first title from Elastic Games, and they Kickstarted it all the way back in 2014 – well before Dead by Daylight launched. Last Year arrives to the party late, but broadly appears to match that original pitch quite well.
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We’ll see how the game fares over the long-term, but for now it’s looking promising. If you’ve been eager for something new after Dead by Daylight and Friday the 13th, this might fit the bill.