Soulstice ps45/27/2023 ![]() ![]() Unfortunately, for all its intriguing geography just begging to be poked around in, Soulstice is fairly light on actual interactivity, with levels that, despite lots of corners and some verticality, generally just funnel players forward, up, or down toward the next encounter one can’t escape a sense of wanting something more beyond eye candy and intriguing set dressing. It’s a dark and well-realized medieval world that’s a joy to behold, the kind of setting any Soulslike veteran will feel right at home in. Ilden is a massive port city, and over the course of the lengthy campaign (spanning twenty-plus stages and easily as many hours) players will explore many districts from the waterlogged harbor to the impressive city walls, from the sewers to the seedy Low Town, and even a derelict monastery, amongst others. The writing is passable and narrative beats plentiful, and while it isn’t the most original or subversive plot imaginable, it serves to move events along and provides a tapestry for the cast of characters to become slowly more fleshed-out.Īlthough the whole of the game takes place in a single city, its scale is impressive. Though Briar and Lute’s past is initially shrouded in mystery, their story comes to light more and more as the plot unfolds. Through a special ritual, Briar and Lute have been inseparably bound together by the Order and reborn as a Chimera, a powerful entity consisting of a living Knight and their Shade. Her sister Lute is always by her side as a ghostly Shade, at times protecting her in battle or buoying Briar’s abilities with powers of her own. Briar and Lute have their work cut out for them.īut Briar is not alone on her desperate quest. The city of Ilden is an expansive, hostile place. Players take on the role of Briar, an agile and fierce warrior who has been sent to Ilden by the Order of the Ashen Blade in order to quell the looming Wraith threat. Ilden has been ransacked by the Wraiths, its population decimated or turned into Wraiths themselves. The entire game takes place within the city of Ilden, one of the three holy cities built to honor the three legendary heroes who once saved Keldas. Now, history threatens to repeat itself as a Tear has opened in the Veil between dimensions and admitted ghastly creatures known as Wraiths into the world. Soulstice takes place in the kingdom of Keldas, a world that once came close to a catastrophic event known as the Soulstice but was saved by three legendary heroes. With a robust difficulty and many combat options for players to master, the game’s meaty campaign offers a satisfying and well thought-out experience, with the promise of more entries to come in the future. Similar to those games, combat is frantic and challenging, with a high degree of aerial acrobatics for players to master while downing foes. Belying its obvious namesake, its fast-paced, high-octane combat system is instead highly reminiscent of Capcom’s Devil May Cry series or PlatinumGames’s Bayonetta franchise. Reply Game Studios’s action RPG Soulstice draws a number of immediate comparisons upon starting it up.
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