Titan Souls

 PC
User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 166 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 75 out of 166
  2. Mixed: 44 out of 166
  3. Negative: 47 out of 166

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  1. Rotten
    Apr 15, 2015
    3
    Most people would call this a 2D Shadow of the Collosus, while that is true to an extent, it's much, much less than that.

    It's basically a boss rush hidden away in a empty overworld, each boss has a simple pattern to learn and you can kill them in one hit, that quickly means that as soon as you figure out how a boss works (It doesn't take long at all, bosses have at most three attack    Most people would call this a 2D Shadow of the Collosus, while that is true to an extent, it's much, much less than that.

    It's basically a boss rush hidden away in a empty overworld, each boss has a simple pattern to learn and you can kill them in one hit, that quickly means that as soon as you figure out how a boss works (It doesn't take long at all, bosses have at most three attack patterns) the challenge is gone, you can kill it without even thinking about it, so in the end, each boss lasts 1-20 seconds. 18 bosses in the game. It lasted me 45 minutes my first playthrough and there's no incentive other than improving my time to play through it again.

    As for any extras, there's different unlockable modes after you beat the game, Hard Mode (Speeds up some of the bosses, again, once you know the pattern, all you have to do is speed yourself up, it's not hard) Iron Mode (The typical "one life" thing they put into "hardcore" games) and No Roll mode (AKA: The only mode that makes a difference to gameplay)

    So, in the end, it's an extremely short boss rush, the game likes to think otherwise however and doesn't reload outside the boss on death for some reason, the overworld itself isn't needed in the slightest (there were a few "puzzles" but nothing you won't figure out in a few seconds) and there isn't an actual boss rush "mode", what were they thinking!?    … Expand
  2. TitaniumDragon
    Feb 7, 2016
    2
    This game looks like Shadow of the Colossus, and presents itself like Shadow of the Colossus.

    It is not Shadow of the Colossus. That is not to say that this game isn’t unique; it definitely is unique. But unique does not mean good. The heart and soul of this game is wandering around the game world taking out titans. Each of them has their own arena, and there are 19 of them in    This game looks like Shadow of the Colossus, and presents itself like Shadow of the Colossus.

    It is not Shadow of the Colossus.

    That is not to say that this game isn’t unique; it definitely is unique.

    But unique does not mean good.

    The heart and soul of this game is wandering around the game world taking out titans. Each of them has their own arena, and there are 19 of them in total.

    This sounds like a boss rush. But it really isn’t. The reason is that the gameplay mechanics of this game are very strange.

    As a 2D game, you run around laterally. You really only have two abilities – the ability to roll and the ability to shoot your arrow. Note that is arrow, singular – you shoot ONE arrow. If you miss with it, you need to retrieve it to shoot again. This means either walking over it, or holding down the fire button to draw it back to you. Drawing back your bow to fire or summoning your arrow back both immobilize you as long as you’re doing it, and firing your arrow is not instantaneous and can be done with varying amounts of power.

    Your character dies in one hit; if anything hits you, you die. The only things which don’t instantly kill you are a poison cloud (which kills you after a couple seconds) and some spores (which mess with the gameplay interface, and will kill you if you walk through too many of them). Both of these things appear in exactly one titan fight. Otherwise, if you get hit, you’re dead.

    When you die, you respawn at a nearby checkpoint. Note that this is not actually in the room with the titan, and in some areas, you actually have to do a fair bit of walking to get back to the titan – not a ridiculous amount, but there are definitely a few areas where this is a bit wearing.

    The main reason why this game is so weird is that the titans themselves are very weak – they are really, really, really good at killing you, but most of the titans can be killed with a single shot from your bow. This means that many of the titans, once you figure out how to beat them, can be killed in under 30 seconds – and many can actually be killed in under 10 seconds.

    The problem is that you probably won’t do this the first time. You’re likely to die. A lot. I died 218 times on my way through this game. Almost all of your time spent playing this game is time spent dying.

    The game, then, is basically you setting up for the perfect shot, and then executing on it successfully once to win the encounter.

    Some of the titans do require a bit more doing than this – some of them require multiple shots to kill in various capacities. Ironically, most of these titans are actually easier than many of the one-shot titans simply because they tend to be less lethal, and therefore, easier to fight. One of the first titans you fight is an ooze which splits repeatedly, and it is one of the easier titans despite requiring by far the largest number of shots of any titan in the game. It is also one of the only titans which actually feels like a “boss fight”. However, most of the rest of these titans are just about executing on a short series of things, usually 2 shots, or some sequence you must do to expose the boss’s weak spot.

    The net effect of all this is that, rather than feeling like you’re beating down a bunch of badass bosses, instead it feels like you’re facing off with a bunch of heavily twitch-based scenarios – almost all of the fights are not about figuring out what you need to do (this is generally obvious), but actually executing on it. The few bosses which are harder to figure out what to do against tend to be the most frustrating, as you don’t even know if you’re “doing it right” until something you try actually works.

    Because so many of these fights can be over so quickly, really it is basically banging yourself against the wall that is the titan until you get your one perfect shot, at which point you win and it is off to the next one. This can make some parts of the game feel very short indeed – if you quickly kill a titan, it feels very ephemeral.

    And the reality is there isn’t anything else here for you. There are the nineteen titans, and that’s it. That basically means that this is a game which fundamentally contains 19 pieces of content, and all of the gameplay is centered around beating these 19 mostly twitch-based pieces of content.

    After that, you’re done with the game forever and never need to touch it again – and probably don’t want to, as the titans really don’t feel that satisfying to fight. Rather than being impressive enemies, they’re just twitch challenges. The only one that really felt all that exciting to me was the very final (secret) boss, who was pretty fun to look at and by far the most visually interesting foe in the game.

    There is no real story to speak of – there are maybe three or so vague hints throughout the game, but you really have absolutely no idea whatsoever why it is you’re doing the thing you’re doing. Nor does the game make you care.

    Not worth your time or money.    … Expand
  3. YarHar707
    Apr 17, 2015
    0
    Not worth $15, not even close, get this on a 90% off sale if you must.
    Use the $15 to get Shovel Knight, a game that will last 10 times longer and had much more replayability then this.
    I finished it in 2 hours, mainly because the 1 hit kill mechanic favors just rushing in and cheesing bosses in the first 10 seconds when their first few moves are super predictable. After you face the    Not worth $15, not even close, get this on a 90% off sale if you must.
    Use the $15 to get Shovel Knight, a game that will last 10 times longer and had much more replayability then this.

    I finished it in 2 hours, mainly because the 1 hit kill mechanic favors just rushing in and cheesing bosses in the first 10 seconds when their first few moves are super predictable.
    After you face the first 4 bosses that the demo contains, you've already seen nearly everything the game has to offer in terms of mechanics. It's a bit sad considering there are 20 bosses.

    You'll die a bunch of times on some bosses but only because the game forces you to stand still while aiming and shooting your arrow, like in the old Resident Evil games, and this makes it very frustrating in a fast 2D action game, especially when the bosses are very agile and jumpy, leading to a ton of cheap deaths.

    Nice proof of concept, lousy game. Also a shameful use of the "Souls" in the title to make it seem like this is a 2D Dark Souls, nope, since all the bosses here are all basically variations on Bed of Chaos.    … Expand
  4. samuraigaiden
    May 2, 2015
    1
    Short, too expensive, not enough content. This game feels like a product of contempt. It's like the devs said 'this is good enough' too soon. Graphics look nice in some places, but overall it's just not worth it.
  5. Fufski
    Apr 15, 2015
    3
    It just won't cut it.

    First the good: 1. The art style is good, the pixel graphic is good, good use more various landscape tho. 2. Boss design is interesting, at least the idea behind it. 3. Glyph system. Looks like the game is trying creating a language system that resembles to some glyph. I like the idea, it's really cool. 4. Music is decent. Then, the bad: 1. No    It just won't cut it.

    First the good:

    1. The art style is good, the pixel graphic is good, good use more various landscape tho.

    2. Boss design is interesting, at least the idea behind it.

    3. Glyph system. Looks like the game is trying creating a language system that resembles to some glyph. I like the idea, it's really cool.

    4. Music is decent.

    Then, the bad:

    1. No story, this is intended alright. So I will make do.

    2. The game is too hard the a bad checkpoint system.
    Being hard isn't a problem, but the problem is the checkpoint system. If this is a game where you die a lot you need to be able to jump right back in. Instead of spawning at the beginning and run through the star. And what's more disgusting is that in order to run faster people usually roll, but you can't roll at the stair, you will be bounced back. This is a notorious design choice that force player to spend more time between the boss fight. You might die 10 seconds after the fight starts and spending 30 seconds running to the door.

    3. Unresponsive combat system.
    If you wanna make something like dark soul, the you need to have a very fluid combat system where everything is responsive. But you won't find it here. Running is slow, rolling has a long cool down which force you to move very slowly. If that wasn't enough, it's going to take time for you to charge the bow before you can shoot it, and you can't move while doing that. Oh did I mention you only have one arrow? So you are gonna have to pick it back every time after you shoot. By either running to get it or by calling then back. If you call the arrow back, it's still going to take a long time, longer than the charge time even depending on the distance, and of course you cannot move during the calling process. And the screen zoom in a little and DARKEN YOUR VISION making it more difficult to see things. I completely don't get the point of it. This mechanism basically discourage player from using the arrow. But arrow is the only thing that you can do damage with. You are basically forced to stop again and again, having your vision impaired, and don't have time to maneuver (the mechanic won't allow you either, it's extremely restricted).

    4. No aim assist.
    You heard me right, even this is not a fps, it is still a shooter, when you are in such a restricted space and time every shot counts, however the boss moves like wind and you just can't catch it. It might be fine if you are using a mouse on a PC. But for console it's pretty much say good bye. The joy stick just doesn't allow pin point accuracy in that short amount of time. And you are gonna end up missing shots a lot. And you are going to have to call the arrow back while not moving and not seen things. Then you get killed. Wonderful isn't it?

    5. Too short. Too little content.
    I haven't finish this thing yet but as I heard there are about 20 battles in total, let's include all hidden/secret ones (if any) and that makes it 30 (I doubt it). Remember, boss battle ONLY. No story, no level, no mobs, just rooms and bosses. And a checkpoint that brings you to the very beginning of the staircase.

    Basically it's 30 battles, that's it. Which probably translates into 5 hour worth of game play.You might spend some longer time on this, but not because you enjoy it, rather, because you kept dying a lot and you have no choice, those time doesn't translate into enjoyment.

    6. No progression, no reward.
    When you finally defeat a boss. Guess what? You got nothing, no rewards, no skill, no nothing. Just a cheap blow up animation.

    Can you imagine that? You are fighting a boss where the boss is moving like a rocket and you can only run at a fairly slow speed and can do some evasive maneuver by rolling around, which has a cool down. Want to shoot the boss? Well you need to charge for a second before you can shoot it, and spending more time calling the arrow back, during which process you cannot move and can see little things. And the shot probably end up missing the target a lot. You are just getting smashed by the boss again and again because you cannot move fast enough, or just cannot move at all. After you die you respawn at the beginning of the staircase and has to run to the door all over again, and it discourage your rolling action by bouncing you back. After many tries you might have eventually defeat a boss. NO REWARDS. NO NOTHING. Just 30 of this same torturing experience and then you are done.

    The games is hard because the combat system is flawed. It discourage evasive maneuver where the game needs it the most. Either the developer don't know how to design or they intended on punishing players for mistakes not by the player, but the system.

    My verdict.

    Overall, I think this is a game with interesting design, beautiful arts. But with no story and a flawed combat system that punish player for mistakes they didn't make. And it is tedious and repetitious. This is coming from me who has a CS who is also a game developer.    … Expand
  6. nevercroft
    Apr 17, 2015
    2
    I wanted to like this game. I told myself that despite it being an indie studio, it would be polished.

    I was horribly wrong. This game has no real story, no dialogue, and no development. A mindless boss rush with artificial difficulty stuffed in every nook and cranny. Oh, didn't I mention the fact that the keyboard controls are awful? Also locked so as you can't remap them to your    I wanted to like this game. I told myself that despite it being an indie studio, it would be polished.

    I was horribly wrong.

    This game has no real story, no dialogue, and no development. A mindless boss rush with artificial difficulty stuffed in every nook and cranny. Oh, didn't I mention the fact that the keyboard controls are awful? Also locked so as you can't remap them to your preferred "Hey, this doesn't suck" position? Don't waste your time and money on it - I can recommend flash games that have more substance and better design principles.

    Game aside, I can't find myself giving even a mildly positive review to a game whose developers lash out at objective criticism via Twitter. It's just straight unprofessional.    … Expand
  7. Wozeo
    Jan 23, 2017
    0
    Ce jeu est assez joli et est dur, ce qui peut être bien sauf que ici ce n'est pas le cas. En effet lorsqu'on meurt on ne respawn pas dans la salle du boss mais un peut plus loin, le trajet prend peut être 5 sec mais au bout de 10 morts il juste insupportable. Deuxièmement pour chaque boss il y a une certaine technique pour les tuer, sauf que je trouve très dur de trouver ces technique ceCe jeu est assez joli et est dur, ce qui peut être bien sauf que ici ce n'est pas le cas. En effet lorsqu'on meurt on ne respawn pas dans la salle du boss mais un peut plus loin, le trajet prend peut être 5 sec mais au bout de 10 morts il juste insupportable. Deuxièmement pour chaque boss il y a une certaine technique pour les tuer, sauf que je trouve très dur de trouver ces technique ce qui oblige à chercher sur internet ( vu qu'au début d'un boss vous aller mourir en 5 sec, après vous aller réussir à a peut près esquiver et ensuite vous chercher comment le tuer pour ensuite essayer de le tuer tout en vous tapant le trajet à chaque fois )… Expand
  8. Laer
    Mar 14, 2017
    4
    Un juego corto (muy corto), con un apartado artístico brutal, donde mirar cara a cara a bestias cada cual más diferente a la anterior.

    Sin duda el juego es sencillo, ruedas, corres, tirar una flecha mágica (tu única flecha) para intentar matar al enemigo de un golpe, y si no lo consigues la recoges nuevamente (andando sobre ella o "llamándola"), en enfrentamientos de "igual condición"    Un juego corto (muy corto), con un apartado artístico brutal, donde mirar cara a cara a bestias cada cual más diferente a la anterior.

    Sin duda el juego es sencillo, ruedas, corres, tirar una flecha mágica (tu única flecha) para intentar matar al enemigo de un golpe, y si no lo consigues la recoges nuevamente (andando sobre ella o "llamándola"), en enfrentamientos de "igual condición" ya que ambos morís de un golpe. Su mecánica es sencilla, y cumple.

    Lo mas bonito sin lugar a discusión es su apartado gráfico/artístico, es (bajo mi punto de vista) su gran reclamo, y no decepciona para nada.

    Respecto a la dificultad, salvo algún Titan especifico que me ha dado algún problema, el juego es bastante fácil.

    Los dos apartados donde creo que falla el juego son dos. El primero, y el más hablado por la mayoría de los análisis es la posición donde te deja el juego al morir frente a un Titan. El tener que recorrer ese tramo de camino cansa bastante, y si, aunque suelen ser cortos, repetirlos no es del agrado de nadie. El segundo fallo es la historia, no cuentan nada y tampoco generan ningún tipo de interés para intentar averiguar nada, ya que lo único que puedes encontrar es rebuscando algunos grabados donde especular sobre está.

    Me es complicado recomendar o no este juego, ya que estoy entre la espada y la pared. Por un lado veo algo interesante y bonito, pero por otro lado veo algo que podría ser mucho mas de lo que es, con una duración corta y pequeños fallos que que se juntan para dejar una mancha bastante visible.

    Mi recomendación es que os informéis bastante bien sobre este juego antes de adquirirlo, y sobre todo que si tenéis la oportunidad, una oferta no viene mal. La votación final es "no" por que yo mismo no lo recomendaría a un grupo de amigos, si no a personas en especifico que se que les podría interesar algo así.    … Expand
  9. aditya1101
    Oct 5, 2017
    4
    I really wanted to love this game because of how much I liked shadow of the colossus, but it fell pretty far short of my expectations. I found myself getting super frustrated with some of the bosses. I think my problem with the game is just that the core mechanic (shooting the arrow) is too janky to perform predictably, and that meant that it took a long time to probe for any weak spots orI really wanted to love this game because of how much I liked shadow of the colossus, but it fell pretty far short of my expectations. I found myself getting super frustrated with some of the bosses. I think my problem with the game is just that the core mechanic (shooting the arrow) is too janky to perform predictably, and that meant that it took a long time to probe for any weak spots or to even just beat the boss even if you knew what the weakspot was.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

67
#67 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 46 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 46
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 46
  3. Negative: 1 out of 46
  1. Riot Pixels
    Jul 4, 2015
    55
    By betting everything on just one gameplay feature, Acid Nerve eschewed the story and role-playing elements, so the resulting game is just a string of 19 boss fights, awkwardly crammed into the game's world.
    Read full review
  2. CD-Action
    Jun 29, 2015
    70
    An interesting, challenging game that failed to make one final step towards true greatness. [06/2015, p.72]
  3. games(TM)
    May 25, 2015
    80
    The fun in Titan Souls is in finally overcoming what initially feel like an impossible battles. In that regard, it’s a celebration of gaming as it used to be in ‘the good old days’.
    Read full review
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