Souldiers are proof of a classic yet solid metroidvania

In about a month, we will finally have the chance to try the full version of Souldiers, a new metroidvania action game developed by. Retro Forge. However, we were already able to try out a demo that allowed us to explore the basics of the game and understand how good (and at least convincing) it is in this engaging adventure.

Here are our next impressions Souldiers tried.

terragaya

Souldiers opens with a tragedy: we and our comrades are trapped in a cave after a mysterious collapse during a war between kingdoms. A Valkyrie comes to visit us and tells us that death is near and our only chance for salvation is to follow it. terragaya, a mystical country on the edge of the afterlife. There, our task will be to find a guard and lead us all together to the afterlife. The problem is, we’re not really dead and nothing is growing at all.

Based on Souldiers great mystery, connected with some political intrigue and a fantasy world. Unfortunately, the demo only lets you discover a clue as to what’s going on, and it’s hard to fathom how deep and interesting the plot will be. For now, the first impression is a world and a set of character impressions that are generally generic, but in the final version there will definitely be room for us to change our minds.

It doesn’t help improve the first impression as the first game zone is an anonymous cave infested by other classic creatures like spiders and slime. However, thanks to (a few) notes scattered throughout the scenario, there are some clues to the fact that each environment has its own definite place in the game universe; this is how this space is used by the characters we are doing for the moment. I haven’t met yet. it will be an interesting one loreOr do we have to be content with traveling from one general fantasy place to another?

one to three

The same cannot be said for the game if the plot does not have a lot of space. Souldiers is a classic 2D metroidvania in its own right. mix of platform exploration and combatas you go in search of treasures and secrets.

But let’s start from the beginning, so character selection. In fact, Souldiers lets you choose from three available classes: scout, ranger, and wizard. Each character has their own fighting system and skill set. From the start, the differences are huge, and also thanks to what we’ve seen in the trailers, it looks like the distance between classes will increase as the game progresses.

This scout Classic soldier with sword and shield. In addition to having more health and good attack power, he can parry more hits before his stamina runs out. This is the most balanced, strong and resilient class, but probably a little less versatile and less comfortable when keeping your distance becomes important.

This ranger It has a three-arrow bow that reloads every few seconds. Its specialty is that it can throw the bow like a boomerang: it cannot fire at the moment, but if it does damage during the throw, it speeds up the charge. This pushes us to play closely, taking advantage of the ranger’s unique jump dodge to keep it safe. With the right skills, the ranger will be able to attack in multiple directions, even during jumps.

Finally, Wizard It includes a stirrup that evokes a magical target projectile, as well as delivering fast but weak hits. Additionally, he can fire a fairly powerful short-range small magical explosion that requires a small charge. With skills, he can unleash powerful spells.

While it’s not possible to unlock more than a few skills per class, the impression is that variation be remarkable. The most important thing is that the way to fight is different depending on the chosen class, which can be very tempting to play more games.

Finally, there are no shortcomings bundling items Upgrade characters and vehicles like bombs to damage enemies and knock down the classic rotten stone walls that hide passageways and shortcuts.

first impressions

Controller in hand, Souldiers working but for now not surprising. As mentioned the classes look very diverse and there may be enough offensive moves in the final stages to make each fight interesting, but – as far as this demo is concerned – what we’re up against is a solid but not particularly original metroidvania.

You discover, jump, and fight enemies that attack from near and far, and from time to time you have to complete a chapter”crossword“, marrying rocks to block drafts or activating a set of switches before time runs out.

There’s nothing wrong with what we’ve tried, but also that spark is missing which sets it apart from the long list of 2D metroidvania in recent years. Visually, Souldiers has also been carefully crafted, but the pixel art style has been seen and revised.

There The first impression it would be a fitting title for the tyrants of the genre. If the story and setting are higher level than seen in the demo then maybe other players will consider this adventure too. But the definitive answer is Souldiers’ PC (Steam, Epic Games, GOG), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X | We’ll get it on May 19 when it launches on the S and Nintendo Switch.