The Last Gift Review (PC)

It should’ve been a clean sweep of a barren home on Christmas, but it wasn’t quite as easy as that. No, with hindsight, I should have paid firm attention to the red flags as they pranced around before me—the subtle changes in the atmosphere, and the fact that things were beginning to go a little too easily. If I had the chance to venture back into its clutches again, then I’d immediately cut my losses and bolt for the front door. But that ship has long since sailed. Christmas has taken its toll, and I have little left but a pit of regret and an endearing feeling of paranoia. It’s still quiet here, and I fear that I haven’t seen the last of the one in the shadows.

The Last Gift almost made the job sound like a breeze;  a quick pitstop in a seemingly abandoned home, a bouquet of festive gifts, and an opportunity to snatch and sneak out without alerting the homeowners. But then, as if it illuminate my wrongdoings, the flick of a light switch pulled me into a darker reality—a place where I could gradually begin to question my actions and come to terms with the fact that Christmas wasn’t a selfish celebration; it was a festivity that would force me to take a long hard look at the mirror and take full accountability for my mistakes. Again, it should have been an easy job. Boy, how wrong I was to jump to that conclusion.

In case you haven’t put two and two together yet, The Last Gift is a festively apt indie horror game about gluttony and acceptance, fear and redemption. Well, perhaps it isn’t quite as deep as that, but it’s about as close to being a mixture of all of these things than a bog-standard, almost cliche-riddled burglary exploit with baubles and tinsel. On second thought, maybe it is the latter, and maybe it is exactly what it describes itself on the tin as, which is a to-the-point love letter to brash decisions and brutal consequences.

Time to Pay the Piper

If it’s a provoking plot that you’re desperately itching for, then frankly, you might want to scour the nooks and crannies of an alternate institute to wax your narrative-oriented mind. The truth here is that, while The Last Gift does feature a storyline for you to watch unfold over a relatively short thirty-minute journey, at no point does said journey take the time to flesh out its world with twists and turns, intriguing character development arcs or endgame discoveries to keep you scratching your head and coming back for a second stab in the dark. To be honest, this isn’t that sort of game; if anything, it’s Emily Wants to Play with a festive spirit—a mixture of horror and fodder, and a homage to classic one-note indie games that actively choose to squeeze the throttle on simplified gameplay mechanics and ten-second preliminaries. This isn’t a bad thing, though it is worth making it abundantly clear that there are no extravagant plot points to unpack here.

With all of the above said, The Last Gift is a treat unto itself—a surprisingly good stocking filler of a horror that magnificently captures the essence of Christmas and the consequences of its negative effects, i.e. taking gifts that don’t necessarily belong to you. Packaged within its short tale is a textbook corridor hopper that makes a solid attempt at keeping you on your toes with hard-hitting jump scares and nervous moments, jack-in-the-box encounters and onryo-based thrills that befall a traditional Japanese horror.

The gameplay itself is, to some extent, a simple affair that doesn’t require much of you other than to traipse the hollow shell of a home and complete various tasks, most of which involve playing hooky with a vengeful spirit that, frankly, doesn’t want you anywhere within spitting distance of its clutches. It’s a little bit of PT, and a little bit of MADiSON combined, but with some rich festive infusions and a seemingly spirited essence that fools you into believing that everything is calm and somewhat normal. It isn’t, but it does a great job of tricking you into thinking that it is, if you catch my drift.

Consequences, Rekindled

While there is a rather short game here that leaves a fair bit to be desired, The Last Gift does make good use of its time on the table with plenty of captivating moments and heart-stopping encounters. Of course, I wouldn’t turn a blind eye to a few additional layers, if only to help flesh out the world and broaden the scope of its core gameplay elements. That said, for a short game that doesn’t require you to dig too deeply into your back pocket, I do think that there’s an incentive to spend time with it, if only for the tender benefits and eerie ambiance that it so flawlessly delivers in its short time on the mantelpiece.

Verdict

The Last Gift juggles claustrophobic corridor hopping with festive infusions in a short yet surprisingly solid indie horror flick that extracts all of the hallmark elements of a tenderly crafted seasonal affair, with its heart-stopping jump scares and palpable ambiance providing a sturdy foundation for a genuinely fun and engaging experience. Again, it’s a short tale, and it still leaves a fair amount to be desired in its storytelling department. And yet, despite having a brief thirty-minute window to convey its message, it still manages to deliver a memorable stocking filler that has all of the qualities of a nerve wracking delight.

Anyway, if you are hell-bent on slipping behind the veil of an unconventional Christmas, then you should consider taking a stab at The Last Gift’s webbing of surprises. It won’t keep you warm and cozy, but it’ll definitely make you think twice about the essence of the holidays and, more importantly, your place in it. Don’t sneak into stranger’s homes and steal their gifts, basically. That’s about the brunt of the message, anyway.