Soulstice

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ game. Camera is horrible. You have 6 weapons but none can bring an enemy to you but they decided to make a kill mobs in a circle challenge. For achievements you have to beat the game 5 times. Non of those runs were fun because when you go demon trigger both of the variants you don't have lute to block attacks. So you do damage but everything offscreen hits you to interrupt your combo. Harpies are only meant to interrupt you offscreen. You can't take the game slow because it pushes you for time. There is a level where a red mob offscreen attacks you for 3 fights. On the 21st level there is jump puzzle which is cancer because of camera. Voice acting is terrible for all but lute. The game has the potential to be good but they made a DMC clone and failed to make it fun

This is a fantastic homage to Devil May Cry (primarily 1), including the fixed/preset camera system of those titles for better or worse. One could make a fair argument that there's a good reason why action games moved away from this style of camera, since it can mess with visibility during combat and platforming, BUT if you can personally deal with it in those games, you can handle it here. A big recommendation for DMC fans. When you execute a fight perfectly and get that "Diamond, Diamond, Diamond"? Feelsgoodman.

Wow what a great game. 8/10. I absolutely loved the story and the main characters Briar and Lute (both voiced by Stefanie Joosten of MGS5 fame) really grew on me. Really great work there on all the VA really, but Lute was adorable and Briar's character growth made me really care for them as a sister duo. None of that I expected from a hack n slash game from a smaller studio. As someone who's not too great at parrying as I once was, having Lute do all that with a simple button prompt felt great and made her feel like just as much of every battle as Briar and her selection of weapons. A decent amount to pick from although a couple felt samey, the bow, heavy gauntlets, axe and whip were all fun to weave together. Not as ridiculously technical as DMC5, but with the unique way Lute counters enemies from all ranges and has three seperate paths to upgrade her skills, theres quite a bit of flexibility. The levels were beautiful, even if maybe a bit repetative, but I enjoy the cohesion of going towards the big glowing tear in the sky and exploring the castles (lots of side passages and hidden areas). A couple of slightly annoying platforming bits due to forced perspective but nothing …

A great AA 3D action game that I'm glad it exists, but ultimately recommended on sale, as certain aspects of the game may not sit right with some, even action game enthusiasts including myself. My impression of the game is that it's "not a sum of its parts" but in reverse. Usually, "not a sum of its parts" is used to express that even if the individual components of something aren't good, the whole package is worth it. I feel that my thoughts on Soulstice is the opposite of that: I like the individual parts of the game, but the overall package felt...not as enjoyable? I love how the combat gives a pretty diverse toolkit that is fun to discover, learn, and practice. Lute's defensive role is a creative take of the "parry" system that is oversaturating the market, and I quite liked how it mechanically flows along Briar tearing monsters apart. Maps having some puzzles and traversals is a welcome callback. Fixed camera makes for great, if eerie views of the set piece. The story, both narrative and character writing, are competently written and makes me care for the sisters, and look forward to Layton's remarks. Yet, somehow, when these individual components come together, they …

Worth

Definately worth it. The story and cutscenes are amazing. It's a shame there's no sequal.