Review for SoulCalibur VI. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 19/10/2018
The history of the most fought souls and swords of the sixteenth century is back six years after its last videogame appearance with a new highly anticipated chapter. Erasing the events following his second incarnation with a swipe of the sponge, proposes a reboot capable of relaunching the fate of Bandai Namco's white weapon fighters.
So here, without further ado, our review of the expected SoulCalibur VI.
Where were we
The blue knight Siegfriend wanders through Europe sowing destruction, brandishing the cursed Soul Edge sword by which he is consumed, his mind conquered by the dark coils of the cursed seed. Moved by different impulses, but with the common aim of bringing peace and banishing the evil reaper of souls from the earth, brave warriors unite under a single banner and set out in search of the perfidious figures led by the colossal Nightmare, icon of the saga.
Through the history of souls, we will be able to live the adventures of Kilik, Maxi and Xiangua in the main adventure, or select the other characters and reveal their stories in those years of great tribulation. Each story is told through pleasant but soon repeated fixed screens in which our favorites will dialogue, creating a narrative line capable of composing the binomial contextualization / combat. The narrative quality does not present peaks of excellence, merely providing a valid context for the clash of blades colliding on the screen.
The balance of the soul
Moving away from the adventures of the well-known heroes and thugs of the SoulCalibur saga, the true full-bodied single player experience on offer revolves around the adventure of the balance of the soul. Before throwing ourselves into our very personal adventures we will be called to creating a character. This feature now characterizes the saga and offers the possibility of creating a warrior by being able to choose features, fighting style and weapons in an incredible variety of options, becoming the banner of customization within the fighting game genre.
In addition to the aesthetic choices, we will even have to consider some sort of background for our avatar, because the balance of the soul mode gives us an experience that winks at role-playing.
During the pilgrimage, for example, we will be offered countless dialogue choices capable of changing our alignment between benevolent and evil, in an adventure that allows us to explore a large board depicting the most remote corners of the globe, moving from stage to stage between main and secondary missions, leveling up with each encounter and completed missions.
Although we are far from the narrative compromise of still screens and footage of other fighting games like Tekken 7, the single player contents are well fed and promise several dozen hours of gameplay, in a universe of indisputable charisma.
Every frame counts
SoulCalibur VI comes in at 60 FPS, as the genre requires. The three-dimensional models are all in all well made, without ever making a miracle cry, in a fluctuating polygonal disparity between characters and scenarios. The soundtrack ranges from baroque shades to epic without ever becoming the protagonist, limiting itself to emphasizing and harmoniously accompanying the action on screen.
As if the breadth of contents proposed by the two single player modes and the character creation tool were not enough, there is a museum able to offer a valid insight into the history of the various characters, many artworks and valuable advice about the mechanics of game.
The beating heart of souls and swords
As in any self-respecting fighting game, The beating heart of SoulCalibur VI is combat, stripped of any frills. Games of this genre often tend to focus on a specific mechanic and raise it to the brand's banner: there are titles focused on juggle, others on particular combo systems, aerial fights and even mergers of genres. SoulCalibur has always made the neutral phase of the game its strong point.
In a three-dimensional system where there are no weak, medium and strong blows, but horizontal, vertical attacks and kicks, to triumph means to rotate around the opponent trying to punish the errors of displacement and misleading him through sudden clicks.
With the ability to throw the enemy out of the arena to win the round, the mechanics of movement and distance management is the main element of the series.
The speed of action on the screen has greatly improved from the last titles of the series, wink at the fluidity of the second chapter, without however giving up the innovations implemented in the previous episodes. The super bar is therefore back, usable to surprise the opponent off guard with a splendid and potentially fatal animation and to perform in the Soul Charge: A temporary boost to our stats, which when activated allows us to push the opponent away leaving us to recover a safety position.
Reversal Edge, Guard Impact and Break Attack
The gameplay is also enriched with important innovations protagonists of new offensive and defensive options: with the press of a button, we will be able to unleash the fearsome Reversal Edge. RE manifests itself through a parry always followed by a vertical attack, therefore dodging by moving sideways. If the attack is successful, we will be called to the press of a button during a spectacular slow motion, in which we will challenge the opponent in a stone, paper and scissor duel.
We have already dealt with the topic concerning the random components within the competitive genre and in case you are curious to learn more, you can find the article here.
In defense of the Reversal Edge we can say that the mechanics and related damage have been consciously balanced by the Bandai Namco team, so forget the outputs seen in beta.
To break the parry offered by Reversal he runs to our aid the Break Attack, a move characterized by blue flashes able to triumph, breaking its defense. The defensive options offered by SoulCalibur VI confirm the very technical Guard Impact, the well-known impact block that offers us the opportunity to go on offense if performed with the right timing. Of course, the attack following the Guard Impact can be countered by carrying out a further Guard Impact.
The witcher joins the fight
The roster of fighters is well fed, presenting at the exit 22 fighters to choose from with Geralt of Rivia as the most illustrious guest.
At a preliminary look, the general balance is not homogeneous, with some characters even without 10 frame options, but for an adequate analysis we will have to wait for the official release and in-depth studies on the timing of start up and ending lag of the moves.
SoulCalibur VI has what it takes to rekindle the passion for Bandai Namco's swashbuckling fighters, boasting an excellent single player sector and biting enough to thrill fans of last-ditch competitions. Unfortunately, some of the mechanics such as the management of the bar are particularly naive, while the graphic quality is slightly below expectations. Small flaws that prevent this gem from shining to its fullest potential.
► SoulCalibur VI is a fighting game developed by Project Soul and published by Bandai Namco for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 19/10/2018
