But unfortunately, it isn’t all gorgeous action choreography.
Above all else, that pulsing sense of style defines what has been described as “spectacle fighters.” Soulstice’s novel mechanics, solid execution of the fundamentals, and gratifying power-up state help it tap into some of the adrenaline perfected by what came before. Even if you don’t know every combo, you are cast as a conductor of balletic violence, guiding the hero through high-octane fights that look ripped straight from an anime MV. A laundry list of elements makes Soulstice’s debt to titles like Devil May Cry and Bayonetta clear: a persistent score in the top right corner that grades your performance, fights that take place in small inescapable combat areas, being framed by a zoomed-out third-person camera angle, the importance of uppercutting and juggling foes, an arsenal of weapons which can be switched mid-combo, destroying furniture to produce red orbs that can be used for upgrades, and, well you get the idea.Īs a genre, character-action games sell the illusion of complete mastery. While its title may make you assume it’s another soulslike, Soulstice actually has the trappings of a character-action game, a style that is relatively underexplored these days outside of Capcom and PlatinumGames’ output. Reply Games Studios is one such developer whose latest, Soulstice, embodies many strengths offered by this scale of game. While it is true that many big publishers have become increasingly focused on mega-hit franchises above all else, resulting in certain styles of experience falling by the wayside, scores of AA studios have sprung up to fill some of these gaps. Much has been made about the death of mid-sized games and the subsequent loss of experimentation, novelty, and specific genres from the gaming landscape.
0 kommentar(er)
