Recently, I had a chance to attend a preview event for the upcoming title called Soulstice. Afterward, I was given access to the Soulstice hands-on demo, and let me just say that from what I played, I’m impressed.
With a name called Soulstice, you’d be forgiven if you thought this game was yet another “Soulslike” title. Except, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead, this game is an action-adventure game, one that is similar to that of Bayonetta and Devil May Cry. From the time I’ve had with the preview, fans of either of the titles mentioned above are going to enjoy Soulstice when it gets released later this year.
While the demo is short, it does a decent job showcasing the title. There’s a bit of combat, a small glimpse of the story, and the leveling system, which will be used to provide several upgrades and enhancements. It took me about 35 or so minutes to blast through it, and I did so several times. It was more than I expected, and I thoroughly enjoyed what I played.
Interestingly, while playing Soulstice, you don’t have control over just one character. Instead, you’ll have access to two characters that happen to be sisters who have been fused into a being called a Chimera; Briar and Lute. Briar possesses superhuman strength and walks with an enormous weapon that she uses to dispatch foes. At the same time, Lute is a spectral being who can attack from a distance, have defensive abilities, locate hidden objects, and more. However, given her nature, if you bring her out for longer than a few moments, she’ll cry out that she’s fading and will disappear. She’ll pop up again after a few seconds; it’s as if she’s on a cooldown and plays to her being a spirit of sorts.
While the demo provided some story elements, I was more interested in the dialogue between the pair of sisters. Throughout the game, the two will engage in conversation, which gives you a look into the dynamics of the two. While Briar seems determined and steadfast in her beliefs, Lute appears to be inquisitive and questions pretty much everything.
As I mentioned, this is similar to Bayonetta and Devil May Cry. During my time with the game, I was able to bust out several moves when fighting from traditional combos by pressing the light attack and mixing things up by using a heavy attack. Again, similar to Devil May Cry and Bayonetta, you can perform different strings by either using the light attack once or twice, delaying the following input and then continuing. Doing so, I noticed that Briar’s weapon would glow, indicting when I should attack again.
Of course, you could ignore that and do what you wanted. As I was already familiar with this attack system, things flowed. I loved it, but sadly, the demo ended when things were getting good.
In the preview build, I had access to two weapons; a broadsword called Ashen Enforcer and the Tearing Penance. While the Ashen Enforcer would double up as a massive hammer that could one-hit weaker enemies or crumble stronger enemies. It was also helpful in launching enemies. The Tearing Penance is a whip-like weapon that is weaker but much faster and able to smack around multiple enemies at once or in a wider radius.
While attacking, you can also swap between the two weapons to get some extra utility out of them and perform stylish attacks. I found myself trying to learn different ways of attacking, and thus far, the game seems flexible in letting you attack how you want.
As you fight, you’re also judged on how well you fight, how much damage you take and how much you work as a team. Ignoring Lute’s warnings about the incoming enemy attacks or not using her ranged and defensive applies will tank your score, even if you manage to pull off perfect attacks. The game enforces early on that to succeed, you’ll need to use the two as a pair; to become one. There’s also a “Unity” meter that, when you work as a team, will yield better results. Again, using both sisters while attacking is the key to unlocking both characters’ potential.
As you defeat foes or break various open containers, I acquired crystals that are used to level up your characters; red ones are used for Briar, while the blue ones are needed to level up Lute. Throughout the game, you’ll come across a character who seems to be a significant part of the story but also provides the ability to level up both characters. Again, the demo was limited, so I couldn’t see everything available. Nor did I manage to accumulate enough crystals to gain access to the higher skills. Still, it was interesting just how big the skill tree is.
Outside of combat, the game shifts to a locked-camera perspective while you navigate through the game. With bits of platforming and locating items to continue onward. Again, more Bayonetta and DMC similarities, and I’m fine with this. We could use more stylish action games, and if Soulstice is similar to some of the better ones, I’m not complaining.
While everything I played was a demo, I have to say I was impressed with how well the game played. On my PC, which is a bit overkill with an RTX 3080 TI, AMD Ryzen 5900x, and a Seagate Firecuda 530, at 4K, I didn’t notice any slowdown or dropped frames. That was with everything cranked up and a massive number of enemies on screen. I don’t know precisely who the developer of the game, Reply Game Studios is or where they came from, but they’re doing a bang-up job with Soulstice. The completed product should be impressive to behold.
I suppose that’s one of the benefits of developing a title with more powerful hardware in mind instead of working about both prior generation and current generation consoles. That said, yes, Solstice is only being released on the PS5, Xbox Series X, and of course, the PC.
So far, Soulstice is shaping up as a title that Bayonetta and Devil May Cry fans may want to keep tabs on. Even in the demo, it has the right amount of combat while not forcing you to play any particular style, and the story bits, despite how little, seemed intriguing. Soulstice wasn’t on my “must-play” games list for 2022, but it’s sitting at the top now.
Soulstice releases on September 20th, 2022, for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Needless to say, after what I’ve played, I’m looking forward to playing the full version.
