Soulstice Reviews
Soulstice is a dress shirt with a couple wrinkles, an action RPG that succeeds with some hiccups.
Strong gameplay and an even stronger story come together to make Soulstice a good character action game, even if issues with weapons, level design, and the camera drag it down.
Soulstice's overwritten story and repetitive second half somewhat dull the catharsis of its glorious throwback hack-and-slash combat, but it's still great fun.
Soulstice does an exceptional job of keeping the player engaged throughout its entirety. The amount of content just within the combat is jaw-dropping, so much so that it feels like Reply Game Studios aren't saving anything for a sequel. There's a lot to discover (and a lot to master) as you slowly trek through its massive world and uncover one of the most enjoyable detective-style stories that I've come to experience.
Soulstice isn't looking to reinvent any wheels but it's an incredibly fun hack-and-slash adventure game with decent storytelling. It's only downsides are it's weak visuals and finicky camera.
Despite some gaffes, one of its biggest strengths is that it achieves exactly what many AA titles set out to do by delivering on a somewhat uncommon genre that has largely fallen out of favor. Soulstice may not reach the highest echelons of character-action bliss, but when its art direction, mechanics, and score are in harmony, it scratches an itch that only this brand of stylish spectacle can.
Soulstice is a truly great action game, which despite taking many cues from stylish action titles of the past, carves out enough of an identity to stand out on its own. The system of controlling both sisters and maintaining auras while slashing through foes is intuitive and simple to master. Although the plot leaves many threads hanging, the development of the central sibling relationship and setting were enough to draw me into Soulstice's world and want to see more. If you're a fan of challenging action games and can forgive a slightly annoying camera, Soulstice is definitely worth checking out.
While the characters and story don't do enough to push it over the top, Soulstice delivers a great action game that just about anybody can enjoy.
Overall, Soulstice is very much a mixed bag of a hack-and-slash RPG. While it sports excellent properties like nice visuals and designs, an interesting premise, and excellent voice acting, it still lacks gameplay optimization, which, thankfully, can be fixed with a few patches.
Ultimately, a combat game has to be judged by how good its combat is, and in that respect Soulstice passes with flying colors.
It's a chaotic push and pull between ecstatic fun and dull annoyance that honestly drives Soulstice, but it's nonetheless worth checking out.
Soulstice gives a good challenge to veterans of the genre and is a good choice for beginners, in a mix between Devil May Cry and Berserk.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Soulstice's fast-paced combat is the star of the show, overshadowed by tropes and lack of variety in an experience heavily inspired by anime like Berserk.
All this is to say that Soulstice is enjoyable for the most part, even though it has its annoyances. Being available on next-gen consoles and PC only, it looks fantastic at times and has a great sense of scale. Its boss fights are exhilarating too, and there are some other hair-raising scenes that try to provide a little variety. Factor in multiple difficulty levels and many secret challenges to be found, and you have an action adventure game that you can really sink your teeth into.
I really wanted to love Soulstice. Briar and Lute have an interesting story to tell and most of the voice work is really well done here. The memory parts drag on for way too long and Briar is for some reason both huge and naked in them? I guess that’s a plus for people who have an undying desire to see drawn nipples in games, but it felt completely unnecessary.
Soulstice does a good job entering the genre from a AA studio but there is some polish that is needed to make it stand out. Regardless, DMC, Bayonetta, or Nier fans can expect a fun time.
Soulstice is a dark and action-packed thrill ride with a strong story of sisterhood, and a bevy of options for every type of player.
Soulstice is a blast from the past. It looks like something from 2000s, but feels fresh among dozens of souls-likes.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Soulstice is a beautiful hack 'n slash that falls short in areas such as world building, pacing, level design, and art direction. However, it establishes a shared combat and exploration system between two characters in one that, by itself, makes it surprising and challenging.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review