With the intention of recovering the essence of the classic hack’n slash, Modus Games publishes Soulstice, a game that seeks to highlight again those fluid and frenetic combats of sagas like Devil May Cry, Bayonetta or Ninja Gaiden. With a graphic section that dazzles, and with a few twists to the gameplay that make its combats similar in challenge and difficulty to today’s games, although with some stumbles along the way, I’ll tell you how it achieves it in this analysis .
Hack’n slash are a genre that, despite having given way to other more complex and demanding ones in combat like soulslike, still have their legion of followers. A good example of this is that still games are still being edited reminiscent of sagas like Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, or like those starring Kratos in God of War. However, either because the public is looking for a more complex or challenging experience or because times change, even those sagas that I am talking about have been gradually including elements of other genres that were more typical of souls-like games in their combat, or crafting and survival in their exploration.
And here we are, what Reply Game Studiosthe Italian studio responsible for games like Lone Wolf or Theseus, has just launched -through Modus Games- soulsticea game that feels direct descendant of the titles mentioned above and whose letters of introduction are a frenetic and very visual combat, and an artistic section as striking as its battles. The game itself is a clear tribute to those first Devil May Cry for the planes and the exploration it offers, and even to the first Ninja Gaiden in three-dimensional environments for its demanding -and sometimes frustrating- combat.
Soulstice does not seek to offer us great mapping or a combat system in which to contemplate life bars, stamina or magic -although as I will tell you later, it is challenging due to the number of elements that you have to be aware of while fighting. It is direct and explicit: It presents us with fights against hordes of enemies, each one with their weaknesses, and in which our ability to execute spectacular combos and attacks while keeping an eye on our resources will prevail. Between those combats, we will move through some eminently linear maps and routes, but with certain charm in its artistic section and that also contain secrets and unlockables that will help us in our adventure. Of course, despite this tribute to the classics, the game is not exempt from having some flaws which I will explain later. But first we better put ourselves in context.
New additions to hack’n slash combat
The story of Soulstice takes place in the fictional kingdom of Kiedan. In the game we embody Briara warrior belonging to the Order of the Cinereous Edge, and the soul of her sister, Lute. Together they form what is known as a Chimera, the union of a powerful warrior, and a shadow, the soul of a being linked to the warrior and who had a very close connection to the warrior in life. Our leading duo arrives at the Ilden city, sent by the order to investigate a cataclysm that has devastated the city and caused a gigantic rift to open between the real world and the Realm of Chaos. During their passage through the remains of the city they must discover what has happened to cause this apocalyptic event to take place, while trying to contain the invasion and discover who are behind of all this and his condition as a Chimera.
Soulstice differs from other hack ‘n slash by some unique mechanics it introducesThe reasons and other details regarding the protagonists and those who accompany them -or face them- are discovered little by little as we play, and without it being the best of stories for a video game, fulfills what a title is for of these features. The Soulstice development team wanted to inject a great personality to the protagonists of the plot, and that shows not only in the representation of Briar and Lute; scenarios, secondary characters and background of the game -which is expanded in a mini encyclopedia that we find in the game menu- have been taken care of quite well, although their weight and explanations remain somewhat blurred by the development and the rhythm itself of this. But it does not stop presenting a curious and very well cared for universe. The panoramas of the environments through which we move and where we fight, both outdoors and indoors, are very attractive – reminiscent of how we explored those first hack’n slash – and it is difficult not to engage with our protagonists and their personalities. Without going into spoilers, the story has some plot twists that surprise in their proper measure, and the way of presenting them is also one that makes us feel and better appreciate the bond that these two sisters have, and that is also what allows us to fight.
The “chicha” of Soulstice is found in its combat and gameplay, which is what defines any game of this type. how i play that pay tribute to sagas like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta, the game’s combat system offers us encounters with different types and combinations of enemies in which we will have to know how to chain combos while dodging their attacks to get highest score at the end of each meeting. Initially, this all sounds very familiar if you’ve played the aforementioned titles, but Soulstice differs from its “mentors” in the exclusive mechanics which introduces.
During combat, most of the work will be done with Briar. His fighting style is mostly melee, but as we progress through the game we’ll add weapons that allow him to attack from a distance, or deal more damage to tougher or bigger enemies. However, the amount of enemies that arise per encounter will mean that Lute will also have to earn his bread. If Briar is the one in charge of doing damage, Lute is the one you have to avoid or mitigate it. In combat, our Shadow can block ranged attacks, freeze enemies to give us a break, or parry their attacks to expose them to a Briar backlash.
But Lute is also the one who will allow us to attack certain enemies: the specters and the possessed. He does it thanks to etheric fields that it can generate for a limited time in combat and that will make these types of enemies vulnerable to our attacks. We will know which field to use with each one by its color. But you have to be careful, because if we abuse this ability, Lute’s entropy or attrition increases. The result is that if Briar fades she will be left alone for several seconds. no chance to counter attacks thanks to Lute. Apart from that its fields are also necessary when moving through the scenarios.
Soulstice differs from other hack’n slash by some unique mechanics that it introducesA third factor that comes into play in combat is the unit meter between the two sisters. It increases as we chain combos and attacks without taking damage, and the higher it is for longer, the higher the score we will receive at the end of the encounters. But above all it serves to unleash all the combat potential of our Chimera. At a high unit level, Briar will execute a special attack unique for each weapon if we make his exclusive combo, damaging several enemies and further strengthening our unit. Alternatively, Briar and Lute -a bit after the start of the game- will gain the ability to enter rampage mode. In this state, Briar’s attack speed and damage are greatly increased and at the end of his transformation he can unleash a powerful area attack that will damage all enemies. The downside is that the unit meter will be back to zero, so this move is best reserved for the knockout blows in the heaviest of fights if we manage to maintain enough unity. With which, you will already understand that managing all these resources efficiently is challenging, but -although it does not innovate much in general- the spectacular nature of the combats and the challenge of knowing how to balance the use of all these factors is what makes Soulstice be a fun hack’n slash.
With the results of these battles we will achieve two types of rewards determined by our score: garnet and cobalt rift resources. These currencies will allow us to go improving combat capabilities from Briar (new combos or consumables) and from Lute (passive enhancements for entropy or their abilities). The peculiarity is that Lute’s skills, once unlocked from his skill tree, can be refunded to try otherand having certain types active will modify the effects of the Fury state of our Chimera, allowing some customization in the combat style and its effects in the combos.
Soulstice also has its exploration partWell, as we go through the ruins and streets of Ilden, we can find additional combats, health improvements for Briar or entropy for Lute, challenges with various rewards, or deposits of rift fragments. The views through these areas and scenarios are also very well done, again paying homage to what we saw in titles like DMC or God of War.
The sudden changes in the camera plane will bother you a lot when movingHowever, here is the main fault of the game: your camera. Although it is designed to give us sight, both during combat and exploration, handling it becomes very heavy and cumbersome. During exploration it makes some jumps to get to depending on which areas are harder than they should; especially due to the fact that it is often fixed and that Briar’s controls are relative to our point of view. The abrupt changes flat out they will bother you a lot when it comes to moving around. Unfortunately, this glaring design flaw is also present in combat. The worst tends to be times when the camera angle will block our view of Briar and make it harder to use her well in combat. Consequently, this makes quite a few combats and challenges in the game become very frustrating to overcome. And another important flaw is also the excessive linearity that all hack’n slash suffer from. Although it is not such an important flaw and typical of the nature of these games, it is something that remains some integers to experience. With which it is necessary to be patient with this game and practice with it more than usual.
Fortunately, its technical section complies and compensates a little for these failures. Soulstice maintains a stable rate of 60 images per second, except in the scenes made with the game engine and that inexplicably are limited to 30. Even so, it is a minor blemish and in my games I have enjoyed a fluidity and stability that many games would like for them. That, and in case you want to play it on a PC, does not have too high requirements, apart from the fact that it is also available for Xbox Series S / X and PS5.
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