Prankster 101 interviewed Fabio Pagetti and Samuele Perseo about Soulstice:

Soulstice – interview with Fabio Pagetti and Samuele Perseo

Considered by some to be one of 2022’s best gaming experiences, Soulstice is a AA hack and slash game that’s been made by a relatively unknown Italian studio called Reply Game Studios. And whilst Reply Game Studios only numbers around 50 people, it is actually part of a much larger Italian company called Reply Group that that boasts over 10,000 employees.

Developed over nearly 5 years, Soulstice harks back to a time when games like Devil May Cry were part of the zeitgeist and considered to be major system sellers. And whilst the genre might have fallen out of relative favour since, it still gets relatively high profile games from major publishers – such as Nier: Automata (from Square Enix), and Devil May Cry V (from Capcom).

I spoke to Fabio Pagetti (Creative Director) and Samuele Perseo (Writer) about Soulstice, and got to ask them as to how the IP can carve out a bigger niche for itself, as well as what Reply Game Studios’ future plans are. Enjoy!

Soulstice… I really like that game… I’ve only played about an hour of it, but I really like it. And I think it’s one of those games that deserves far more attention than it’s actually getting thus far… Given the fact that Bayonetta 3 was a tent-pole release for Nintendo, and given the fact that Devil May Cry V was one of Capcom’s bigger releases, why do you think Soulstice hasn’t gotten as much traction as it could have gotten? What do you think is stopping it from becoming more of a mass market product than it actually is?

Fabio Pagetti: First of all because it’s a new IP, and creating a new IP is always difficult. But the bigger difficulty is to push new IP to the market whilst there is no story behind the studio. Soulstice is our first game in the genre. But Devil May Cry is already famous, Bayonetta is already famous, and Nier: Automata is also famous. It’s difficult for a game to have the same resonance as the big players in the market. Of course there aren’t a lot of games like this, and the games that I have already mentioned are the most important, so I do think that there is space for similar games. Right now, we are living in a time when we have a lot of Souls-like games, and less hack and slash type games. And hack and slash type games aren’t even that long, and normally take 10-12 hours to complete. And those who love these type of games are maybe searching for other similar games to play. But at the end, I think it’s because we are small, and the studio doesn’t have a lot of visibility. And also from the publishing side, I think the game could be pushed more, so that it finds its correct place in the market.

You’ve done mobile and VR games prior to Soulstice, but what made you want to do Soulstice as your first console game?

Samuele Perseo: Well, we already had some experience, but on much smaller products like Theseus. It was our first game in Unreal engine, but it was done as a VR title because our parent company had a strategic interest in VR, so we took the opportunity to explore that field. But VR as a whole didn’t prove to be a big commercial success, and so we decided to go back to the flat screen in order to appeal to a wider audience. The idea was to have a commercially viable product that could reach a wider audience, and to do this, we chose a genre that was not overly saturated, as many studios are already working in the Soulsborne genre. But as Fabio has already said, there are not many character action games. So we felt, and we still think, that Soulstice could co-exist alongside those masterpieces.

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

Mortismal Gaming checked out Soulstice:

Soulstice - Review After 100%

The Hack'n'Slash game Soulstice will be released today:

Soulstice

The balance of the Holy Kingdom of Keidas is compromised when powerful, feral creatures known as “Wraiths” invade from the other side of the Veil, threatening to consume the living. Wraiths corrupt their victims and can even possess their bodies, turning into unstoppable monsters that prey upon the common folk. The “Chimeras”, hybrid warriors born of the union of two souls, are the only ones who can protect humankind.

Briar and Lute are two sisters who have been reborn as a Chimera. The transformation has granted Briar superhuman strength and resilience, while Lute, who was sacrificed in order to bind her soul to her sister’s, has become a ghost with mystical powers. Voiced by Stefanie Joosten (Metal Gear Solid 5), Briar and Lute are sent on a mission to reclaim a city in ruins that has been ravaged by the Wraiths, only to discover that the Order they belong to has a far more complex plan in mind.

Explore a dark world brimming with hidden mysteries, master a diverse combat system, and inhabit the dual forces of two sisters in a coming-of-age fantasy story with fast-paced action, vicious enemies and breathtaking boss fights.

Key Features

• Fight in synergy - Manage both characters simultaneously. Briar masters melee attacks and combos, while Lute controls the battlefield with her otherworldly abilities. Combine their strengths to unlock powerful transformations and fulfill their true potential as a Chimera.
• Customize weapons and abilities - Weapons are unlocked and upgraded throughout the game and can be switched even in the middle of a combo to deal greater damage to opponents.
• Explore the city of Ilden - Discover puzzles and secrets in diverse locations within a troubled city in ruins. A Tear in the Sky has opened above Ilden; as Briar and Lute get closer to it, their surroundings become more menacing and twisted.
• Experience a grim world - Plunge into a dark story of sisterly love heightened by stylish and sleek art inspired by classic Japanese fantasy.
• Combat different enemy classes - Wraiths, Corrupted and Possessed have trespassed into the world from beyond the Veil. Use Lute’s auras to weaken or expose them and adapt to a flow of battle that never feels the same.
• Uncover the truth of your origin - Throughout the game, Briar and Lute will discover the truth about themselves and their power but must work together to stay true to their unbreakable bond.

Gamerbraves checked out the upcoming Soulstice at the Tokyo Game Show:

[TGS 2022] Soulstice Preview – Soulstice Has That Devil May Cry Sauce I’ve So Desperately Needed

Over at Tokyo Game Show 2022, we got to try out a preview of developer’s Reply Game Studios’ action RPG title Soulstice and here are our thoughts on it.

Coming straight out the window, admittedly it’s hard to see Soulstice without seeing its inspirations. Reply Game Studios has been very open that they’re fans of the late Kentaro Miura’s dark fantasy title – Berserk, and it shows. You’re able to see a lot of inspirations with Soulstice and Berserk, most notably with the character design of the main heroine – Briar.

From the features like having only one good eye, the black heavy suit of armour, the greatsword. But being a fan of Berserk myself, it’s always such a pleasure to see how big of an influence that Berserk is able to reach. With that being said, I absolutely love the character design for Briar.

One of the advantages of being able to actually play Soulstice here at TGS 2022 is the chance to see it for more of what it truly is, and that is a pretty stellar action RPG title, even far outclassing some of the more robust-of-wallet titles out there.

As I played through the game’s very first level, there were a few obstacles that had been standing in my way, one of which was the fact that the game’s demo text were all in Japanese. Despite being a huge weeb, I unfortunately still don’t understand a lick of Japanese. The other obstacle was the complications of being at a loud event as well as not being able to hear and let alone understand my demo attendant. As a result, there are some systems where I can’t answer to what they actually do.

From my observations playing through the preview for Soulstice, I was able to give myself a blue aura that seems to float my character up higher a little, though that might have been just a placebo on my end. Meanwhile there was also a  red aura too but the effects of that still remains a mystery to me.

Although, what I was familiar with would be the sword combat that Briar mains. She comes with a pretty robust moveset the features both light and heavy attacks as well as a mechanic where you can cancel your light attack into a heavy attack.

Unlike many action games, it looks like Reply Game Studios have really put in the thought and care into the combat mechanics to make it more than just your average 3 hit combo. Going more into Briar having a robust moveset, she has a launcher, air juggle, a stinger as well as a jump cancel which all makes for a combat system that makes you want to show off and not just to get to the end of the level.

It’s here that Soulstice really shines, from the preview, while none of its ideas are inherently new, it’s made sure to base its identity on good source materials. While the inputs are pretty similar to Devil May Cry, it’s fine because Devil May Cry is also one of the greatest action games that’s ever been made. Soulstice lifted the mechanics with enough care that the homage feels genuine and more importantly, feel fun for the player.

[...]

The Hack'n'Slash game Soulstice will be released on September 20:

Soulstice

The balance of the Holy Kingdom of Keidas is compromised when powerful, feral creatures known as “Wraiths” invade from the other side of the Veil, threatening to consume the living. Wraiths corrupt their victims and can even possess their bodies, turning into unstoppable monsters that prey upon the common folk. The “Chimeras”, hybrid warriors born of the union of two souls, are the only ones who can protect humankind.

Briar and Lute are two sisters who have been reborn as a Chimera. The transformation has granted Briar superhuman strength and resilience, while Lute, who was sacrificed in order to bind her soul to her sister’s, has become a ghost with mystical powers. Voiced by Stefanie Joosten (Metal Gear Solid 5), Briar and Lute are sent on a mission to reclaim a city in ruins that has been ravaged by the Wraiths, only to discover that the Order they belong to has a far more complex plan in mind.

Explore a dark world brimming with hidden mysteries, master a diverse combat system, and inhabit the dual forces of two sisters in a coming-of-age fantasy story with fast-paced action, vicious enemies and breathtaking boss fights.

Key Features

• Fight in synergy - Manage both characters simultaneously. Briar masters melee attacks and combos, while Lute controls the battlefield with her otherworldly abilities. Combine their strengths to unlock powerful transformations and fulfill their true potential as a Chimera.
• Customize weapons and abilities - Weapons are unlocked and upgraded throughout the game and can be switched even in the middle of a combo to deal greater damage to opponents.
• Explore the city of Ilden - Discover puzzles and secrets in diverse locations within a troubled city in ruins. A Tear in the Sky has opened above Ilden; as Briar and Lute get closer to it, their surroundings become more menacing and twisted.
• Experience a grim world - Plunge into a dark story of sisterly love heightened by stylish and sleek art inspired by classic Japanese fantasy.
• Combat different enemy classes - Wraiths, Corrupted and Possessed have trespassed into the world from beyond the Veil. Use Lute’s auras to weaken or expose them and adapt to a flow of battle that never feels the same.
• Uncover the truth of your origin - Throughout the game, Briar and Lute will discover the truth about themselves and their power but must work together to stay true to their unbreakable bond.