Soulstice is the first game made by developers Reply Game Studios and for a first effort it is a very impressive Devil May Cry styled character action game that has a nostalgic feeling to it which harkens back to the 360/PS3 days.

Soulstice is a nihilistic, dark fantasy tale heavily influenced by the manga/anime of Claymore and Berserk and tells the tragic story of Briar and Lute, two sisters that have had their souls joined together in a sacred ritual to be reborn as a hybrid warrior called a 'Chimera', Chimeras are super human warriors that fight for a holy order of knights against corrupted demonic creatures called 'Wraiths' which can corrupt a human with a single touch and come from another dimension through tears in space-time itself, Briar and Lute are sent on a mission to close one of these tears in one of the 3 sacred cities and that is where our story begins. The narrative is a bit slow and mostly sees our heroines traversing through a destroyed city trying to reach the center, but as they traverse this desolate city they unveil tragic truths about themselves and mysteries about the order they serve and the world around them, building into a truly epic finale which perfectly sets up a sequel as well. I was pleasantly surprised that the narrative and world were a lot more fleshed out than I expected from a game of this type, there's even an in-game codex with a bunch of lore to read up on for those interested.

While they might not be the deepest characters, I found Briar and Lute to be very charming with well developed character arcs and I was quite endeared to them and their bond by the end of the game and I know part of that is thanks to the wonderful voice performance Stefanie Joosten gives playing both characters. There are a handful of other characters throughout the 20hr adventure which are memorable and charming in their own way like the mentor figure Donovan, the mysterious merchant Layton and a few eccentric antagonists as well, however none of these characters get as much focus as our protagonists so they don't feel nearly as fleshed out.

The combat despite being rough around the edges takes clear influence from DMC, but has its own unique flair with the player essentially controlling 2 characters at once and 1 of those characters being tied to a unique counter system making the combat have a bit of a learning curve, but once you get it down it is very satisfying, the weapon variety and how you can swap through all the various weapons on the fly reminds me of DMC 4 and all the weapons from a standard greatsword to a whip and tonfas that turn into cannons are utilized well having specific enemy types they counter. There is a very dated color coded mechanic where Lute activates blue and red forcefields and you can only damage the enemy of the corresponding color to the forcefield currently active, some might hate this, but I enjoy it and it adds an extra level of strategy to the gameplay since if you have the forcefield up for too long Lute overheats leaving you defenseless for a few seconds, timing is the key and it feels very satisfying once you get the timing of everything down. Oh yeah there's also a super power Devil Trigger type mechanic because what DMC style game would be complete without that, right?

Another thing I want to note is that Soulstice also has a fantastic sense of progression. When you first start the game you only have your basic weapon and it can certainly be challenging, but as you complete stages and unlock new weapons and skills both the player and Briar and Lute feel like they're getting stronger and that fits so perfectly with the theme of synergy that the game has going on. When you face a boss early on and Briar and Lute are like 'We're not strong enough we can't do this!' and they have to run, but then you come to that same boss later and they say 'We're strong enough we can finally do this!' I also really felt that. Just thought it was something worth mentioning.

All in all while it can be rough around the edges and dated at times Reply Game Studios' Soulstice is a very fun action game with fast paced and stylish combat that's easy to pick up, but hard to master alongside a surprisingly well written narrative and fairly detailed world and though it might not re-invent the wheel and sticks to a tried and true formula, it certainly adds a few of its own special touches while doing so and for fans of stylish action games like DMC and Bayonetta that don't mind a bit of a budgeted indie title Soulstice is one of the best games to scratch that itch in years.

Reviewed on Oct 21, 2022


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