I've written two previews of Soulstice in the past that showed me parts of the game that I really enjoyed (otherwise I wouldn't have been so hard on them). In recent days, I had the opportunity to test the final version and, thereby, to discover new passages or even to advance in the game with the idea that, this time, I would not have no need to start over. But to be honest, what more can you add that hasn't already been said in the past? Well, you'll see!
History
You begin the game with a cutscene explaining to you that Chaos has been locked away by the three higher beings who are "the Torchbearer, the Shaper, and the Judge", the symbols of the three churches in the game. Using their essence, they have builds a veil, which will contain the defeated, but indestructible Chaos, away from the world. To make sense of it all, they used its power to give birth to man, a creature that will live on the world thus fashioned. But Chaos took advantage of this to strike and wound the guardians, weaken the veil and thus pour its legions onto the world. However the three protectors, even diminished, guided the men and indicated to them how to use the power of Chaos to use it against himself by creating fighting "chimeras".
As I said in one of my previous previews, following an interview with the devs of the game, the inspiration partially comes from Claymore, a manga/anime that uses the blood of demons to transform young women in order to defeat these last at all costs. It's hard not to get the parallel, and having seen the manga and the anime, I quickly understood where they were coming from, including the inner struggle to not let power corrupt.
Jeu Magazine
For those who haven't seen it yet, Soulstice is a hack'n'Slash, with really clean graphics for dirt and a crazy atmosphere! You control Briar and her sister Lute who become one in the form of a human chimera. I reassure you, nothing to do with Nina and Alexander (for those who have seen FMA), here we have the physical form of Briar, and the spectral form of Lute, who will act as a Swiss army knife with his abilities and his defense that will not will not be too many. Note that options to make life easier for people with visibility problems or dyslexia are integrated into the game, a very very good point.
Because while you work hard to cut your enemies with your sword, your bow, your whip, your fist and your skills... Briar will have to set up fields that will allow you to hit certain enemies, block them, counter them or deflect the projectiles to allow you to fight. Only, the trick lies in a difficult QTE which will ask you to press at the right time (in the middle of combat) to block enemies: not simple, but so stimulating. And if everything works as it should, if you chain combos and parries well, your synchronization will go up, and you and your sister will be able to use a devastating combined attack, especially if you have unlocked the skill from the merchant, a being who wants good... or not?
The merchant will sell you consumables, skills for Briar and Lute if you get enough red (Briar and items) and blue (Lute) crystals. If, for the fighter, you unlock via a list that offers you skills and combos, in addition to liabilities for your weapons, Lute will be entitled to a well-stocked talent tree that will offer you to unlock the improvements of her abilities in a really progressive and useful way for the bosses that are coming. Because yes, the bosses of this game are quite violent and won't do you any favors until you understand how they work.
We can reproach a certain heaviness in the actions of Briar, sometimes we even have the impression that she has trouble responding to the commands and dodges that we ask her... but for all that, the maneuverability is not. the cause, may be a concern for relative realism in this side of the game. But the real flaw will remain the camera which sometimes will really make you spin because it is so badly positioned, and there is no way to really move it to understand the fight as it should . It's quite anecdotal, but several fights were affected by it and sometimes made me leave the game... out of frustration. But when it comes to exploration, which will be vital to unearth resources and consumables, you will have to scramble, and even find challenge portals.
These portals will give you the opportunity to play against more or less strong creatures and in greater or lesser numbers with rules that require you to do things such as eliminating within the time limit, performing particular combos, etc. .. which will give you a fragment that can be combined with others, for... I'm not going to spoil everything for you, let's see. All of this will set you up for the really powerful bosses, some of which will be easier with particular weapons or skills. For example, a boss that will require you to have the rush otherwise you will have difficulty hitting it, or another will require you to have the improved banishment field otherwise you will have difficulty performing long combos. .
En conclusion
To complete this overview, I will say that, despite some flaws, the game has many advantages that can appeal to a large number of players. However, the fact of having to explore sometimes a little empty areas, the controls a little heavy and the unwieldy camera are likely to discourage more than one. It's up to you to see if you feel the soul of a watch hunter, and if you want to conquer the chaos once again, personally, I will be part of the adventure!
