We’re not in short supply of high-octane, epic action-adventure games as we have the likes of Bayonetta and Devil May Cry keeping us thoroughly entertained. And with so many games like this on the market, it’s easy to let your mind drift and pounder on what will make the next game released in the genre worth your while. Soulstice, from Reply Game Studios, aims to nail the fierce combat of its competitors, and also add plenty of weighty gravitas. From the outside, it feels like a strange blending of DMC, NieR: Automata and the legendary Berserk series.
Does Soulstice manage to hit all the right spots and land things off with a devastating final blow?
What is Soulstice?
Soulstice is a highly energetic action-adventure tale, that takes plenty of influence from games and anime. Set within the kingdom of Keidas during a time of turmoil and death, a growing force of evil emerges and unleashes nightmarish creatures known as Wraiths to consume the living. Sisters and highly skilled Chimera warriors Briar and Lute have been sent to one of the largest cities in the kingdom, which now lies in ruins, with thousands now dead, and monstrous foes consuming anything living. Their mission is to destroy the source of evil and reclaim the city before it is too late.
The sisters have been granted extraordinary gifts of power, with Briar possessing superhuman strength and resilience, while Lute’s soul is bound to her sister’s physical form, becoming a shade with immense powers. As the city falls before them, they must battle their way through legions of demonic enemies, fight mighty titans who stand in their way, but also discover some harsh truths about the order they were raised to defend.
Players will get to explore a darkly gothic, Lovecraftian world that harbours many twisted secrets, use a collection of fighting manoeuvres and magical powers to defeat hordes of evil foes, and most importantly, combine the skills of the sisters, and have them work together to overcome even the mightiest of foes!
Soulstice from the outset might appear to be your average action-adventure game with fantasy dark themes. But playing through its campaign and digging deeper into its world, lore and combat systems, there is much more than meets the eye. Reply studio has managed to craft a game that’s beaming with emotional depth, doing some things extremely well, and other things not so much.
It’s just like one of my Japanese Animes!
Now I mentioned that Soulstice has a lot of influences, with some being much more apparent than others. Looking at online comments and articles, it's clear everyone has seen them. From having characters and lore similar to the likes of Berserk and Claymore to gameplay akin to NieR: Automata and DMC.
I ignore these comparisons as negatives providing that everything from what I play and see feels wholesome and made with passion. Elden Ring clearly takes plenty of inspiration from other things, including Berserk, and it’s still phenomenal. And why I ignore these comparisons as negatives is due to the game’s story being one I feel is quite darn good.
The general plot has plenty of the clichés you find in any game like it, with Soulstice having elements such as supernatural warriors, demonic forces invading the world and an organisation appearing to do good but might have a few dark secrets of its own. It does have all that, and much more which sets it apart from the rest.
I absolutely loved the dark gothic atmosphere and visual style the world had on the show, along with the strong emotional bond between Briar and Lute. Throughout their journey, they’re meeting interesting characters with dark pasts, neat quirks and usually a good mystery behind their persona. But more importantly, the sisters are highly likeable and work off each other incredibly well. I really felt moved by their profound conversations and selfless actions, and even listening to them reflect on the horrors of the world before they sent chills down my spine.
One of the things I did really like what how you would think Lute, the ghostly spirit that accompanies you would be rather childish and dependent on the player. But manages to hold her own and become a vital part of the progression. I liked how well they integrated her in exploration, as she can shine various lights to reveal hidden platforms, and secrets and weaken certain obstacles and enemies.
All this praise is down to some excellent writing and voice performances, which all rounds were very good. The plot has many staples of the genre, but there were some neat twists to the formula that will have a chance to pleasantly surprise you. Executed well are the more cosmic horror elements, with some bosses looking mighty close to a Lovecraft beast of the unknown, and the lore behind various organisations and events in the world was quite captivating.
I don’t want to reveal too much, as I feel this was the strongest aspect of Soulstice and should be enjoyed without knowing too much.
Hacking, slashing, and back chatting!
However, Soulstice’s second pride and joy it so valiantly professes is with the highly energetic combat. Much of the core gameplay revolves around the varied and dense combat systems, that incorporate light and heavy combat, but reward systems, special abilities and various counter/combo systems to heighten the intensity.
Briar is the muscles and can use several powerful weapons, and a range of attacks from light stabs to devastating ground slams. She hacks and slashes but can be left in the open quite frequently. Her sister Lute is the support and offers some neat dynamics in combat from countering enemy attacks and giving Briar more power when certain criteria are met.
There is the usual fluff, with light and heavy attacks, and of course a line-up of special moves that need to be mastered. Timing is critical in pulling off most combos but having a good bond between the sisters is even more vital. One of the more unique systems in combat is growing the bond between the sisters and unleashing a massive, powerful spectacle. By not getting hit, countering successfully and so forth, you will grow their bond and once it’s aligned perfectly, the sisters will become even more powerful, with Briar able to land multiple crushing blows in the process.
I really liked this system as it had a profound connection to the narrative and its themes, but also made you play better in the process. The level of spectacle during certain fights is amazing, and with a refined a great collection of tactics at hand, you will find each fight can be different and highly entertaining.
But even more impressive, is Soulstice’s many, many attributes and skills you can unlock, allowing for even more choice in tactics and attacks in battle. There are plenty to choose from and fits with most playstyles, whether you focus on defence, heavy attacks, or specials.
I was genuinely impressed with how much there was on offer, and more so with how each of the sister’s skills would intertwine with one another, allowing for better combat performance and overall, a much more captivating and fun time.
Countering is also a major aspect to combat, and I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, Lute is a great means of defence and countering requires a little more skill than simply pressing a prompted button request. You have to time it right, and there are different levels of success with basic counters and perfect counters. Counters also do different things, from deflecting arrows fired at Briar, to freezing larger enemies for a couple of seconds. There is again a lot of depth to the system, but sadly it's massively overused and becomes utterly infuriating in many groups of enemies.
The main issue is that all enemies will perform attacks that require a counter, or for you to move away a monumental distance so as not to get hit. Every second there was a counter and remember that when you miss time, you will get hit regardless. It also does not help that counter prompts are quite small and easily missed as they’re small and in black and white.
It wouldn’t be so bad, but when matched with the worst part of Soulstice, it becomes a nightmare at times. The camera placement at times is some of the worse I’ve ever played… that’s really not an exaggeration. I do really like Soulstice and the core gameplay, but it's held back massively when the camera placement is either way too close, at an obtuse angle or worse when foreground objects such as wooden beams and frames get in your way. It’s just unbelievable at times and really such a shame.
Compare this to the Arkham games, where the camera is zoomed out so you can see all the enemies you fight, and there are no obstructions in your view. But when indicating a counterattack is needed, there will be a large, bright button prompt and other small visual elements to show you when it needs to be done. And most important of all, the counters were spaced out between enemies and attacks. Soulstice throws one at you every second or two, and with large groups made up of multiple enemies, it becomes a complete s*** show at times.
This really disappointed me, as the other combat systems, the weight of attacks, and the character progression are all very good! While most of the time I was fine with the camera and could manage, there were moments I was gob-smacked at just how badly the camera placement was. And this does fall into moments of exploration as well, which was a shame.
While I found at times certain encounters had more enemies than they should have, I really admired the variety of enemies Soulstice had to offer. But more importantly, how it would change things up from time to time. Such as how certain enemies could only be hit when Lute shined one of her bright magical lights, yet only being able to do it for a short while before falling ill. The bosses were also generally awesome, with plenty of variety to them, and breathing an immense scale and intensity that made them an intimidating force to be reckoned with.
Soulstice’s combat is a massive highlight, that’s fun, varied and has a tremendous impact. The camera and overuse of counterattacks do indeed become a problem and can kill the pacing when things otherwise flow nicely.
Beautiful, haunting and enjoyably bleak
One of the biggest admiration I have for Soulstice was its world-building and visual design. While it's easy to present a story involving mass death and unimaginable cosmic horrors, it's another thing to present a visual representation that serves the heavy subject matter justice. I loved how grim, bleak, and harrowing the world around me was in Soulstice, which only heighten the intensity and sense of urgency for the task at hand. Exploring the world was both horrifying and entertaining, due to the beautiful medieval architecture and intimidating atmosphere.
With the aid of Lute’s supernatural gifts, you can gain access to hidden areas off the beaten path, many of which are revealed in some cleaver ways. And with the long list of skills and abilities to acquire, I felt the need to explore every nook and cranny to find enough currency to buy as many of them as possible. But again, the camera can be a right pain, as certain camera positions when exploring are just so out of the way, zoomed out or not clearly presenting what is around you, making it hard to navigate at times.
This was a massive issue for the most part, and thankfully most platforming sections were viewed just fine.
I do however feel one area of improvement would be with the additional challenges you frequently come across, as many of them didn’t break the mould compared to other titles. There are very substandard, with no variety and feeling the most underwhelming aspect of exploration. At least DMC 5 tasked you with finding and aligning segments of a giant pattern, to open a gate to a challenge room. But again, not devastating to the overall experience.
Overall?Soulstice is a game where comparisons will easily be made. It feels like a love letter to some of the best action-adventure games in recent memory and some of the biggest animes of all time. But there is so much more here with Soulstice doing many things incredibly well, from its action gameplay, great dynamics with the sister characters, and relishing in a bleak, cosmos horror story that’s oozing with gravitas. Yet there are only a couple of things which really hold it back, namely the camera, the overreliance on counterattacks, and the odd lack of creativity in additional missions and bonuses.
There’s a lot to like about Soulstice and it is still a worthy game to play, and many will surely love it. I admire it greatly and was able to look past the camera issues, when possible, but I understand if some people just can’t. Still, I’m glad I played Soulstice and recommend it highly. It’s also clear the developers have a lot of talent and have clearly shown they could with some refinements and consideration, make games that rival even the big guns in Japan.
++ Excellent combat and action gameplay
+ Fantastic and deep character progression
+ Great world design and story
+ Nice dynamics with the sister characters
-- The camera views at times can be a nightmare
- Lack of creativity for side missions and rewards
- The counter system becomes incredibly tedious after a while
An Xbox Series S/X review key for Soulstice was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
