Soulstice offers players a dark and crumbling world to hack & slash their way through - a feat achieved by smart, stylish, and brutal combos.
Soulstice is what happens when the gameplay of Devil May Cry meets the mood and world-building of Dark Souls. Developed by Reply Game Studios, this stylish hack & slash puts players in the armored shoes of a Chimera, a warrior created by the forging of two souls. After playing through parts of the game's opening levels, which featured plenty of combat, upgrades, and story, it's clear that Soulstice has a ton of tricks up its sleeve and plenty of surprises in store.
The driving force of Soulstice is its combat, a point that was emphasized throughout Reply Game Studio's preview presentation. The goal is to live up to the expectations of the genre as set by games like Devil May Cry, particularly by finding the balance of accessible combat that has plenty of depth for more intricate and creative attack combos. Switching between weapons is smooth and can happen mid-combo. For example, players can hit a few light attacks with the sword, then deliver an armor-shattering blow with a hammer, and finish off with a flurry of strikes from the spiked whip. This combo is one of many variations that can be achieved with just the opening three weapons.
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Another huge element to the gameplay is the dynamic of the Chimera, which is a warrior created through ritual sacrifice by an organization known as the Ashen Order. This creates a dual protagonist system in which players control the body of Briar but use the defensive and magic capabilities of her sister Flute, whose body was sacrificed in the Chimera ritual.
Despite being dual protagonists, Flute operates a lot like Atreus in God of War, not fully playable but instead attacking on her own and possessing certain abilities that can be activated at will - such as blocking, parrying, and creating pockets of spirit energy. These manifest as either an Evocation Field, which is a blue sphere brings spiritual objects and enemies into the corporeal world, or a Banishment Field, which is a red sphere that is used to break corruption crystals and fight corrupted enemies.
A lot of the inspiration for Soulstice's combat, characters, and world come from various anime, manga, and other titles. The inspiration for the tone and aesthetic of Soulstice comes from the dark medieval manga, Berserk, which inspired key parts of Dark Souls as well. The magic system, such as the ritual used to create Chimeras, is similar to Full Metal Alchemist and the combat is most clearly inspired by games like Devil May Cry.
Overall, Soulstice is a promising new entry into the world of stylish hack & slash games. The combat is tight, impactful, and addicting while the quick glimpse at its story has already establishing several tantalizing mysteries. This is absolutely a game to keep an eye on and check out when it releases later this year.
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Soulstice releases September 20, 2022 for PlayStation 5, Xbox series X/S, and PC (Steam). Screen Rant was invited to a preview presentation and provided with a Steam download code for the purpose of this preview.
Jacob is a writer, actor, and musician based in Baltimore, Maryland. He has had an original play, The Voyager, produced at Towson University, contributed articles to HaloScope Magazine, and is currently producing the "Bus Ride Talks" podcast for Greatest City Collective. His hobbies include: gaming, making great coffee, and listening to prog-metal.