But without the fear of potential death around every turn-that is, you’ll just exploring the environments and solving small quests in between big boss fights in Eldest Souls-a big part of the identity of the “soulslike” genre is missing here. The fragmented storytelling and cryptic side quests are mostly optional though, and the plot isn’t very compelling on its own-it’s largely sparse and generic-though some quests do reward you with items that boost your capabilities in combat. You can even meet some locals, like a bard missing a harp sting, or a priest desperate for you to join their order. Only the occasional key item and bits of lore await those who wish to turn over every stone. You wander through haunting ruins, verdant forests, and frigid ice caves rather peacefully. To be honest, I’ve lost count how many times my jaw dropped at the visual beauty of this game.The world, though beautifully rendered, is empty of minor enemies and environmental hazards. And the isometric perspective (the top-down style you’ve seen in the screenshots) really lets you soak in so much of it at once. It’s a real feast for the eyes, even in areas which are meant to be a bit gloomy and depressing. Pixel art in general tends to be very appealing, but here it’s taken to another level, making it almost look like a painting at times. At the worst of times (which is at least 50% of the encounters), it feels like you’re throwing yourself into a spiky brick wall that also has angry snakes popping out of it.īringing it back to the positive side of matters for a second… holy crap, this game is beautiful to look at. At the best of times, you’re in for a decently exciting bout against a cool-looking foe. Not even the upgrades you gain from beating the battles feel like they make enough of a difference. Your movement in this game is relatively stiff and slow, but the bosses sometimes have attack rates that feel like Platinum Games developed them. And even the sheer rate at which attacks may come at you doesn’t feel justified at times. Yes, you have a dodge, but there are times where that doesn’t feel enough. Multiple bosses have a bad habit of throwing massive, arena-covering attacks at you… at the same time. Eldest Souls has several bosses that feel like your victory relies more on dumb luck and brute force rather than strategy and skill.
It’s a pain-fueled harmony that makes those games as good as they are. But generally speaking, they are built around the restrictive and slightly clunky movement of your character, and bosses (mostly) feel like you just need to get better to beat them. Those games are hard as hell, and have led to their fair share of angry swearing sessions. I hate to keep making comparisons to Dark Souls, but I feel like I might need to briefly. But when paired with the mechanics of some of the bosses, it can become insanely frustrating. All of these sound fine on paper, and generally they work fine on their own. You also have a dodge button, letting you evade attacks, given that you have the stamina left to pull it off. The charge even fills up a separate meter that, when full, adds damage to your attacks and lets you perform a special heavy attack that completely depletes it. This charge even acts as your heal during battle, as a successful hit restores a little bit of health. You have your sword button, letting you make light swings as you tap or use a charge attack if you hold down the button. Right off the bat, it doesn’t seem too bad. And it’s during these battles that the game’s flaws really start to show themselves. The combat in Eldest Souls consists entirely of big, brutal boss battles. That’s right: no grunts, goons, or gorillas to fight as you explore the ruined world. What sets it apart from other titles in the nebulous “soulslike” genre, however, is that there are no regular enemy encounters. What does this mean? Well, it’s basically an action game with difficult combat. Yes, there is an opening cutscene to help set things up, but the extra details the player can discover on their own throughout the game are what really sell this story.Įldest Souls is what the internet would call a “soulslike”. It allows the player to use their imagination to puzzle together the details of what specifically happened in different areas of the game. But that is fine by me, as I highly enjoy finding story and lore details through written notes, dialogue from characters you can run into, or through visual details in the level design. There is certainly a story here, and I would argue that it is a very interesting one, even though it isn’t as immediately presented as in something like The Last of Us.
#Eldest souls series
Much like with Dark Souls, the series that this game clearly takes inspiration from, the narrative isn’t exactly the thing the developers put forward here.
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