Souldiers

With such a generic title we would have never expected Souldiers to be one of the best metroidvania games we played and yet it truly is one of the best experiences the genre has to offer. Its world is enormous, the variety of the enemies more than satisfying and the three diverse classes offer plenty of replayability. On top of that its pixel-art is just beautiful.

Souldiers may be too challenging for some players, but if you are not scared of demanding combat challenges or of being stuck not knowing how to progress, then this is a gem for retro, metroidvania and pixel-art fans.

Souldiers manages to marry the chibi aesthetic with challenging gameplay and an interesting combat system. Some minor mishaps in handling and pacing detract from the overall experience, but it's still an honest solution.

When it comes to the core game, Souldiers brings all its terrific mechanics and clever level design together for a lengthy experience that gets you engaged in its gameplay and platforming rather than its story.

Demanding without ever being totally off-putting or daunting, Souldiers is highly recommended for all fans of pixel art metroidvania platform action games. Its deliciously retro artistic direction is far from being the only one of its qualities since the game also knows how to renew itself intelligently by offering no less than 3 radically distinct character classes and gigantic maps full of secrets.

Souldiers has interesting core mechanics and the sort of art style that will certainly attract fans of the Metroidvania genre or those looking to activate their nostalgia. But the story is mostly there as a reason for the action and combat can quickly become overwhelming in terms of difficulty. The game also has significant problems with the camera and there are plenty of reports of corrupted saves. The developers at Retro Forge are promising to deliver fixes but anyone interested in the title should wait and check back later to see if they deal with the reported problems. And even then, the combat means that the title is best suited for someone who likes a stiff challenge. Souldiers is a good game for anyone willing to engage with it on its terms and doesn’t mind slow progress.

Souldiers is a solid game, clearly made with care and passion, but this is not always enough. This metroidvania struggles to impress the player in any of its components, whether artistic, narrative, or design. The class differences are nice, but we don't think many will want to replay the entire adventure to see how the unchosen classes change the style.

Souldiers is a classic metroidvania suited for die-hard fans but with nothing new for the genre.

Souldiers certainly won't be to everyone's taste, due to its lackluster plot and technical hiccups, but it's definitely one to check out if you are into Metroidvania or Souls-like games.

Souldiers is great for those looking for a new action platformer with a dose of challenge. Unfortunately, the game’s easy mode does very little in the way of making the experience, well, easier, so there’s some serious difficulty here. Sadly, there’s nothing in terms of story or character to ground you in this adventure, but if you’re into the gameplay systems, be sure to enlist.

A well executed and impressively detailed mix of Metroidvania exploration, Soulslike combat, and role-playing style customisation that’s marred only by its demanding controls.

Souldiers is a remarkable metroidvania in its own right. A title that is an exercise in personality that distances it from the rest of the proposals of the style that flood the market. Above all thanks to its successful universe and the tone it manages. But it has certain design frictions (mainly related to the management of the challenge) that prevent it from going further. However, if you come to it with patience, you will enjoy its virtues.