Review cover Soulstice (Computer)
Official GBAtemp Review

Product Information:

  • Release Date (NA): September 20, 2022
  • Publisher: Modus Games, Maximum Games
  • Developer: Reply Game Studios
  • Genres: Action RPG, Fighting, Platformer
  • Also For: PlayStation 5

Game Features:

Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative
The smaller budget studio Reply Game Studios makes its attempt at the Action RPG genre where AAA studios dominate the market.

Despite the name, Soulstice isn't much of a Souls-type game. There are some elements that they share but the game is a lot more fast-paced than the name and gritty graphics would lead you to believe. This game takes more inspiration from games like Devil May Cry, Nier Automata, and Bayonetta but the question is if it can hold up to those standards. Soulstice brings in some cool ideas to the table but fails in some key areas.

 

The game opens up with characters Briar and Lute in the heat of battle overwhelmed with enemies. Briar and Lute are Chimera, who are tasked with fighting off the Wraith that are invading their lands. They arrive at a village late to the party and rush to help their fellow Chimera. On the brink of death, Briar discovers mysterious chaotic energy inside of her that transforms her and Lute into a powerful beastly form. The story follows Briar and Lute as they continue to fend off the Wraith invasion while learning more about their history and the power within them. While there is nothing offensive about the story, I could not get myself into it. The cutscenes are very well made with nice visuals and animations but the game felt like constant exposition with little interesting substance to keep me engaged until later in the story.

Soulstice brings in a faster pace game but does not make for just a button-mash fest. Even at the moderate difficulty level, you won't be able to mindlessly fight enemies. Some enemies will require different combos and weapons to be dealt with more efficiently. Additionally, there are special enemies that require you to activate different energy fields to effectively damage them. The Evocation Field creates a blue aura and reveals ghost-like enemies for attacks. The Banishment Field creates a red aura field that allows possessed enemies to be damaged. This creates more dynamic battles as you need to switch between the two energy fields while also watching out for the regular type enemies.

There is a lot of enjoyment to be had with the combat but it all comes crashing down when you can't see what is happening on the screen. Similar to Nier Automata, the camera isn't always actively hovering over the player and has many areas where the camera is pinned to a certain angle. This makes the game more of a linear platformer which isn't bad in itself but it doesn't work well in this case. There are a few cases where I have gotten lost because the camera misleads me into a dead end and I have to backtrack. The camera also negatively affects how combat scenarios feel as well. In cramped corridors, it can be hard to tell what is happening on screen with enemies covering the camera and enemies almost always attacking out of view. In a very specific scenario, the game attempted to replicate a bullet-hell but the camera was so far away that the characters on screen were almost just pixels on the screen. This is a problem that could be almost instantly fixed if the camera was a little more free-flowing or if it was more delicately designed like in Nier Automata.

Probably the least satisfying part of the combat would be the dodging and Lute's defensive counter. Dodging attacks is pretty crucial when combatting bigger enemies but it doesn't always work how I wanted it to. The gameplay loop when attacking a tank is to use freeze them using Lute's freeze counter and attack them while frozen. In an attempt to create a nice flow of attacks and a longer combo, it would make sense to use the dodge to get behind the enemy when frozen but it is always a little finicky. Sometimes the dodges will just run into the enemy making it useless. Sometimes the dodge won't go far enough behind the enemy. In both scenarios, the enemy unfreezes and continues its attack and damages you. This makes running away from the enemy a better option but that just makes the a lot more tedious and long. 

There are some puzzles sprinkled here and there with some basic platforming sections to take a break from the action. They are not difficult at all and usually can be done without really thinking about it. If they lasted any longer, I would have likely brought this game down for it but they usually don't last long and just lead into more battle scenarios.

While being a pretty linear game, there is a small amount of exploration that can be done. Exploring will reward you with items and points to learn more attacks and upgrade Lute. Most of the time the exploration happens more because I was just trying to progress the story rather than trying to explore. The level design could be better at leading the player where to go because too many times was I backtracking because I hit a dead end. 

If there was something that didn't feel AA about Soulstice, it would be the graphics. The game has a very clean and pleasing art style. While nothing groundbreaking, Soulstice looks great in max quality in 4k on my 3080 machine. Even on my laptop with lower settings, the game doesn't turn into an ugly mess but a fair-looking modern game that got compliments for its visuals when people passed by me playing on my lunch break. The color schemes like to stick to a more dark monochrome style but when more colors are introduced, they really pop especially on a vibrant OLED screen. Unfortunately the same can't be said about the voice acting and cheesy dialogue. I would say that the main cast is decent at best as I enjoyed the dubbed voices more in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 from my last review. The voice actors themselves are doing a fine job but I felt that they lacked direction or correct tone.

I truly believe that there is a good time to be had playing Soulstice. The combat feels solid and the mixture of an increasing variety of enemy types keeps you on your toes. The biggest downfall is the lack of polish in the movement system and the camera presentation. While a visually pleasing game, the camera sometimes isn't on your side by making some battle scenarios harder than they need to be. I would not stray people away from this game as it is a cool take on the genre. Don't expect the craziest story or the most polished of systems and just have fun slashing at monsters. 

Verdict

What We Liked ...
  • Satisfying Attack Mechanics
  • Pleasing Art Style
  • Easy to Jump Into
  • Dynamic Combat Scenarios
  • Entertaining Boss Fights
What We Didn't Like ...
  • Camera System Could Use A Re-Work
  • Dodgy Dodging and Countering
  • Voice Acting Could Be Better
  • Story is Deep with Lore But a Little Bland
7
Gameplay
There is good amount of variety with different enemy types and combos to be used on them. There could be a little more polish with the movement as it isn't the most satisfying.
6
Presentation
While visually the game looks great, the way the camera works in this game does nothing but make the game an annoying experience.
7
Lasting Appeal
With a skill tree to complete, combos to unlock, and highscores to earn, there is plenty of hours of gameplay that can be had.
7
out of 10

Overall

Soulstice does a good job entering the genre from a AA studio but there is some polish that is needed to make it stand out. Regardless, DMC, Bayonetta, or Nier fans can expect a fun time.
the camera has shit me off to no avail, and the lack of health items earned during battle just blows, and some of the battles are just plain ut right brutal towards the last chapters
 
Review cover
Product Information:
  • Release Date (NA): September 20, 2022
  • Publisher: Modus Games, Maximum Games
  • Developer: Reply Game Studios
  • Genres: Action RPG, Fighting, Platformer
  • Also For: PlayStation 5
Game Features:
Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative

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