

Enemies are monstrous and varied, from zombie-esque monsters and abominations to gem-encrusted horrors possessed by ghastly spirits. The dark, dying world is excellently portrayed in ruined landscapes that warp into chaotic desolation as you make your way to the world-rending tear in the sky. This is all complimented by some excellent visuals, on any performance setting offered by the PS5, and a killer soundtrack. Briar uses red shards while Lute uses blue shards you’ll amass an abundance of them if you’re destroying everything you can. These upgrades give Briar new moves and make Lute’s counters and abilities more potent.

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Enemies and destructible debris drop the shards you use to level up, and you’re able to upgrade the Briar’s health via collectibles and items in the shops set up by your Observer, Layton, a man watching your every move. Briar can upgrade her weapons and abilities, while Lute can learn new ways to counter enemies trying to attack her ferocious sister. There’s also some light RPG elements present in Soulstice. While there’s a mild emphasis on speedrunning, as time is an important part of both combat and overall grading upon completing a level, the game leans more into this factor for replay value rather than punishing the player for taking their time to explore and fight how they want. Though boss encounters are a bit of a mixed bag, the ones that are larger-than-life definitely feel great to fight. Combat is also a nice callback, with flashy multi-weapon fighting with an emphasis on putting together wild combos to ultimately trigger a super form to make enemies on screen explode from the intense power.

You’ll explore levels with a semi-fixed camera angle, which has the limited ability to pan around and get a better glimpse of a scene in case anything is hidden just off screen, while it becomes freeform during most combat encounters. There are many cues from the Devil May Cry era of character action games that any fan of that time will immediately notice. Soulstice is a game that makes an excellent first impression.

On the way, you’ll meet a cast of shady characters and ultimately uncover a conspiracy that goes far beyond themselves. You two have been sent by an order of knights to find the source of this calamity and stop the crisis before it destroys the world. Together, the sisters are investigating a tear in the world that’s manifested in the sky to create a wound which will ultimately lead to its destruction. You are Briar, a chimera knight bound to your dead sister Lute, who accompanies you as a ghostly shade. Soulstice by Reply Game Studios is a game where the action is absolutely face-melting, from the speed of combat to the flashiness of the moves, set in a bleak and doomed world where only you can face its demise. From the soulslikes that dominate the landscape of gaming today, to the more cinematic Uncharted-esque experiences, the genre covers a huge amount of ground and is easily accessible to anyone looking for any kind of adventure, no matter how over-the-top it may be.
