In Last Word’s prim and proper world, words speak louder than actions, and combat is fueled by discourse, shifting the momentum of a conversation. This might sound dull in theory, but in practice, the numerous tactics and systems at play lead to an enjoyably varied, if initially confounding system. Combining tact, power, and a healthy dose of subtlety leaves your discussion partner susceptible to your every whim--providing little more than a deflated ellipsis in response to your last word. Despite its elementary presentation, Last Word stands out as a witty, novel venture carried by clever writing and a creative form of combat.

To buy into Last Word’s concept, you need to suspend your disbelief and accept the bizarre power of the spoken word within this otherwise realistic society. The courtly, cultured characters have the gift of gab, constantly spouting long-winded tales of their family names and the distinguished natures of their storied houses. Their words carry unique weight, though, as whoever speaks the last word and “wins” an argument leaves his or her counterpart powerless. You’ll often see NPCs at a door endlessly trading polite “after yous” or “I insists” in fear of letting someone else finish the conversation.

This strange societal wrinkle produces plenty of silly moments, but when it comes to actually engaging in longer conversations, the “Discourse” mechanism is anything but simplistic. Think of it as a basic RPG battle, but instead of swinging a blade or blasting enemies with a fireball, you leverage disruptive, submissive, and aggressive forms of banter to push the conversation in your favor. You often open with a disruptive phrase in order to fill up your power meter, followed by something more submissive that spends power to gain tact. Aggressive phrases, which consume stored tact, effect the most change in the conversation bar, so you need to parlay your power into tact before the opportunity to really push the dialogue arises.

More and more systems are stacked atop this foundation. A character’s composure changes from collected, to irritated, and eventually to uncivilized, based on a sort of rock-paper-scissors system. Certain actions serve as counters to others, and if you continue to correctly rebut your foil’s last assertion, their composure cracks and eventually shatters. This adds a bit more venom to your aggressive moves, lowering your opponent’s defense and more quickly swaying the conversation meter in your favor. Purchased skills and attributes continue to add bite to your bark, but it takes practice to sharpen your conversational steel and become a true threat.

Even with a tutorial that helps you navigate through the dense schemes, Last Word’s Discourse feature is far too opaque early on. All the different tones and meters take time and effort to both understand and intelligently utilize, so you have to bang your head against the systems and fail a few times before the flow of conversations becomes clear. After you learn the ropes, this unique take on turn-based action begins to shine, and the fair-yet-steep difficulty curve gives you ample opportunity to test your tongue.

Outside of the conversational duels, the regular discussions you have with the cast are brainy and nimble. Last Word never falls too in love with its aristocratic tone, staying on the right side of "tongue-in-cheek" through its intentional pretentiousness. There’s a deep well of text to draw from, too, since the other major mechanism at play surrounds gossiping with your peers about specific hot-button topics. Leveling up these topics by talking to the right person at the right time opens up new narrative avenues, and if you manage to examine each corner of your environment and learn everything you can from its guests, a few interesting wrinkles are added to the last few story sequences. For a game trapped in windowed mode and focused on a single location, Last Word is rich in subsidiary content.

On the surface, the characters appear as little more than colored silhouettes, their different hues based on each house of origin. But once you enter a conversation, hand-drawn caricatures appear, sporting expressions and audible squawks that pair well with their personalities. Each member of the small cast has a name as fanciful as their persona--from Whitty Gawship to Professor Chet Chatters. It’s a peculiar world with far too much one-upmanship for anyone to want to live in, but for a four-hour visit, it’s a treat.

It isn’t exactly easy to pick up, but the layered Discourse system in Last Word is worth the few verbal jabs and hooks needed in order to master it. The turn-based structure succeeds at supplying a fun alternative to the cavalcade of fantasy RPGs on the market, and while it can be easy to roll your eyes at all the patterned bow ties and discussions of fine wines, the posh tenor never tips so far that it becomes pretentious. Last Word shows that you don’t need a towering sword or a 15-minute summoning sequence to create an exciting battle system--sometimes it just takes a sharp script and an even sharper tongue.