Soulstice is an ambitious hack and slash game with some good RPG mechanics thrown in, and some other great features to match. Throughout the story, you will explore a deep, dark, and fascinating world full of demons and a number of foes to stop you from cleansing the world of a great impending calamity. With that, let’s dive into the Soulstice review.
Story
The story of Soulstice is one that requires a lot of context, but the summation of it is this: The Holy Kingdom of Keidas is in peril after a big tear in the sky rips open and lets demons infest the kingdom. You play the role of Briar and her ethereal sister, Lute, as Chimera’s unique soldiers made for the task at hand. With their own set of unique abilities and a deeply pathed combat system, Soulstice is a game you will enjoy.
The story features Metal Gear Solid V’s Stefanie Joosten (Quiet) among the cast, and while the story has its ups and downs, it complements a game that has a solid foundation and does a good job of building a strong relationship between the two siblings by the time it all wraps up.
Gameplay
Under the hood of Soulstice is a deeply complex and evolving game. As early as the early stages of the game, you are shown countless mechanics that are powered mainly by Lute. With being reliant on Lute to shift between realities to fight enemies or the environment, and Briar dishing out the damage to deal with the foes, there are A LOT of gameplay mechanics to the game, which require a lot of time to master.
Briar is very similar to Dante from the early Devil May Cry games, specifically, Devil May 1-3. Her moveset mainly comprises of attacks that let her use her wide array of weapons, making combos on the fly while also just dodging enemy attacks as they come. Lute’s role is to handle parrying and stunning enemies for you, and in the case of some enemies – phase-shifting reality in a small sphere to combat them.
In addition to this, players will be able to buy skills for Lute and Briar. In the case of Lute, have access to a talent tree that unlocks even more powerful attacks and potential for the floating sister that is always over your shoulder.
Weapons and Combat Mechanics
As you play through the game, you unlock an entire arsenal of weapons, and by giving enough attention to both sisters with upgrades, you will feel like an unstoppable force of nature, but the game also does an adequate job of balancing difficulty with skill, so that even on lower difficulties you aren’t just ripping and tearing through enemies.
Initially, learning all of the mechanics is daunting and hard to remember. Though once you master and get enough practice with them by killing the low-level enemies enough times, you will grow to like the demanding combat mechanics of the game. The game asks you a lot to be good at it, but once you adapt to it, the experience is rewarding and definitely a memorable one.
Presentation
The game has a smidge of cell-shading in the graphics, and while I was able to play the game 90+ FPS constantly on my Ryzen 7 5800H, RTX 3060, and 16GB RAM. The game has some well-detailed environments, paired with the old-school camera style of Devil May Cry 1 and 2.
The graphics are definitely on the darker side of things visually. The environments are always varied, and you will go through many places during your travels. There is a good variety of content here, so you are not always stuck in the same linear hallway or dungeon. In the end, it is still a remarkable presentation.
Final Verdict
If you are a fan of hack and slash games, this is just the game for you until we hear about the next Devil May Cry entry. The story is a bit of a slow burn at the start, and while you have a good journey getting there, it is still a game that throws a lot for you to learn along the way.
Soulstice is a near complete package of a game, but at times it can be overwhelming when you are controlling nearly 2 characters in some very heated moments of combat.
The game is definitely one you should not ignore if you are a fan of the genre and are looking for a challenge along the way.
What did you think of our Soulstice Review? Share what you think about it in the comments below.
While you’re here, make sure to check out our other recent reviews for titles like Immortality, Saints Row, and Destroy All Humans 2.
This review is based on the PC version of Soulstice. The key was provided by Dead Good PR
