Action video games have certainly grown and evolved in the past several decades. Having been around during the sixth generation of game consoles is to have been alive to witness some of the greatest action games of all time. This was the generation that gave players the likes of God of War, Devil May Cry, and Onimusha: Warlords. The aforementioned games, and many others, featured exceedingly satisfying gameplay; Which was fast, polished, and easy to learn. Their stakes were grand, from slaughtering the Greek God of War, to saving the world from Satan himself.
Soulstice is one such game, a blending of the modern and the classic. When chaos and corruption enter from a twisted dimension, the fate of the living world rests in the hands of a Chimera, and the inner demon within her. Featuring fierce combat, a dark gothic world, and a fascinating story of sisters-in-arms, Soulstice is a fiercely satisfying adventure of demons and sisterhood.
A World of Darkness
A city in ruins. A sky blackened and grey. Life has been snuffed out of a place once teeming with color and vibrant youth. Now, only the bodies of the dead are left to rot. From the shadows, a warrior emerges, armored, feminine, but with the eye of a warrior. As solitary as she may appear to be, she is accompanied by a spirit, a sister-in-arms. These two warriors of light are Briar and Lute. Once human, the two made a tremendous sacrifice to become Chimera, beings imbued with magic to become the ultimate warrior. Even Lute scarified her body in order to use her supernatural powers. The two venture into one of the mythic cities of Ilden to investigate a grave disturbance, one that may bring about the destruction of the living world.
From a presentation standpoint, Soulstice relishes in its torn, dark, and deadly world, devoid of light and wrought with darkness. From the very beginning o the game, players are treated to a fortified land of rain and concrete, illuminated by small embers of fire. Wind whips the glowing embers of flame, further swirling the harsh stench of death. A grand dimensional vortex echoes in the sky, The Tear. A mystic wormhole, its power mutates any who still live.
For the survivors, their souls are transformed into chaos beings, Wraiths, who thirst on beings of life. As Briar and Lute are living beings, mostly free of corruption, the monstrous Wraiths are drawn to the duo like moths to a flame. It’s an aching world, one that relishes in its horrified realization that blends madness and calamity. However, Soulstice isn’t a game I’d say is dark and depressing. It’s clear there is a grand catastrophe that has occurred, and there is depressing destruction everywhere but Soulstice is a tale of hope and humanity, which resides in the main cast of Briar and Lute.
Otherworldy Cast
Briar is a grizzled warrior, clearly inspired but very much her own kind of fighter. Briar immediately gives the impression of being inspired by Guts, the famed swordsman of the classic anime and manga, Berserk. This inspiration is clear, from the jagged design of her armor to the missing eye and the grand sword Briar carries on her back. She is a fighter that questions her morality and the sacrifices she has had to make in this world of suffering. Despite the seemingly fruitlessness of the world, she still ushers the courage to keep fighting. Briar is skilled with her weapons, from long blades to gauntlets, and certainly has the strength, maneuverability, and aggression to topple enemies. However, her foes are otherworldly, and to fully defeat them, she needs Lute.
Lute is a Shade, a spiritual apparition that is forever tethered to Briar. Having sacrificed herself, Lute can observe phenomenon from another plane that materialize into our world. The closer the duo get to The Tear, the strange the happening. This can lead to unlocking secrets such as crystals that hold red shards to level up skills. Additionally, Lute’s ability is necessary as she can successfully block incoming attacks. Later in Soulstice Shade can tap into her ethereal powers and engage Rapture mode, temporarily transforming Briar and giving the duo a tremendous edge in battle.
Not Without Setbacks
For both characters, Soulstice is a solidly long and well-told story that may get confusing at times, but still maintains the focus squarely on the duo and their mission to defeat cosmic calamity, keeping playing engaged throughout their entire time. Adding to this is the talent of voice actress Stefanie Joosten, who portrayed the appearance of Quiet in Metal gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain and voiced ICEY in the game of the same name. As she plays both main characters, there is an interesting dimension of chemistry. Stefanie is playing as herself yet as two different characters; One that is significantly different from the other. In a strange way, it works well. Given each character’s circumstances, it makes for an interesting friendship to be forged during the course of Soulstice.
However, one other setback is the lack of real environmental reality. As the game takes place in the destroyed city of Ilden, the environment does change, but for most of the adventure, players see a variety of burning ruins and eroded concrete, at least until the very end when comic anarchy ensues. Soulstice could have used more environmental variety, but the story is solid, and the combat is razor-sharp.
Fun To Control
Soulstice is a hard-hitting and fast-paced action game, akin to the likes of Bayonetta, Vanquish, and most especially Devil May Cry and God of War. The core concept of the gameplay is the tried-and-true design of easy-to-learn but hard-to-master. Moving Briar feels familiar and understandable, and the combat feels familiar as well. Square buttons offer quick attacks and the triangle button proves strong attacks. The D-Pad allows for switching between weapons and using health gems to heal.
Where Soulstice greatly succeeds is in once again relishing in its chaotic supernatural world and creating a fighting system that feels familiar but refreshingly new. As these are chaotic enemies from a universe beyond our own, they strike fast, hard, and with impunity. They mutate and get stronger with some having multiple tiers. Some Wraiths require using Lute’s abilities to materialize them into our world, so they can take damage. By holding L2, Lute generates a mystic energy field that materializes the dimensional-shifting wraiths and allows Briar to damage them.
Swift Combat
The combat is swift, polished, detailed, and immensely satisfying. Every cut of a sword through flesh has a sense of weight and keen energy. With heavier weapons, like the silver gauntlet, there is a strong sensation of bone and sinew being crushed by the strength and metal of Briar. The targeting system also helps to keep the more dangerous enemies locked on and focused. Hacking and slashing is cinematic and polished to a sheen, from amazing closeups of final attacks to slow-motion moments when the final enemy has been slain. Even visually, there is a tremendous sense of flare and substance, especially during Rapture Mode, when neon-colored purple echoes and glows, punishing the darkness.
In battle, Lute can use her spectral abilities to successfully deflect enemy attacks. In battle, a small white symbol, with the Circle Button, will appear. Hitting that at the right time will either deflect attacks or paralyze an enemy. Some Wraiths will throw their weapons, and hitting the prompt at the right time deflects the attack. Other Wraiths can be frozen thanks to lute’s ability, allowing Briar to maneuver for and flank a Wraith for a few quick moments. Each counter is different depending on the enemy, but as the game goes on, Lute becomes more powerful. and can even attack enemies automatically. Skilled players can perfect the Perfect Counter, which maximizes the counter ability on the enemy.
Next-Gen Experience
When everything coalesces, Soulstice lives up to its title of being a defining action game for the next generation. The combat is enthralling, swift, kinetic, filled with just the right amount of chaos and control. It’s a combat mechanic that rewards players, regardless of skill level. For those who perfect their techniques, there is plenty here to strive for. From the hidden portals that lead to combat challenges, to the fact that every combat encounter is graded. Players are sure to come back to achieve platinum and diamond ranks in each battle. The combat gets more satisfying with boss fights, which Soulstice has plenty of. Each requires memory, reflexes, and aggression to defeat. The only real flaw to the combat would be repetition, but this is mitigated with the world and story.
What’s most charming about Soulstice, even with some minor flaws in storytelling and repetition of combat, is how genuine the experience is. By genuine, the game goes out of its way to reach as many players as possible, as well tip the hat to the developers that preceded it. Like God of War, Soulstice uses a similar fixed camera to widen the shot and envelop the player’s vision in the environment, showing their character dwarfed by the scenery.
Closing Thoughts
The combat feels like a nod to all the aforementioned titles before it. Even at the very start-up screen, an assortment of accessibility options presents themselves. These include controller settings, sensitivity input, and difficulty adjustments. It’s clear the developers of Soulstice want as many players as possible to have the same thrilling and unforgettable experience that they did growing up with action games. For incorporating that reachability, there is immense respect to be had as these developers clearly want to share in the thrill of a well-made action game, the same thrill they had when they were growing up.
Developer Reply Games Studios wields a strong blade with Soulstice. A unique and different world, characters worth investing time in, and an exciting combat system make Soulstice a damn good time. Soulstice won’t reinvent expectations in an action game, but no game ever has to. Soulstice isn’t good: It’s great. An action-packed journey I couldn’t get enough of. With Soulstice I hope that the adventure of Briar and Lute continue.
A Soulstice code was generously supplied to Marooners Rock for review purposes.
