Press release:
4 MAY 2023.
The rumors are true: newborn indie games studio Undaunted Games is happy to announce the resurrection of “Last Year” – the asynchronous survival horror game that previously vanished from the market, after amassing a passionate player base and hundreds of thousands of downloads since it first launched as a Discord exclusive in 2018.
Having acquired the project from its original developer, the now-defunct Elastic Games, the team at Undaunted is gifting the game back to its still-dedicated community of players. As of today, Last Year is once again available, in its original form, through Steam.
The title is entirely playable free of charge, with only cosmetic items available to purchase in-game.
Set in a gruesome alternate reality, Last Year is a collaborative, asynchronous PvP horror game pitting five high-school classmates against a sixth player controlling a nightmarish beast. Players either attempt to escape as one the high school students, or take on the role of one of the Fiends – a variety of player-controlled monsters each with its own unique attacks, combat styles, and blood-chilling abilities that can tear the classmates into pieces.
There’s no way to escape the Nightmare by yourself. Team up with your friends, choose from different classes, and work on your strategy if you want to make it back in one piece. Keep exploring and surviving to unlock new weapons and arcane abilities, as you strive for the edge in the endless fight between humanity and its worst fears.
Commenting on the re-release of Last Year, Undaunted Games Studio Head and Producer Matthew Itovitch said: “We’ve always believed in the potential of this title. When we did the marketing for the game at PAX East and West in 2018, we saw the reactions from players, and also what this game could be. Last Year definitely deserves another shot at realizing that, and bringing back the game is the first step.”
Alexander Halchuk, former Technical Director at Elastic Games, added: “I’m glad to see Last Year getting another opportunity to be enjoyed by our dedicated fans. Our team created a really unique experience with Last Year and there’s a lot of unexplored ideas and potential with the game. I’m sure Undaunted understands this and they’ll make the right choices to improve and expand on what we’ve built.”
Last Year is available for free via Steam from today. Players can also join the community in the game’s brand new Discord server. The team at Undaunted Games is also hard at work on a second project in the same genre, with more to be revealed later in 2023.
About Last Year
Team up with four other Classmates to survive against a sixth player controlling a dreadful, horrifying Fiend, in this evolution of multiplayer horror games inspired by classic horror stories. Last Year was originally released by Elastic Games as a Discord exclusive in 2018 before later being released on Steam. However, the game has been unavailable to play since Elastic Games closed its doors in October 2021.
Now, the game is back on Steam as a free-to-play title.
Choose between six Classmates, and assign them a Class to get special skills. The more you work well with your Cassmates, the better your chances of survival. And the more you survive, the more Arcane Secrets you learn, unlocking powerful magical abilities to take the fight to the Fiends.
Supernatural entities living in The Nightmare, the dreadful Fiends take the form of quintessential horror archetypes, and each have unique powers, weapons and play-styles. Decide whether to attack the Classmates head-on, or meticulously plan your attacks by setting up traps, preparing ambushes, and toying with your prey.
About Undaunted Games
Undaunted Games is a new game development studio and publisher based in Montreal, Canada. Founded and led by the team responsible for Last Year’s experiential marketing – including the eye-catching appearance at PAX East 2018 that first brought the game into the public eye – Undaunted have extensive experience working with the property and are excited about giving it back to its community.
Aside from re-launching Last Year, the team is hard at work developing its own original IP, set to be revealed later in 2023.
Jonas “O.J” Ek
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheGamingGround
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Tags: Action-survival game, Discord store, Elastic games, Indie games, Last Year, Last Year: The Nightmare, PC games, The Nightmare