Developer: Ultizero Games
Publisher: PlayStation Publishing LLC, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Platform: PC, PS5
Tested on: PS5
Lost Soul Aside – Review
Even though we saw some early footage of Lost Soul Aside quite some time ago, the game somewhat slipped under our radar until it was actually released. Nonetheless, we were quite hyped, as what we saw about the combat looked rather amazing. When we finally got our hands on the game, we were happy to learn that the combat felt as satisfying as we expected it to be, but we were somewhat disappointed with the game as a whole. While Lost Soul Aside had quite a few interesting things to offer, it also felt a bit hollow at times.
Story
Lost Soul Aside’s story follows Kaser, a member of a resistance group called Glimmer. Glimmer is set to protest and rebel against the evil totalitarian Empire, but something goes wrong during their last operation. Kaser’s sister, Louisa, gets caught in the crossfire when an alien invasion occurs. The Voidrax capture Louisa’s soul, and Kaser will have to track down these alien forces in order to save her. He gains new powers via a Voidrax named Arena, who also happens to share a common goal with Kaser. Honestly, there is quite a lot more going on at the beginning, but things pretty much boil down to this for the entirety of the game’s plot.
For just a moment, we actually felt like we were playing through a Final Fantasy VII clone with the entire resistance plot and the overall broody nature of the protagonist, but things quickly turned around when an alien invasion was thrown in the mix. As a whole, the story progressed fairly steadily at the start, but lost a bit of its momentum in the hours that followed. As a whole, the narrative wasn’t too bad, just a bit superficial, and a lot of the dialogues ended up feeling shallow as a result.
Graphics
Graphically, Lost Soul Aside is a very pretty game. The entire experience oozes charm, but we couldn’t help but feel like we were playing a hybrid of Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy VII Remake. Don’t get us wrong, the game still has its own unique personality, but it shares many similarities with the aforementioned titles. Even so, the character designs look great, the enemies are very impressive, and the backdrops are gorgeous. The environments were perhaps a bit too static at times, with many invisible walls blocking portions of them. As the game features numerous intense battles with innumerable enemies cluttering the screen, we were actually rather impressed by its overall performance. Only during some segments did we notice a few frame drops. We also noticed a few graphical inconsistencies where things looked perhaps a bit more basic or dated, but we reckon this has to do with the fact that the game was in development for over a decade.
Sound
We quite enjoyed Lost Soul Aside’s audioscape. The soundtrack is sometimes perhaps a bit too understated, as in some regions the music is barely noticeable, but all in all, the soundtrack is pretty good. You’ll be treated to fairly calm tunes while exploring, and go to more aggressive music when in combat. It’s standard fare for the genre, but Ultizero Games did manage to put down a decent soundtrack. We were very entertained by the English voice acting, which was quite cheesy at times. The voice actors took us back to a few decades ago with hammed-up performances, which oddly perfectly suited Lost Soul Aside to a T.
Gameplay
Lost Soul Aside is an action-adventure RPG with a heavy focus on intense combat. The game pulls no punches when it comes to constant action, and as a result, it focuses less on exploration than many other RPG titles would. There is still some exploration to experience, but it will become clear that combat encounters are the main focus here. As a result, the offset is rather clear, as you’ll go from one battle to the next one, gaining experience, skills, and other useful items. While fairly linear, Lost Soul Aside does not overwhelm players with too much side content, as you basically know that you’ll stumble from battle to battle, with only minimal tracking and exploring necessary.
As stated above, Lost Soul Aside is a very linear experience, and this means that you’ll constantly be guided towards your next objective or battle. There is minimal interaction with the world around you, apart from a few platforming segments here and there, and the many battles you’ll go through. With different weapon types available, the combat never grows stale. The smaller minions often don’t put up that much of a fight, and these are often nothing more than the appetizer for bigger battles or actual boss battles. The boss battles are a lot more intense, and they will keep you on your toes. The game does have a fair amount of healing items available, but bosses can sometimes still push you to the limit. Some battles can drag on a bit, and at times even give you a short burnout from just going through constant combat segments.
Even though the combat in Lost Soul Aside is amazingly satisfying, the game does not give you that many breathers. You just go from one battle to the next, and it feels like that Lost Soul Aside is just a chain of battles until you reach the game’s conclusion. Coincidentally, the combat is the best part of the game, but you do get burnt out after a while. Don’t get us wrong, we loved chaining attacks, figuring out combos, trying out new weapons, perfectly timing our blocks and dodges, and so on, but a few breathers would have been nice.
Conclusion
Lost Soul Aside is a capable action-adventure RPG that focuses on a great combat experience but feels a bit shallow in all other departments. You’ll still be treated to a fairly engaging storyline, good-looking visuals, and a decent soundtrack, but nothing about Lost Soul Aside feels memorable or truly worth the wait. Don’t get us wrong, the game is enjoyable, doesn’t overstay its welcome, and is generally a fairly polished experience. Even so, for a game that was in development for over a decade, we expected a bit more.
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