Unsouled

Unsouled
N/A
Metacritic
74
Steam
61.495
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$19.99
Release date
28 April 2022
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
74 (203 votes)

Take on the role of the Fallen Prince in Unsouled - a stylish, fast-paced 2D action-RPG. Fight your way through interactive environments and adrenaline-pumping encounters as you unravel the mysteries behind this world filled with the undead.

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Unsouled system requirements

Minimum:

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 7 or Later
  • Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6320 (2*1866) or equivalent
  • Memory: 2 GB RAM
  • Graphics: 512mb video memory
  • Storage: 2 GB available space
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Sareth
Sareth

Just no.

" 2D action RPG game requiring immense elaborate control "
I beat this game by button-mashing through the "normal" difficulty in less than 3,5 h.
Only required like 1 or 2 retryies per boss at worst.

Controls feel cluttered & the combo system feels weird.
Especially because the auto-chain-combo feature requires basically no skillful input - just hammer attack and hope for the best.

Playing without the auto-chain-combo feature feels like it's like trying to merge souls-like dodge-&-stamina system with 10 different combo patterns from DMC - with sprite enemies that have really whacky hitboxes, bad telegraphing and really spongy healthpools.

It just doesn't go together well & controls badly.

"challenge yourself with the world of Unsouled"
What world? That clusterfu[i[[/i]ck of three different "cultural-themed" level settings? boy, we sure went from india/middle-east to china to a eurpean monastery in like 2 screen transitions...

The story is pointless, the characters makes no sense, the writing is bad & the ending is worse.

The pixel art would be okay, if it wasn't for the fact that they zoom into fake sprite-based 3D scenes for the bosses end level screens. Pixels also rotate, and I swear the fire.gif isn't pixelated at all.

JobbingOn_A_SundayNight
JobbingOn_A_Su…

This game is in DESPERATE need of a fourth difficulty between normal and Master Soul.
It is absolutely piss easy on normal, giving you parry and the like just by mashing.
Master Soul on the other hand, might as well not have the parry as an option in the first place. The telegraphs for 90% of the moves the enemies pull off are simply not gonna cut it when that much precision is required.

AstroPup
AstroPup

Well, I don't know either to hate this game or like this game to be frankly honest and even though I do recommend this game. I also don't recommend it for many other reasons. First of the good, its a mix of After Light Drifter, DMC and elements of souls like games. Which does sound fun until put into practice which has mix results. The good part of the combat is that there is a lot going on, multiple abilities, combos and other nuances provide a huge skill learning curve that I imagine many players will enjoy but that is also a glaring weakness as well. There are so many combos and skills in the game you hardly be able to process what those skills are and the game's pacing on how it delivers that information is not good. They pile up all of it in one go at the very beginning and if you're like me you would've just skipped each one of the pop ups after the third one and gone like lets just play the game. Soon to find out that crap is actually important and makes the game a lot more manageable because this is a difficult game. If wasn't for my stubborn nature and my enjoyment in discovering new skills and combos I probably would have not recommended this game to anyone. The other good stuff are the bosses, they are design well, they are all quite unique and have cool cut scene sequences if you get grabbed or reach the second phase of the fight. Thankfully unlike many souls like games, the checkpoints are right where the bosses are so there is no run back which was always my pet peeve in playing these types of games. However the bosses which should be the gate keeping element of a souls-like game are not the most difficult part of the game kid you not, its stupid map gimmicks (that I won't spoil what they are) that killed me way more than any boss could have. Spamming spacebar and getting pixel perfect movement like I'm a speedrunner is not fun but frankly I don't think I did that part of the game correctly because after I got pass those annoying gimmicks it gave me an achievement that only less than 2% of people completed. I personally believe the combat and the enemies should be the hardest part of this type of games not the stupid map gimmicks. Now, let get to the last big element in the game (yeah there is a lot going on in this game) the rpg mechanics. To be honest this does feel underdeveloped, why is there no new game plus in this extremely linear game??? What the point of fighting a boss the first time under level and level up strong enough that if you did that chapter again you would find it easier. There are mirrors that kinda acts like new game + but not really, so the rpg element of the game makes not much sense apart from upgrading yourself just enough to complete the next chapter. And because there are so many skills to upgrade and if you're like me who decided to skip the hundreds of pop ups at the start, you never even touch them which is shame because a new game + could have made players actually want to try out these features after the maxed out everything else.
As I write this there is perhaps a very small audience in which I can actually recommend this game, people who enjoy learning skills, combos and good boss fights will enjoy this game but there are lot of things this game is lacking that many other games offer. If you are a combo master that likes a new challenge pick this game up, if you're not go play any other game.

Niek
Niek

Its recommend to play with a gamepad, then the character always misses the direction i was aiming.
Its easy to learn the skill but the way character always miss direction is something unacceptable.
My controller is elite 2 and its working perfect with game like Warm Snow, maybe this game is just not for me.

Bluntmachete
Bluntmachete

The game is challenging but the devs leave it up to you on how much of a challenge you want to handle. I think that this is super cool for people that want to enjoy the game but are not good at souls like games and it caters to the masochists out there if you want a more punishing experience. The combat has plenty of variety and depth in terms of how you can chain your attacks together and the combat mechanics can be overwhelming in the beginning because there is much to learn or you will get insta killed as is common in souls-like games. There really isn't a massive collectathon going on here other than the souls that you can find if you explore enough. There are no armor sets to find or other weapons. Your only alternatives come in the form of skill upgrades but that is ok since the focus of the game seems to be fluid and exciting combat as well as a nice story to go along with it. The bosses need strategy, I started in the master difficulty and I was ok with the torture after I beat the boss in the coliseum then I went to tweak the game to be a little more forgiving. So thank you devs for thinking of the people that want to support and enjoy your game but don't have the time to grind and get good at it. I recommend the game if you like complex action controls and hyper fast combat especially if it is on sale. This game reminds me of hyper light drifter a little bit.

manubras
manubras

Out of early access without releasing the content that was supposed to be in the release. Barely updated since the start of early access. The combat and visuals feel like they are missing a couple of rounds of polishing.

Danos Pog
Danos Pog

The art and animations are beautiful, and honestly that is all I can say this game has going for it. The devs put in like 15 combat systems and none of them feel good, in fact almost nothing feels good. getting from 1 boss to the next feels like such a slog, and most of the time the bosses feel insanely unfair unless you are able to cheese them by stun locking them in a corner. The story was boring and basic and not only that the ending was one of the most unsatisfying endings ever.
Save your money.

fernand04ndrade
fernand04ndrade

Well the system of Yes/No is hard to use. BUT, unless you like those games where you have to memorize tons of combos, one for each different situation this is a game for you. If you are looking for something that does not depend almost entirely on perfect timed parries/dashes/attacks and does not want to memorize 15 different combos, this game is not for you. I have played only 1h and beat the 1st boss, but I have absolutely no clue about how I did that.

Moe Anthropomorphism
Moe Anthropomorphism

This is an incredibly well done beat-em-up with a surprising amount of depth to the combat and exploration. The levels and boss fights are impressive, your skillset is expansive and fun to experiment with, and the fighting is snappy and satisfying. My only real problem is that the game really frontloads you with tutorial stuff, to the point where you might be overwhelmed and feel like the game is too complicated for you to wrap your head around - as long as you can get through that and into the actual levels, you can always revisit the practice area later to brush up on the situational combos you didn't memorize at first, and you can make it through the game just fine without them. Definitely worth checking out if you like character action games like DMC or Sekiro and want to see that translated into an isometric twin-stick game like Hades.

Kyata
Kyata

I have mix feeling on this game but leaning on bad, it's kinda meh on what it's trying to be. A Hyper Light Drifter/ DMC fast combat with souls like stamina.

The developer put so much idea on a small game he made the game too complicated for it's own good.
First off right at the get go the game throws you an entire book of things to read on how to play this game like a shit ton of it and expect you to remember everything.

The story is a mediocre revenge story but some elements are still not clear and the end hints at a sequel or something.

At the first level while I am still trying to wrap my mind on the mechanics the game already throw like ten enemies in your face and all of them are aggressive in movements and attacks like WOW that is not good way to attract players in your game. I would understand it if its on mid to late game where the same applies but on that beginning map? come on have some common sense.

Looking at the trailer you would think it's a simple hack and slash but nope this game has like a dozen of combo slashes and more than half of them are require dexterous fingers to pull off. I said screw and just play the game in a Souls way of just mashing the basic attack with some spacing and cheesing.

There are so many abilities that are there but not really required to beat the game. I just upgrade the Triple Slash, Dash attack, Charge attack on offense. And full upgrade HP and some Stamina and a bit of Soul absorb so the souls will automatically come to you. So I only utilize 1/3 of the combat mechanic the other 2/3 is pretty neglible.

There are parts of the map that are so confusing I had to watch a walkthrough on where to go or what to do.At least this game didn't overstay its welcome, it's a linear game.

Words to remember dev if you plan to put games on PC try to utilize the MKB on its full potential. Why would you put abilities on button combinations like an inferior controller when keyboard have dozen of keys you can use.

ASTROCHRONIC
ASTROCHRONIC

Look, the game has good bones, ambitious design. If you like pixels, well you can see... Problem for me is, it throws way too many mechanics and combos at you right at the beginning. And to advance through ice walls you have to get these combos right and then chain them together. And then on top of that you have to keep going back to kill the one dude to refill your orbs just so you can do certain combos to advance...this is just the tutorial...its tedious already and I haven't even begun to understand all the combo systems. Every button does something different and some chain together some don't, some seem to charge up then do nothing at all. There are lots of gamers who will love this game. Ones like me, will not. We just do not have the patience for this shit. So for those gamers, it is a not recommend. I got it on sale but after just about 20 minutes I already know I will never pick up this game again. Too bad, because if it were presented right, and these systems opened up slowly, it might have been a fun game. oh well. Uninstalled.

Tyrian Mollusk
Tyrian Mollusk

Bought for the roguelite mode that early access was specifically happening to add and balance.

Game suddenly released from early access without ever mentioning the roguelite mode. Release-day promises to show the post-release roadmap soon, small update posted a few days after release but no news.

Half a year since release and not only zero news, but no more updates either.

Zodaxa
Zodaxa

I recommend it... for 1.9 hours as of this very update, seriously try it it CAN be absolutely fun and insane. It's those over the top stick fight anime shorts we watched as kids turned into a real souls game... when it gets good as it seems to take a lot longer than 2 hours to get there and even then GOOD LUCK. Seriously luck, as there are no reads, no wind ups, no predictions, nothing of that sort, but tons of tech IF THAT WERE THERE to make the game feel great. "just get gud lmao" is something I wanted to say to the negative reviews, tried it and realized HUH the tech you start with is really meant for specifically a boss rush type game which would be cool, but you gotta deal with a bunch of trash mobs first. And oh god the visibility... MAN the art is beautiful THE MUSIC TOO HUUUUUU, I just can't see the attacks or arrows or anything at all. Need the gameplay to pop a bit more outside the art. Maybe accessibility menu? Glowing outlines on enemies and/or player? Needs some love to make the game playable to say the least. Great tech, great explanations on such, not great enemies or terrain (in the first 2 hours) to use such, first boss was really COOL AND AWESOME!!... but oh lord are they spammy and teach you the majority of your tech, they've got too and they will abuse it, also LOL your tech doesn't function and can shoot yourself in the foot. It's amazing that you'll be stun locked so often that theres an in game mechanic to UNstunlock yourse- to get punched AGAIN as so can the enemy. No you can't just do it again that'd be too much :). Visual ques all I need

Igear
Igear

This game is really hard lmao.

Wahfuu
Wahfuu

Finished on Master Soul.

Unsouled is a game that I think needed a bit more polish, but still delivers on a satisfying combat experience with a plethora of mechanics to dig your claws into. Theres a lot of minor and major nuance to every attack and move in your arsenal, which is massive. I would have liked to see more harder elite enemies and combinations of those, because many combat encounters can feel quite musou-esque with the amount of violence you dish out on waves of small enemies. The bosses are good and fun almost unanimously, though.

If you're someone who enjoys a difficult combat-focused game you'll probably enjoy this. The camera can be a bit too antagonistic, mind, and the see-through vision through walls doesn'tdo enough. Also I do wish there was a bit... more? Bosses weren't easy, but there was nothing that TRULY felt like it was pushing the system to its peak. Kamas was close, though.

Either way, fun game! Hope theres some dlc for it of some kind.

FragileGlass
FragileGlass

I had to jump in to place a positive review for Unsouled. Is the game perfect. No. That doesn’t mean it isn’t amazing.

Right off the top. If you’re a Sekiro or Nioh fan, I truly believe you’ll have fun as the combat system is truly engaging.

If you’re looking for a straight up mindless hack n’ slash. This game does offer the hack, plus a whole lot of slash. You’re gonna need to turn your brain on in order to really appreciate how much work the devs put into this game.

Lastly, I absolutely love when I find a diamond in the rough like this game. Hopefully the devs will either produce DLC content or expand on the combat system in other potential releases.

alividlife
alividlife

Definitely like the button mashing and hyperlight drifter speedy combat.

Imposter
Imposter

holy shit im actually blown away by this game so far it is incredibly fun

Edit: boss 3 is way too easy compared to the first 2. You can get him into one of the top corners and the only attack he will do is the aoe lightning strike. Im playing on hardest difficulty btw.

sho
sho

fast paced indeed, died 42 times to the first boss, spent almos 2 hours on it
worth it

kip
kip

This game has a lot of potential. Why am I not recommending it? Because it's not really very fun.

Right off the bat, this game throws you into what looks almost exactly like the introduction to Dark Souls. Don't fix what ain't broke, I'm good with it.

Literally the next room throws you into a big combat focused tutorial, and explains like 5 moves. Then, it takes you into another tutorial, and explains another 5 moves, then it takes you into another room and explains another 5 moves, then it takes you into a another room and explains another 5 moves. This is pretty much before the game even starts. Then, it literally takes you out of the entire story and gives you a straight-up training room white void, where you can practice your skills, because apparently you're going to need to.

Right off the bat, I'm being show a Platinum game level of complexity, in a game that feels like it should be a Souls-like. Okay, so the game is like a 2D Character action spectacle fighter? Eh, okay? I'll roll with it.

What's with these upgrades, then? Right off the bat I'm being shown upgrades, all of which feel out of place. Like, there's no real reason for me to collect these in a spectacle fighter, as the fun is supposed to come from player skill. Why level up your character in a spectacle fighter? The fun is supposed to be in mastering the combat system.

Okay, so I came in expecting Dark Souls meets Hyper Light Drifter, instead I get 2D fantasy bayonetta, I can shift my expectations, I guess. Is this combat fun? I mean, not really. There's a ton of abilities, but none of them really feel fun, the game's sound effects detract from every hit to me, and the music kinda ruins the tone completely for me. Why is there like, trap music playing for this fantasy game? It just feels really off.

The combat doesn't feel like a precise dance, like it does in Dark Souls, Hyper Light Drifter, or a Platinum game. For me, this is because there's not a lot of precision, and there's not a lot of telegraphing abilities. Like, I can be right next to an enemy and whiff, either because the game interpreted my input as "left" rather than "diagonal up + left", or because I hit an enemy during what appears to be an iframe window, so I can't tell if my attack even does damage.

Combat is complex, too, but not in what I feel to be a good way. In a Platinum game, this is complex button inputs, timing, etc. In this, there's really small timing windows for everything, even on the normal difficulty, but moves aren't really complex. In this, the idea is to chain moves, but that just doesn't really feel good. There's too many buttons that do too many things that all feel the same, and right off the bat there's too much going on with a very steep ramp up in the demand for player mastery.

Instantly, the game asks players to fight 10+ enemies at one time, and if they alter their button inputs, well, we've got that classic curse of those buttons changing the "menu" buttons, too. Interactions in the game are bound to combat actions, so if you get hit by a QtE, turns out the buttons for those changed, and the prompt doesn't! Good luck dying until you figure out what that button's mapped to!

So, once you get through your first few fights of fighting way too many enemies in a spectacle fighter where the moves are really simple and not really cool looking, combat is probably going to start to drag. Once you get through like the first 2 fights it feels like you've seen everything this game offers in terms of combat, because it throws the entire combat system at you out the gate. If you ever make a mistake, though, the game gives you that wonderful "let me interrupt you real quick and give you that tutorial again, because you seem to be stupid", completely breaking your flow.

Then, once you get through the first few fights, collecting souls for what feels like no real reason, to get upgrades that are super expensive, and they don't even really feel different once you get them, you are given a letter grade, and shown a leaderboard. Unless you're some kind of savant, you're probably not going to have a great score. So, if at this point you were frustrated by the combat system, now it's basically calling you stupid. Imagine Dark Souls giving a player an "F" like in a Platinum game when they lose to the first boss; maybe I'm crazy, but I feel like players would not want to experience that.

Okay, so I'm a bit of the way through, and I think I've got some of the timing down, some of the basics of chaining, and then the first boss shows up. This boss is not particularly well tuned. I think his speed is fine, but damn he's got a lot going on visually, and he starts seizure pulsing partway through the fight, and he never stops doing it afterwards. This basically destroys his silhouette, making it super difficult to read his telegraphs. I died a bunch of times to this, which wouldn't be frustrating in a Souls game, because you can die, farm some souls, and come back when you feel comfortable.

In this game, there's souls, but you can't go back, and it seems like it's a fully linear beat-em-up style ("scrolling") gameplay, you're just being handheld from setpiece to setpiece, so leveling feels 100% pointless. I honestly can't tell why the dev(s) would have even wasted time implementing leveling, because there's already enough complexity as it is. Feeling underpowered on the first boss is pretty normal, but then I beat him and it doesn't even look like I can go back and fight him again when I'm stronger, I just have to start the game over.

Then there's the collection of souls from a pacing standpoint; collecting souls also recharges your stamina. So, if you're in the middle of a fight, and your stamina starts to get low, you collect souls to regain stamina? That just seems like a pointless extra button prompt to do what every other stamina-based fighter does, just wait a second, or do a perfect guard or something. So at this point, I don't see a reason why you even collect souls, it doesn't really add anything to the game, and on top of that collecting souls recharges stamina.

So, why does this game even have stamina? What's the point? Most other spectacle fighters don't have a stamina bar, they have a "boost" bar, where cool shit happens. Instead of making you feel powerful for a short period of time in an endless god-like combo, the game just makes you stop your combo for some reason? Seems to go against the point of the game's combat system.

So if you've made it this far, thanks for reading. I don't recommend this game because pretty much every element of this game feels like it has absolutely no idea what it's trying to be, and different elements that were intentionally put into the game don't work together at all. The game's core design seems to be clashing with itself, and it doesn't seem to be able to figure out what it actually wants to be, and the pacing is a nightmare. This game might have the worst onboarding experience I've ever been subjected to in a video game. Way too much complexity right off the bat, but on top of that it manages to come off as hand-holding, and then right at the end it lets you know it was also being really critical of your performance, in the fucking tutorial.

I guess you could say I'm "Unsold" on this game.

Yarden
Yarden

This is my 2nd ever negative review. I don't like leaving negative reviews. Especially not on small indie games, for which this is my first ever negative review.

I like the combat, I really do. The parry and chaining it is probably one of the most satisfying parries I've ever had in a game.

However, the game has some significant issues. Even with its main traction, the combat system. All of which I could and would gladly ignore, if the price made more sense.
It is clearly a low production value indie game, made by a solo dev, and it is about 5-6 hours in length.

But it costs over 20 dollars.
That is honestly insane.

It costs about the same as other games with far more content, far more variety, far more graphical production values and none of which is early access. Heck, even the publisher's own Skul: The Hero Slayer, as well as Gunfire Reborn.

I would love to recommend this game for it's interesting combat, but in no way does it justify such a price.

MimicMachine
MimicMachine

The gameplay really reminds me of a mix of Onimusha Dawn of Dreams (and 3) combat mixed with the combat grading of Devil May Cry or Platinum games.

Overall I've enjoyed the parry system, combos and difficulty. The difficult options are thought out and impact enemy moves, how tight the parry system is and how much you have to grind (higher difficulty rewards more red souls).
I also enjoyed the hidden passive upgrades and the story has been neat in the amount I've played.

If I had to say anything I didn't like, it seems a bit much to have a tutorial level and then an abyss to practice tutorial stuff. I feel like the game could've cut the intro tutorial in half and let the player learn it in the void area optionally or just merge the two so the player can get into the real game faster.

The game was satisfyingly difficult on the hardest difficulty and reasonably difficulty on the middle difficulty.

One last thing I would add, I really don't think this is a souls-like game as much as a Onimusha-like for those looking for that kind of thing (stage/area based action puzzle with hiding secrets in levels).

--Preacher--
--Preacher--

The learning curve is steep, and all the mechanics work about %25 of the time, but once it clicks, you feel like a cinematic God.

MichelangeloXIV
MichelangeloXIV

good game, the controls and whole combat system is amazing in my opinion. kinda like a combination of some of my favorite games but has added difficulty so that it is more interesting.

******* lyfe
******* lyfe

Is it necessary for the story to be this dark and tragic?
Feels like I was sitting in a basement while playing Dark souls in the DC universe.
Holy Fuck.
Took me 4 hours to finish, seems fast but heavy af.

Old Master Fudo
Old Master Fudo

an Insanely good Indie Hack and slash/lite RPG Heavily inspired by Bayonetta. the story dialog isn't originally english but I thought its translation was done very well as the themes were conveyed perfectly. defintly one of the better indies I have played all Year I hope we see more of this game from the team.

Zeebarf
Zeebarf

What happens when you let anime fighting games fan create top down hack'n'slash

P.S. 3 hours into the game and I got one of the rarest achievements (chain counter 10 times). It just shows how broken difficult mechanics are here. Totally recommend

TyLegend
TyLegend

Just wait till you get stunlocked. PepeLaugh

FlashStep
FlashStep

A game with great combat mechanics and gameplay that doesn't present itself well enough otherwise to be thoroughly enjoyable. The assets and animations are a bit low effort overall, which would be just a nitpick I could easily overlook, but what really put me off this game is the camera. The camera is absolutely heinous. I feel like most of my gameplay time was spent with the camera in the corner with my character or enemies offscreen. Very rarely is the camera centered on the character and it's really hard to sort out what's going on. I appreciate what the devs tried to do with the combat and gameplay - it's a great concept that unfortunately isn't well done.

lewski
lewski

I'm just not gonna get into the game cause it seems like it expects me to learn everything at the very beginning. If you don't want to spend 20 minutes (maybe more, I only got that far) reading popups about the game's mechanics and practising the timing of every possible combo, this game is not for you.

Chaosisme
Chaosisme

Great game!
I just finished my first playthrough on normal difficulty and got the "bad" ending as i discovered afterwards there was some secret bosses leading to the "good" ending...that will be my goal for the next playthrough

Combat is brilliant, precise and well-thought. Many techniques to try and master. I chose 2 and it carried me the whole way, solid!

Pixel art is beautiful here, and i'm not a fan of pixel art at all (but i did enjoyed Hyper Light Dritfer for example and this game reminds me of HLD)

The story is interesting, i wanted to know where it was going.
I heard it was developped by one person only, awesome!
Looking forward to play more games by this person for sure

If you like tight combat, tough bosses and lightspeed combos, do yourself a favor and try it.
It's one of those "hard to master" games but once you get what the dev expects from you then it's f###ing satisfying!

Great job!

rivet™
rivet™

Hyper light drifter x Sekiro x Dmc if that sounds appealing to you then buy this. Steep learning curve but once it clicks this game is amazing! The only thing i wish it had was an interconnected world. There are at least multi paths on each stage but none of them are connected to the stage before but that is a very small nit pick.

Also it seems the game is very very short like 4 hours my first time thru even so i still enjoyed my short time with the game.

William Shakesman
William Shakesman

The evil Ammu, Queen of the Dead has set out to destroy the Souls franchise entirely! The Prince arrived to stop her only to be cut in half by her vile dastardly devil magicks. Bam, he too was Unsouled!

Now, cursed to run through a land without Fromsoft games, he must learn to live without Souls! The enemies and he now have an actual combat system and can each attack in under 1 second, sometimes even multiple times per second. Truly no Souls player could survive here.

Unsouled owes a lot to Onimusha, but the combat itself is quick, lethal, stylish, and incredibly demanding. (Also it is not a fucking roguelite but an ACTUAL game with ACTUAL level design!) Chaining, counters, parrying, several command and special moves, and even a limited cancel option are all on your plate to try to stay ahead of the hordes of pixel zombie ninjas trying to desoul you even harder. Every move has a chain window right at the end, each swipe just quick enough to matter but just long enough to punish you if you whiff. The pacing stays quick though and at high levels of play the combat is a really aggressive back and forth dance. But don't worry, the game explains these systems at great length with an excellent tutorial, practice room, combo demo area, and useful tooltips that explain at appropriate places not only what new flavor of BS you are up against when enemies start stealing some of your tricks and canceling their own animations and hitstun but also what you need to start doing to beat these nerds at their own game. Unlike countless Platinum games, the designer of Unsouled understands his own game AND can explain it. (And if you the player have not been Unsouled yet and still cling to Fromsoft shopping cart knight combat, this game does offer many difficulty options to slow it down and offer more relaxed timings to work your way up or just take it easy and enjoy the art and story.)

In a world full of games of fat knights slowly rolling around swamps, Unsouled having an actual combat system is worth its weight in gold. Highly recommended.

minstrelofmoria
minstrelofmoria

I like Soulslikes where you can use the finesse strategies, but you can also use the bastard who sucks at games strategies. If you really want to chain counterattacks with fraction-of-a-second precision, you can absolutely annihilate everything in your way and look stylish doing it. Or if you use the basic combo and block, you can survive and slowly wear down your opposition. Most of the time, I'm a basic block kind of player.

HOXORS
HOXORS

Unsouled is a game created by one person but has the quality level of a large development team.
It's heavily influenced by FromSoftware games, with similarities ranging from the save system to the prologue being the exact copy of Dark Souls 1.

The combat is very satisfying and challenging. It revolves around doing combos and counters. Relying on basic attacks and button mashing will either be extremely punishing or do no damage. And while the idea of it is pretty good, the way all these things are introduced can be overwhelming. The game tries to teach dozens of skills right at the start, rather than making you acquire them with time.

The story does a surprisingly good job with its dark fantasy setting. It's nowhere near as vague as the souls' games. The length of a single playthrough can be short, but different endings make up for it.

The pricing is a little high for a game of this size. I would recommend getting it at a sale if you are discouraged.

DanSilverhound
DanSilverhound

Fantastic "tech" combat! You are given most of the tools you need to play through the game, and it's up to you to choose upgrades that fit your own preferred style. I like what this developer did for the game, i see the immense potential.

At first, i was a little concerned about the overly linear nature, as i wondered if leveling was locked to your map progression, but discovered "restart" just put you back to your last save point so if you feel the need to level up more to get past a certain point, you have that option. It's a nice way of doing it for a linear game. The combat is easily the best i've felt in awhile. It takes certain cues from Hyper Light Drifter and classic 2D fighting games (guilty gear series is one, with the "ghost move" systems). You are told right at the start what you have, and the game lets you practice whatever and however in it's "abyss" practice space that you can access anytime you are in a safe zone. It feels incredibly satisfying when you pull off 10+ chains and manage to get a hang of the attack counter moves.

There are a few cons. The art style is nice, but sometimes your character gets lost in the background designs, especially if the floor has detailing and patterns. They do try to explain everything in the game, but some stuff gets lost in the deluge of information. Perhaps explaining all the functions of the statues when you first come upon one would help, as a few people i've noticed did not know you can "reset" a run back to a previous statue with all the souls you've collected. Maybe i missed it when it was first explained, but it was hard to tell since so much gets introduced in the first 5 minutes. Also, sometimes the auto zoom for some encounters make it difficult to keep track of things, maybe if there was a zoom in and out function, that would help immensely.

Easily one of the best purchases i've made in the action adventure genre, i highly recommend it for anyone with the patience and willingness to challenge themselves. This game's focus is on point: Style AND substance.