First, a tip for AMD GPU users: use -dx12 as a launch option. It will give you abysmal shader stutters at times, but it will straight up double your framerate.
Anyway, I actually love this game but it has two big flaws. But first, what I enjoyed... I actually love the game's aesthetic, seeing Briar go sicko mode was what even made me interested to begin with. Plus I'm a sucker for the use of blue+orange color palettes, which the game uses pretty much most of the duration.
Also shoutout to Stephanie Joosten who apparently voiced both of the protagonists and she aced that shit. All of the main characters have pretty good voice acting tbh, but some of the throwaway characters are funny bad.
The story surprised me in how enjoyable it is, same with its characters. It's nothing ultra unique or anything, but I feel like it's cool as fuck and well done. It's my type of edgy, basically.
Moment to moment gameplay is great, and this is like the second time I've seen color-coded enemies actually be used well in an action game. Unlike something like DmC, you're not having to switch to different weapons, you just need to manage Lute's (the shade) fields and project the right ones for the enemy you're facing. You also have to manage Lute to counter enemy attacks to protect Briar (the actual attacker), which seems super simple at first but gets pretty overwhelming later on with how much shit goes on.
I loved the boss fights as well, though I didn't find most of them too tough. I died a couple times to the last three, but mostly because I adamantly try to not use items of any kind and I was on Knight difficulty.
Music is a nice mix of EDM and orchestra that really works for me. Thank FUCK this game didn't fall into the trap of using straight-up generic ass soundtrack orchestra garbage. That said, as great as the music is to fit the mood, it's not particularly stand out either...
But now, let's talk about my big two flaws. The first one is just the game's length.
I love the game but GODDAMN man it could've been half as long. It's 25 whole chapters and it took me around 25 hours to beat too. Some chapters are all story, others are just a boss fight, and others are like no story and long ass stages. I feel like character action (or stylish action or whatever the fuck you want to call it) games work best when they're relatively succint and incentivize you to replay with upgrades in higher difficulties. You can probably beat most of the DMC series in the time it takes to beat this one game. As such, I highly doubt I'll be replaying on a higher difficulty, which is a goddamn shame because you unlock new shit up until the very finale.
Can't say they don't at least try to spice things up the whole run, considering the new mechanics and weapons you get... but the stages are all visually samey. So in the end, the game really feels like its overstays its welcome. The finale goes hard as fuck tho.
My other big flaw is just the camera. I won't be pissing and moaning about the static angles out of combat because those never bothered me and I had no issues with the platforming at any point. However, camera mid combat sometimes shit itself so goddamn hard that I can't get a read of ANYTHING that's going on, especially if you use the lock on. Fiddling with the camera while dealing with the abilities of both Briar and Lute is too much at times.
Anyway, it's absolutely amazing and hilarious that the game ends with TWO entire sequel hooks. It made me think of Kingdom Hearts for some reason. I really enjoyed the game for what it is, so I'll be there if Soulstice 2 gets announced, but I just hope they know to trim the fat for their next game.
Anyway, I actually love this game but it has two big flaws. But first, what I enjoyed... I actually love the game's aesthetic, seeing Briar go sicko mode was what even made me interested to begin with. Plus I'm a sucker for the use of blue+orange color palettes, which the game uses pretty much most of the duration.
Also shoutout to Stephanie Joosten who apparently voiced both of the protagonists and she aced that shit. All of the main characters have pretty good voice acting tbh, but some of the throwaway characters are funny bad.
The story surprised me in how enjoyable it is, same with its characters. It's nothing ultra unique or anything, but I feel like it's cool as fuck and well done. It's my type of edgy, basically.
Moment to moment gameplay is great, and this is like the second time I've seen color-coded enemies actually be used well in an action game. Unlike something like DmC, you're not having to switch to different weapons, you just need to manage Lute's (the shade) fields and project the right ones for the enemy you're facing. You also have to manage Lute to counter enemy attacks to protect Briar (the actual attacker), which seems super simple at first but gets pretty overwhelming later on with how much shit goes on.
I loved the boss fights as well, though I didn't find most of them too tough. I died a couple times to the last three, but mostly because I adamantly try to not use items of any kind and I was on Knight difficulty.
Music is a nice mix of EDM and orchestra that really works for me. Thank FUCK this game didn't fall into the trap of using straight-up generic ass soundtrack orchestra garbage. That said, as great as the music is to fit the mood, it's not particularly stand out either...
But now, let's talk about my big two flaws. The first one is just the game's length.
I love the game but GODDAMN man it could've been half as long. It's 25 whole chapters and it took me around 25 hours to beat too. Some chapters are all story, others are just a boss fight, and others are like no story and long ass stages. I feel like character action (or stylish action or whatever the fuck you want to call it) games work best when they're relatively succint and incentivize you to replay with upgrades in higher difficulties. You can probably beat most of the DMC series in the time it takes to beat this one game. As such, I highly doubt I'll be replaying on a higher difficulty, which is a goddamn shame because you unlock new shit up until the very finale.
Can't say they don't at least try to spice things up the whole run, considering the new mechanics and weapons you get... but the stages are all visually samey. So in the end, the game really feels like its overstays its welcome. The finale goes hard as fuck tho.
My other big flaw is just the camera. I won't be pissing and moaning about the static angles out of combat because those never bothered me and I had no issues with the platforming at any point. However, camera mid combat sometimes shit itself so goddamn hard that I can't get a read of ANYTHING that's going on, especially if you use the lock on. Fiddling with the camera while dealing with the abilities of both Briar and Lute is too much at times.
Anyway, it's absolutely amazing and hilarious that the game ends with TWO entire sequel hooks. It made me think of Kingdom Hearts for some reason. I really enjoyed the game for what it is, so I'll be there if Soulstice 2 gets announced, but I just hope they know to trim the fat for their next game.