It is a rare luxury that I am able to play as much as I want of a video game as opposed to the necessary amount as required by my job. But with The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, I've been able to play my fill, put it down, and pick it back up when the spirit wills me, lackadaisical like, from the start. It's fundamentally altered my opinion on the game, and made me generally rethink how I consume media. And, more specifically, I've come to appreciate my Steam Deck all the more.
If you're not familiar, The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy is an adventure game that's part visual novel, part strategy role-playing game. It's not quite accurate to call it "Persona XCOM," but that's not all that far off either. Notably, the game is the brainchild of Danganronpa's Kazutaka Kodaka and Zero Escape's Kotaro Uchikoshi as part of the larger team at developer Too Kyo Games. If you know Danganronpa or Zero Escape, you'll have some idea of the existential and emotional hope-and-despair cycle you're getting into with Hundred Line. It's high energy, all the time, but the type of energy is always changing.
Visual strategy commence
The game sees players take on the role of Takumi Sumino, an average teen living in a place called Tokyo Residential Complex that gets swept up into protecting the town from strange, otherworldly Invaders with a bunch of other teens that have all been kidnapped(?) by a mysterious hat-wearing, ghost-like, Muppet-ish creature named Sirei. This Special Defense Unit must hold the line at a school in the middle of nowhere called Last Defense Academy for 100 days – thus the name.
Despite the obvious DNA shared with Danganronpa and Zero Escape, which makes complete sense, Hundred Line feels like a truly singular game. Its closest relative is probably Atlus' 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, which also plays with sci-fi adventure game mechanics, visual novel aspects, and strategy elements. But the scope and size of Hundred Line dwarfs even 13 Sentinels.
Without spoiling anything, there is A Lot™ of video game baked into the core Hundred Line experience. How much video game is there? Well, as the name somewhat implies, there are 100 endings. You can eventually unlock these all through some combination of talking with your fellow trapped teens, fighting off waves of enemies coming through the Undying Flames, and generally making choices on what to do when. There's plenty to do, but it's all very bite-sized in a way that never becomes overwhelming.
Hundred fine
Helpfully, Hundred Line's mechanical synthesis of visual novels and strategy role-playing games is an ideal mix for the Steam Deck. (And, arguably, the Nintendo Switch for that matter.) Both really play to the strengths of the Steam Deck by its very nature – and also my personal experience of actually taking my time and not rushing. It's absolutely perfect to just nibble at, moving forward a small amount, and put down for a bit.
I've found over the years that visual novel/adventure games and strategy role-playing games are my preferred genres for the Steam Deck. Well, and Vampire Survivors, but it's best I don't speak of that lest I find myself obsessing once again. Both make it exceedingly easy to dip in and out while still accomplishing plenty, and neither regularly require the battery-draining graphics of computations of your God of War or The Last of Us. There's no sudden requirement to stop playing just to plug in and charge when playing Hundred Line.
Broadly speaking, I suspect Kodaka likely agrees with me. "Hundred Line is a game like no other, so please play it with an open mind, free from preconceived notions," shared Kodaka on social media. "The goal is not to clear every single route. You can always go back and redo your choices. It’s totally okay to wander back and forth along different paths."
In other words: enjoy it at your own pace. I know I will.
The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy is currently available on PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch. If you've already given it a go, be sure to also check out our ranking of the best RPGs you can play right now.
