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After nearly ten years in development, Lost Soul Aside has finally arrived on PlayStation 5 and PC. This debut title from Ultizero Games began as a solo project by developer Bing Yang and eventually grew into something much larger. With such a long development cycle and support from Sony’s PlayStation China Hero Project, expectations were naturally high. Our review covers the game’s story, technical polish, combat system, and RPG elements to help you decide if this action game is worth your time and money.
Story and Characters
Lost Soul Aside follows Kaser, a young man who joins the rebel group Glimmer alongside his younger sister Louisa. Their goal is simple: fight against the oppressive Empire that controls their kingdom. However, during a mission to disrupt an Empire parade, their world is suddenly invaded by soul-devouring monsters called Voidrax. This attack leaves Louisa in a coma after her soul is consumed, while Kaser merges with a Dragon Lord named Arena. The rest of the story focuses on Kaser’s quest to save his sister while uncovering the truth behind the Voidrax invasion.
While the basic premise has potential, the execution falls short in several areas. The pacing feels inconsistent throughout the game, jumping between slow exposition dumps and rushed plot developments. Most characters come across as bland and one-dimensional, though there are a few exceptions like Gethya, who manages to be somewhat interesting, and Zana, who provides some relief from the otherwise dull character interactions.
The game’s attempts at worldbuilding rely too heavily on text documents and lengthy exposition, which disrupts the flow of what should be a fast-paced action game. The cutscenes suffer from stiff facial animations, and the English voice acting doesn’t help bring the characters to life. Unfortunately, the storyline follows predictable patterns filled with familiar moments that most players will see coming.
Combat: Flashy but Flawed
The combat system is where Lost Soul Aside shows the most promise. The hack-and-slash style gameplay offers a variety of moves including air juggling, quick follow-ups, and different skills and power-ups. Players must manage stamina while dodging attacks, and the game provides multiple weapon types – sword, greatsword, poleblade, and scythe – each with unique movesets and strategies.
The combat looks impressive with flashy animations and cool visual effects. However, the system suffers from responsiveness issues that hurt the overall experience. When performing attacks, players can only cancel into dodge moves – other actions like jumping must wait until the attack animation completely finishes. This limitation restricts aerial combat options and makes the controls feel less fluid than they should.
The game includes visual cues to help players block powerful enemy attacks, though the system works more like a parry with a brief activation window that consumes stamina. Getting the timing right proves difficult because the visual cues can be misleading when enemies move quickly, and the block response doesn’t feel consistent across different enemy types. While players can activate blocks during attack animations, the overall timing system feels unreliable.
Combat impact also feels weak, with strikes lacking the satisfying feedback that makes action games engaging. Since the game focuses more on boss battles and heavily armored enemies, there are fewer opportunities for the stylish combos and juggling that could make the system shine. The “floaty” character movement outside of attack animations further undermines the combat experience. While the game offers plenty of visual spectacle, the execution lacks the precision and impact that define great action games.
Technical Issues and Polish Problems
One of the most noticeable aspects of Lost Soul Aside is how unpolished it feels across multiple areas. The game presents itself as a linear action experience with some puzzle elements, which works well for the genre. However, certain sections attempt to create an “open world” feeling without providing interesting content to explore, resulting in empty spaces that only slow down progress.
The technical problems become apparent right from the start. Sound design is particularly problematic, with audio frequently cutting out or disappearing entirely. Background music can suddenly stop, and sound effects for character movements and object impacts are often missing. These issues create an oddly silent experience that lacks the drama and impact an action game needs. While the developers have acknowledged these problems and released updates to address them, the issues were significant enough to affect the overall experience.
Loading problems also plague the game, with frequent pauses when exiting menus or even opening the mini-map. This feels especially strange since the game world is already visible in the background during these menu screens. The most frustrating technical issue was a consistent crash during a specific cutscene that prevented story progress, though this has since been fixed with a recent patch that also added the ability to skip cutscenes.
RPG Elements: Style Over Substance
Lost Soul Aside includes RPG customization systems that feel more forced than necessary. Kaser has various stats and resistances that are mainly affected by his equipped weapon. Players can enhance weapons by attaching up to six accessories, with each accessory physically appearing on the weapon itself. This visual customization system is actually one of the game’s better ideas, allowing players to see their upgrades directly on their equipment.
The game also includes Trinkets that provide situational bonuses, such as temporary attack boosts after perfect dodges. Each weapon has its own skill tree that unlocks new abilities and passive upgrades, potentially adding replay value for players who want to focus on different weapons in multiple playthroughs. Arena’s abilities can also be customized, though players can only equip three skills at once, requiring occasional switching as stronger abilities become available.
Despite all these customization options, the RPG elements don’t feel meaningful during actual gameplay. The fast-paced combat relies more on player skill than statistical advantages, making all the stat improvements feel like minor bonuses rather than significant upgrades. While some players might enjoy the customization options regardless of their limited impact, these systems feel unnecessary in a game that should focus on pure action.
Verdict
Lost Soul Aside delivers a mixed experience that shows both potential and significant problems. The combat system has entertaining moments despite its polish issues, and the weapon customization offers some genuine creativity. However, the technical problems, weak story, and overall lack of refinement significantly impact the gameplay experience.
Given the game’s ten-year development cycle and support from Sony’s PlayStation China Hero Project, the final result feels disappointing. For a full-price game competing with modern standards, Lost Soul Aside needed more time and attention to reach the quality level that players expect. While action game fans might find some enjoyment in the combat system, the numerous issues make it difficult to recommend without reservations.
The Review
Lost Soul Aside
PROS
- Weapon customization with interesting gimmicks.
- Combat can be pretty fun.
- Surprisingly strong replayability.
CONS
- Story has awkward pacing, cliche moments, and forgettable cast.
- Some annoying technical issues exist, especially the missing audio.
- Floaty movements that are not always responsive.
- RPG elements feels out of place.
- Lack of polish in practically every single aspect.
