🐲⚔️ Souldiers Nintendo Switch Review 7/10 "A Lot of Dungeon for Your Dollar" 🐲⚔️ @souldiersgame @plugindigital #IndieGames #GameDev

I’m not a completist. I’m not all about getting 100% on games. I didn’t even think about trying to hunt down all TWO HUNDRED pigeons hidden across the vast map of GTA4, for example, just for the sake of a fleeting smirk of satisfaction and a digital plaque on my avatar’s wall. 

Before writing about a game though, I do like to think I’ll make it a good way through at the very least. So, when I was given Souldiers on Xbox to review, I felt that I should try and make decent headway into the world of pixelated Valkyries and monsters before I put my virtual pen to virtual paper.

However, it wasn’t to be. And there are two reasons for this. The first is the game is tough. Really tough. It’s been called a ‘Soulslike’ Metroidvania-style game more than once. Soulslike meaning it is difficult, like one of the Souls series, basically. And so you will die. Repeatedly. Which would be less of a chore if save points were more regular and loading was quicker (I’m also playing Sniper Elite 5 and the save loads on that more complex game are much speedier).

The second reason I didn’t get further through the game before writing to you, fellow game nerd, is the game is LONG. Imagine a Zack Snyder cut of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and you’ve some idea of the epic quest that awaits you. At the time of writing, I think I’m about 20-25% of the way through. And, the only reason I have got as far as I have so “quickly” is because I dialled the difficulty down to easy. That is not something I generally do, but for the sake of expedience, I felt it necessary.

So, the game itself…  The Metroidvania tag is well earned. Cavernous pixel graphic, erm, caverns open up before you and there’s no end of keys to collect, creatures to bash and traps to forget and wander into again. And AGAIN. 

Also, there’s some story in there about Valkyries and a strange land betwixt life and death and seeking a way back, but meh, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. It isn’t a story-driven piece, even if it’d like to be.

On the whole, the pace is good and the action frequent and frantic. The controls aren’t always great as it’s stick controlled, and the difference between a vertical jump and a diagonal one can be very slight, but very deadly. Unlike, say, Celeste or similar, you sometimes felt like you aren’t 100% in control.

There are three characters you can play as, though you’re stuck with your choice, so trying another requires completion or abandoning your quest and starting again. The three choices are a bowman, soldier or wizard, and they are pleasantly different to play as. Not only that, and this speaks to the size of the game again, but there is a huge skill tree for each character as well. 

I found the game to be very challenging. I tried medium difficulty but really struggled, even early on. Part of this is because there is blocking and counterattacking to master, which is ok with one or two opponents, but trickier in a cave of beasties attacking you from all angles. But, given the tags applied to this game, I suppose the difficulty is part of the appeal for some.

Those some having more gaming ability than me.

Experienced I am.

Good, I am not.

Despite the insane (for me) difficulty, I will keep going with Souldiers (albeit on a mode probably designed for toddlers). If you shell out for the game, you will get a lot for your money as there’s loads of detail and variety, as well as character classes to make a replay worthwhile. The gameplay is solid in a retro-type way and will feel nicely familiar to old folks (40+) like me as well as younger fans of this style.

This is a lovely-looking game, with a nice blend of simple controls with a fair bit of variability with weapons and skills. The controls aren’t always top-notch, and the reloading is oddly slow, but the sheer scale of this game is a big plus if you want to delve into some dungeons, particularly if you are (unlike me) more Chuck Norris than Timmy Mallet in the world of virtual fighting.

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