Soulstice: Deluxe Edition (PS5)

Product Information

When starting Soulstice, you’ll be asked which option you’d like to start with. The options are Performance, Resolution and Balance. Man läuft eigentlich nur von Gegnerbereich zu Gegnerbereich und zwischendrin gibt es Bosse, was ich zwischendrin aber sehr vermisst habe ist mal tiefgründige Story! Es gibt schon ab und zu Storysequenzen etc. aber auch in der Erinnerungswelt fühlt es sich eher nur so an: "hier hast du noch etwas Story, damit du nicht traurig bist, ok?" You start off with only one weapon, a large sword, but as the game progresses you’ll get more. Your sword will always be active on whereas the new weapons you get will be on , so are more like secondary weapons that you can change at will on the dpad. Whilst the sword is a good all round weapon each of the sub-weapons have strengths and weaknesses depending on the enemies you’re facing. Opening and closing fields to match the thing you're trying to kill has all the fussiness of a game of Simon Says – in that nothing you do counts unless you've remembered to hit the right button first"

Balance oddly focuses more on the resolution side, meaning you can get nearly the full effect of the environment but keeps the framerate smooth during combat, though this mode doesn’t offer the dynamic shadows that Resolution mode offers and never reaches the 60 FPS that Performance mode does. Dialogue - Besides the main Protagonists Briar & Lute, its kinda bland with conversations. They seem flat and tone deaf, barely any emotion unless its a sequence when the Protagonists get Angry (Briar), Scared or Upset (Lute).Explore a City in Ruin - A Tear in the Sky has opened above the once-holy city of Ilden; As Briar and Lute fight to reach the Tear, they’ll face complex puzzles and secrets while their surroundings become more hostile and twisted

Soulstice gets a lot right. The combat mechanics are fun, fluid, have a huge amount of depth to them and a high skill ceiling. Lute’s skills add to the combat and exploration as well as giving Briar someone to talk to. Less lengthy levels, with a focus on replaying them at higher difficulties, would have been more appealing to me as after one playthrough I feel burned out. A combat camera which gave the player all the information they need and enemy AI that were less likely to take advantage of those deficiencies would also elevate the experience massively. Battle Different Enemy Classes - A vile mix of Wraiths, Corrupted and Possessed, have poured into the world from beyond the Veil. Utilize Lute’s unique auras to expose or weaken these creatures and adapt to a flow of battle that never feels the same. Plunge into a dark story of sisterly love heightened by stylish and sleek art inspired by Japanese dark fantasy classics. Discover puzzles and secrets in diverse locations within a troubled city in ruins. A Tear in the Sky has opened above Ilden; as Briar and Lute get closer to it, their surroundings become more menacing and twisted.You take control of Briar, a warrior who has been sent to Ilden to seal a tear in the sky. Briar is no ordinary warrior, she is a Chimera which means the ghost of her deceased sister is with her at all times to help her fight. You’ll learn all about the nature of the Chimeras as you meet others that have also been sent and it’s an enjoyable piece of world building. The most important aspect of the game is the gameplay however, which is pretty much exclusively based around battles.

And you end up with Soulstice. For the best and for the worst. I completed it on the hardest available difficulty (Hard) on first playthrough.

Throughout the journey, there will also be special portals that lead to Void Challenges. Each has a unique objective to complete, from executing Perfect Counters or slaying all foes before the timer runs out, and provide rewards upon completion. Void Challenges can be played outside of the main campaign as well, if you fancy a higher score. This problem only gets worse as the game goes on, since mini bosses get added into the regular spawns of enemies as you get further into the game. These enemies don’t change much from their initial encounters and normally spawn alongside another enemy of the same caliber, accompanied with a large strike force of smaller enemies to form what would be epic battles if not for the stop-and-go combat. These problems are only made worse by the occasional camera snagging on the environment during combat and the abrupt difficulty spike during the last leg of the game. These add up to create constant exasperation as you play, where combat encounters become tedious and frustrating, and platforming goes from relaxed to demanding in the span of just a few levels. Soulstice review The Story is fairly decent. This game could be a Hidden Gem. I bought this at risk of the Developer & Publisher being fairly young in the Game Industry. I typically dont trust 'indie devs' in terms of delivering polished quality, or Publishers that just continuously spit out titles left and right (Maximum Games/Modus Games). Quality is always at stake with that type of business practice. However, the Developer's, Reply Game Studios, did produce an A-Budget title, with some issues that are critical and need to be patched out. I personally think these is something that shouldve been noticed in Alpha or Beta Testing stages. If they fix these, it would easily make Soulstice AA title. The balance of the Holy Kingdom of Keidas is compromised when powerful, feral creatures known as “Wraiths” invade from the other side of the Veil, threatening to consume the living. Wraiths corrupt their victims and can even possess their bodies, turning into unstoppable monsters that prey upon the common folk. The “Chimeras”, hybrid warriors born of the union of two souls, are the only ones who can protect humankind. Learn the Truth of Your Origin - Through a dark story filled with sisterly love and sacrifice, Briar and Lute discover the truth about themselves and their Chimera powers while working together and staying true to their unbreakable bond.