Platform: PC (reviewed on), PS4, Xbox One
Developer: Bandai Namco Studios
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Release Date: October 19th, 2018
Genre: Fighting
Nerd Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Reviewed by Jepheroth
The premiere weapon-based fighting game has sliced its way back onto the scene with its sixth mainline entry. As somebody who had a SEGA Dreamcast at launch, I have fond memories of the original Soulcalibur title (yes, I know Soulblade came out beforehand, but I am referring to the games titled Soulcalibur here). When the fifth mainline title released in 2012, fans felt the series was hitting a plateau and while the games weren’t necessarily bad, they were just more of the same.
Now it’s 2018 and we are greeted with a reboot of the series, and as we have learned with a game like 2011’s Mortal Kombat, it never hurts to go back to basics and give a fresh coat of paint to an already established formula. So does the soul still burn? Let’s dive in, shall we?
At its core, Soulcalibur VI still has that wonderful 3D combat feel. Everything feels as graceful as it did back on the Dreamcast. Light attacks have that speed to set up those heavy attacks, which land with a satisfying sound as you flow from one move into another. In short, this is a beautiful ballet of swinging swords and crisp combos. Whether you are a Soulcalibur veteran or a new player, you will be able to pick up the game, get a feel for the movement, and be able to enjoy yourself.
Might as well talk about the elephant in the room. There is a new mechanic in Soulcalibur VI that has proven to be pretty divisive among the fan base, and after spending many hours with the game, I feel I am on the “anti-” side of the equation: Reversal Edge.
Reversal Edge is a new mechanic introduce in Soulcalibur VI that creates a hyper-dramatized moment during the course of a battle.
The Reversal Edge can be used at the end of some combos or as a dedicated input, and if it connects, you enter into “bullet time” which initiates a rock-paper-scissors style mechanic to determine who gets the quick upper hand. Here is why I am “anti-” this: it really breaks up the “beautiful ballet” and grinds the action to a halt. Secondly, what’s presented as a rock-paper-scissors mechanic is actually a “rock-paper-scissors with also some other stuff” since you can not only use the basic strike inputs, but can dodge and block as well. I have felt this way about the Injustice 2 clash mechanic and Reversal Edge gives me that same bummed out feeling every time it happens. It breaks the flow of the match and is overly complicated. Hell, some times it just randomly does an attack for me, despite me not hitting anything.
Got it?
Graphically, Soulcalibur VI won’t push the limits of your graphics cards or your 4K TVs, but it does boast some beautiful vistas and powerful lighting effects to enhance the matches. I will say I have experienced ZERO hitching on my GTX 1060 and have all the graphics options maxed out.
On the audio front, the soundtrack really adds to the grand feeling of the matches, from the intro video to the character select screen to the in-game music, it all really accentuates the action and makes each match feels like a true battle and not “just a fight”.
The voice acting, on the other hand, is mostly hit-or-miss. Outside of Geralt (with Doug Cockle reprising his role as the titular Witcher), the American voice over work can feel like a true rough localization. The HUGE bright spot, though, is the announcer who lays out the matches like a vocabulary virtuoso. Soulcalibur’s announcer has been a staple of the franchise since the beginning, and opening a match with that iconic voice over describing the pending “cacophony of madness” is pretty intense and beautiful.
Single player content is plentiful in Soulcalibur VI, with two meaty story modes that can take up a lot of playtime hours. Soul Chronicle is your standard fighting game story mode that retells the events of the original Soulcalibur and offers a main storyline as well as separate character-specific ones, even for Geralt. Libra of Soul is a more substantial story mode in which you take a created fighter and travel a map, fighting one-round battles and having unique encounters to rank up your character and unlock different, more powerful, weapons and fighting styles.
While the roster at launch is a little smaller than what I would imagine, they all have their own unique feel due to their different fight styles and choice of weaponry. Things like speed, reach and power all will factor into which character you decide to be your “main”, but none of the characters will present a roadblock for a new player.
Here’s where another complaint of mine comes in. While it’s great to have all this single player content, and while I am enjoying myself with it, it can be a chore. Especially given the lack of proper cut-scenes and, in the case of Libra of Soul, a real lack of voice acting, leading to a TON of reading which, for me anyway, really hinders my ability to get into the stories and characters and just leaves me feeling I’m reading a graphic novel.
What’s more, if you create a fighter inside of Libra of Soul, you can not use that character in any other mode. This makes me not want to put a lot of time into that character since I won’t be able to see the fruits of my labor elsewhere. Granted, it could be designed where my character comes into other modes once I complete Libra of Soul, I just don’t know if that’s the case and I find it a weird design choice to lock something players could spend tons of hours into behind a single play mode.
Speaking of created fighters, the creation suite here can really let players’ imaginations run wild. While cosmetic options are sparse as far as quantity is concerned – especially when compared to another Bandai Namco offering, Tekken 7 – it’s what you can do with it that has lead to some really stunning – and some copyright infringing I’m sure – creations. While it can be overwhelming at first, it’s worth the effort to jump in and mess around with it. If you aren’t feeling creative, you can pull down other peoples’ creations (up to 100 can be saved) and edit them or just save them to use offline. I do wish the game offered a grid view of all the creations like WWE 2K19 has as opposed to the current formula of loading a single character, hit next, wait for a load, see the next, wait for a load, and so on. It’s cumbersome, and you also can’t use downloaded characters online…which is weird.
The online offering is your standard set of options, with ranked and causal matches as well as player icons and titles to be unlocked and used online. I will note I am on PC and having a TERRIBLE time connecting to people and having stable matches. It is downright unplayable on PC. I know it’s not my PC since I don’t have these types of issues in other fighting games and it is frustrating to say the least.
For what it’s worth, Nerdbacon’s own DaveTheWatchman has told me he has not had these types of problems on the PS4 version. While I can’t sit here and knock the entire game too much for poor PC online performance, consider this a word of caution.
Players hold the Soulcalibur franchise in such high regard and Soulcalibur VI is a welcomed reboot for its fan base, it’s also a great entry point for a new generation of battlers. While the Reversal Edge mechanic is going to cause some frustrations and the gluttony of single player content can be a little dense to grind through, the actual fighting is some of the best in the series and will keep players coming back for more. Our souls still burn.
Nerd Rating: 8.5/10
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