Souldiers Reviews
"My Little Valhalla."
Review in Finnish | Read full review
While other versions seem to fare better, the Switch version of Souldiers is an unfortunate mess. Until it receives some meaningful fixes (which the developer does seem dedicated to doing, judging from their Twitter), you’re better off trying it on another console. It’s a shame, as Souldiers seems like a good fit to play on the go, but the plethora of issues make that currently impossible.
Unfortunately, due to overlong dungeons, difficulty spikes, and long loading times, the overall experience doesn't quite live up to the game's production values. That said, developer Retro Forge has turned in an expansive action-RPG with an interesting premise, engaging combat, and a huge, diverse world waiting to be explored.
There isn't much that sets Souldiers apart from other Metroidvanias. A big map to explore, secrets to discover, and plenty of upgrades. But limiting players to one of three unique classes does not make me want to play Souldiers all over again a second, let alone, third time. Dying is a struggle, and loading back in after a minute to die all over again is not rewarding. Puzzles that frustrated me to no end were common enough to keep me away. Souldiers will only appeal to those who are gluttons for punishment with little reward.
Souldiers is an interesting proposition for those who love retro games or the genre, as it has quite good elements, especially in terms of battle and exploration.
Review in Greek | Read full review
Souldiers uses established concepts and a retro atmosphere to create an enjoyable and challenging adventure. Its greatest highlight is the balance between platforming, exploration, puzzles and combat, which are spread across a vast world. There's a lot of content to explore and three very distinct classes. Besides that, the atmosphere captivates with the gorgeous pixel art visuals and the stunning art direction. However, the game suffers from some problems that hinder the experience. The main ideas and mechanics lack identity, the pacing is erratic and punctuated by tiresome and huge dungeons, the world presents unfair and irritating dangers, and the difficulty is unbalanced. In the end, Souldiers is competent. Despite its flaws, there is a good game here, it just takes a lot of patience and a little insistence to enjoy it.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Souldiers is a visually beautiful metroidvania role-playing game that offers a challenge for veterans of the genre. It has a lot of gameplay problems that worsen the experience and therefore is not a recommended title for everyone.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Souldiers certainly won't be to everyone's taste, due to its lackluster plot and technical hiccups, but it's definitely one to check out if you are into Metroidvania or Souls-like games.
As it is, Souldiers is a very enjoyable entry in the metroidavania genre – providing you have plenty of skill and/or patience. It doesn’t offer anything that’s genuinely new, but most of its components complement each other well. If only more thought had been given to the player experience, as for many it will simply prove to be too punishing at times. And on PS5, it could do with a little more polish.
Souldiers is one of those games that's disappointing simply because a small number of critical issues hold it back from the greatness it comes so close to achieving. A large world to explore, tough combat system, and an outstanding art style are weighed down by ridiculous load times and poor difficulty balancing. It's a real testament to the game's strengths that we'd still give it a recommendation, though perhaps with the caveat that you may want to try it on another platform than Switch, if possible - we really hope that further patches can iron out the issues. At any rate, we'd say Souldiers is certainly worth your time, but maybe this isn't one to rush out and buy right away.
Souldiers is a remarkable metroidvania in its own right. A title that is an exercise in personality that distances it from the rest of the proposals of the style that flood the market. Above all thanks to its successful universe and the tone it manages. But it has certain design frictions (mainly related to the management of the challenge) that prevent it from going further. However, if you come to it with patience, you will enjoy its virtues.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Souldiers is a classic metroidvania suited for die-hard fans but with nothing new for the genre.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Souldiers is a solid metroidvania, built around all the typical stylistic features of the genre. However, it struggles to find a distinct identity and carries a bit of technical and gameplay problems that negatively impact the experience. The inventory management, key mapping and save system in the game affect accessibility quite strongly, and the plot itself has never great peaks of originality. Still, Souldiers remains a fun game, with good ideas in variety of builds and situations.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Undoubtedly, Souldiers has many merits, especially in its plot detail, gameplay depth and charisma. However, it should be noted that some of its premises are difficult to take advantage of, largely due to a logic of exaggeration, which transforms simple stretches into long, punitive moments with rhythm problems. With corrections, I believe that one day Terragaya could show more promise for Switch players, especially those who are excited by the idea of exploring a game that does not hide its old-school traits.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Souldiers has interesting core mechanics and the sort of art style that will certainly attract fans of the Metroidvania genre or those looking to activate their nostalgia. But the story is mostly there as a reason for the action and combat can quickly become overwhelming in terms of difficulty. The game also has significant problems with the camera and there are plenty of reports of corrupted saves.
Souldiers is quite good, but doesn’t quite reach the peaks that it aims for. However, despite its unbalanced and restrictive class system and frequent difficulty spikes, there is a ton to recommend, from its detailed and varied world, beautiful animations, and engaging combat. Souldiers is not for the faint of heart, but if you’re prepared for its challenges and looking for a deep and engaging metroidvania platformer to get into, Souldiers is worth the recommendation.
Souldiers is a capable and enjoyable Metroidvania that provided me a solid amount of fun. With an expansive and attractive world, loads of goodies to discover, and intuitive controls, I'm sure you'll enjoy your journey through Terragaya as much as I did.
Souldiers is a standard Metroidvania that follows different soldiers on their quest through the afterlife. I platformed different locales, solved simple puzzles, and defeated ferocious enemies. Does this classic formula still hold up today? Find out in this Rapid Review.
A wonderful blend of top tier pixel art, retro-inspired music and seriously gritty combat makes Souldiers an enjoyable, though sometimes prickly, experience. It’s a title that boasts some engaging (if not lengthy) levels that are underpinned by some inspired metroidvania mechanics and filled with a myriad of well designed enemies. While perhaps overfilled with unnecessary items and burdened by a few mechanics that can’t help getting in their own way, Souldiers offers a fantastic challenge throughout, and the vibrant world of Terragaya is an absolute joy to discover.
Where you fall on Souldiers probably depends on whether you were an early adopter. [...] However, with great challenge comes great satisfaction, and the journey along the way is just so memorable; there were times I could literally not put the controller down, even after hours of playing.