Review: Soulcalibur VI

Get them Geralt

Bandai Namco has a lot to answer after 2012 Soulcalibur V. After draining the core of the beloved series and many solo modes, the series was felt stuck, to the point that some felt that she could never come back.

If in doubt, put a Witcher in your game (or a Jedi, or a Hyrule hero, or an assassin, or Hellspawn, or … you get the point).

Soulcalibur VI (PC, PS4 [reviewed], Xbox One)
Developer: Project Soul
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Released: October 19, 2018
MSRP: $ 59.99

Soulcalibur VI rights a lot of wrongs from there six years ago. It's always absolutely beautiful inside and out with a perfectly royal soundtrack and so amazing that I often leave it as I prepare a sandwich or get ready for a game. He ticks all these boxes. But he also directs the ship in the right direction for casual and hardcore fans. Let's start with the casting.

Although some classic characters are missing, VI mainly hits the mark and brings back several defections of Vlike Sophitia and Talim. As for the new crew, I love the decadence of Azwel, the "Leader of humanity". It is an edgelord and a perfect fit for a game that has already held the crown with Nightmare. Project Soul kiss here their inner stupidity. Its blue and red hues codify Soulcalibur VIthe loudness. His odd, mix-based combat style of near-hand maneuvering, ranged attacks and powerful close-up combos makes it a welcome addition.

Grøh is incarnated, and although he may be the least impressive new fighter on paper, his inclusion deserves nevertheless to be deserved. The "single blade of Grøh that splits in two" was carried out before, but the path Soulcalibur performs with style is something unique to this series. He can use his vengeful position to separate the swords at will outside of a combo and use a ton of movement-based abilities to sneak around the arena. The more I played with him, the more I discovered depth. He is in the lab waiting room right now, but as new technologies are discovered, I can get him in.

Geralt's The witcher The series is a guest (and relevant) character. While the idea of ​​Yoda turning with a lightsaber is pretty anachronistic to dissuade people, WitcherThe medieval home is inversely founded. Geralt's style is based on "signs", which can be considered as spells. This is an all-comer mid-range character and should appeal to all combat players, regardless of their knowledge of the source content. Quen (a sign that allows Geralt to overthrow an enemy while building a shield) is a great example of an ability that will speak to new players (and Soulcalibur generally allows many responses to projectile spam / zoning with the aforementioned freedom of movement). I will use it to introduce the game to people.

The creator of the character is out of the chain, offering dozens of races that completely separate from the old notions typically centered on the man. Lizards, mummies, skeletons, sculptures, goblins (malefics), cyborgs (automata) and demons (Darksiders) are fair game. You can even equip one of these quirks with a "narcissistic" voice that proclaims their beauty before choosing any of the 20 fighting styles based on existing characters. That's pretty much the rule and I was immediately inspired to create my own Wack creature pack.

Their main use here is in the Balance of Soul mode: an RPG based on the character creation system. It's a heavy tradition with dialogue choices that are mostly fluffy, with custom character creations to combat. It has its own narrative options, world map, system of elements and customization. It's great because it really manages to feel like its own game: as one of the many elements you'll find in a 90's fighter like Ehrgeiz.

Despite not changing much Soulcalibur is still relatively cool in the fighting games circuit. To date, there are not many armed fighters yet. It is absolutely difficult to balance the range, the power and a ton of basic data around weapons, but Project Soul has done it many times. Make positioning a different business Soulcalibur clip. In case of misappropriation of funds and multidirectional movement, the stakes are often greater and there is almost a counter-sense.

Which leads me to the big novelty: the flipping edge. Think of it as a parade – a quick way to repel an attack after it's over. The successes will initiate a showdown in slow motion (A, B, K to be exact) similar to Injustice 2The shock system: but with the added benefit of being able to leave with the guard (G) or dodge. It is elegant and will cause many shouting moments in the professional game. In addition, the inversion edges can be countered with block break attacks or simply by canceling a combo and dodging the large visible red flash.

If you are completely lost, the training mode also serves as a tutorial, with information on mechanics and a theatrical reading of each movement: you can see them as they should have been. They even break down individual characters to see if they fit your playing style. Between watching their animations and reading specific data about what they're doing exactly, I've been able to identify some new sources.

Soul Chronicle is the heart of Soulcalibur VI and works as a kind of All-Star mode. It's a trip from the past of the original to the third game, but it does not make the mistake of imposing new characters on you. It's a genius: come back from a long hiatus with a story that works as a kind of update without relaunching the franchise and pissing off long time players. he also incorporates created characters, including ones you created yourself!

This is a great way to jump in Soulcalibur for the first time without feeling completely lost. Complete voice-overs for Soul Chronicle and Libra of Soul (including the option for voiceovers in English or Japanese) help to get away from the feeling of corner V. Arcade is also back in case you're wondering (it's sad how much this needs to be confirmed these days, but so be it).

I still remember to be sitting for the first time to play Soulcalibur on the Dreamcast and hear the voice of Jeff Manning resonate throughout the room. It's a larger-than-life series that deserves a lot of love and attention from its creator: and with VIhe had it. The recent documentary that openly acknowledges the past mistakes of the series gives me the hope that Bandai Namco will correct the situation. Soulcalibur ship.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher. Online play quality was not assessed in this review but will be covered as the game launches if anything is awry.]}

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Soulcalibur VI commented by Chris Carter