The Last Kids on Earth and the Staff of Doom (PS4)

Note: This review contains spoilers for The Last Kids on Earth.

Over the last year or so, I’ve become a big fan of The Last Kids on Earth (TLKOE), a Middle Grade series by Max Brallier that provides a lighthearted take on the zombie apocalypse and elements of cosmic horror. Thanks to my local library, I got hooked on the book series, which gave me a greater interest in watching the animated Netflix adaptation (through the DVDs, since I don’t have a Netflix account). During my journey through TLKOE, I also learned that the animated series, which Netflix sadly canceled after three seasons and a special, received a tie-in video game, The Last Kids on Earth and the Staff of Doom (Staff of Doom), developed by Stage Clear Studios and published by Outright Games in 2021.

While I would love to give more meta information about the game here, I unfortunately cannot. There are no articles about it apart from press releases, a handful of reviews or whatever is available on the publisher’s website. All I know for sure is that the developer’s games have received positive reviews on Steam, though I can’t personally vouch for the quality, that Outright Games has a track record of publishing at least somewhat decent licensed games and that Staff of Doom has a rather mixed reception from what few user reviews I saw before diving in. The only other thing I can say for sure is that I sure am glad I only paid $9 for a used copy instead of the full $30 for a new one.

The Last Kids on Earth - Book One (Film)

It’s not often that we discuss television series on this blog, although we usually justify doing so when part of it is presented as a feature film. Such is the case with “Book One” of The Last Kids on Earth, an animated Netflix series based on Max Brallier’s book series of the same name, of which I have recently become a fan (to the point I signed up for the official fan club). While Book One is technically the first season, it’s only an hour-long feature, as opposed to the two ten-episode seasons that followed. As such, since I’ve enjoyed the books, I felt like I could weigh in on how well it works not only as an adaptation, but as a film on its own merits. Fortunately, I can say that Book One succeeds on both fronts.