Soul Sacrifice Review
Developer: Marvelous AQL
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Format: PS Vita
Release Date: Out Now
The Vita’s library of games has been looking for a new candidate to be its flagship title and Soul Sacrifice was gearing up to be one of the most promising releases to ship on the handheld. Touted as the answer to Monster Hunter on the 3DS, could Soul Sacrifice live up to the remarkably high expectations it had thrust upon it?
Soul Sacrifice premise is your experience as a prisoner, trapped by the incredibly powerful sorcerer Magusar who is using the prisoners as energy sources for his own gains. As the game begins, you watch as a fellow inmate attempts to fight back against his captor, only to be torn to shreds. His demise leaves you in possession of the Librom. The Librom is basically a demonic diary which has chronicled the rise of Magusar and allows its readers to relive the events of the Sorcerer’s life. In doing so, you will gain your own arcane abilities and, if you are lucky, you will learn enough to save yourself before Magusar returns for you.
The storytelling in Soul Sacrifice is absolutely superb, which is to be expected from Keiji Inafune, the man behind Resident Evil. As you complete missions, you are given snippets of the past, clues as to why this promising young practitioner has become such a bloodthirsty monster. And it doesn’t take long to understand where it may all have stemmed from. Key to the gameplay is the concept of Saving or Sacrificing. As you partake in various missions, you will work with a variety of companions, and in certain circumstances, you will be offered the choice, Save or Sacrifice. Save your companion as his health begins to run low will see you rejuvenate his health so he may continue the battle. Sacrifice him however, and you will be able to unleash massively destructive magic, the potential game changer when facing boss battles. This doesn’t just apply to allies, as you slay your prey, the option is also here, with Saving boosting your defensive stats while Sacrificing will boost your offensive abilities, be they new spells or just raising your attack stats. Boss enemies are even more rewarding with powerful spells becoming available if you sacrifice them, or having them join your ranks on occasion if you save them.
Where this really comes into its own is in the multiplayer. It really is the closest thing to engaging heightened emotions since multiplayer moved out of local matches and evolved to the online world. The panic of noticing your low health, deciding whether or not to trust your companion, all while in the midst of titanic battle is exhilarating.
Soul Sacrifice makes some great attempts to show off the graphical capabilities of Sony’s handheld but the constant comparisons to Monster Hunter make it very noticeable that the arenas are quite a lot smaller than that of the Nintendo counterpart. These arenas, while beautifully sculpted, tend to become very similar after a while and their diminutive size only serves to hasten this revelation. The enemies themselves are where the true artistry appears. Varying in size, shape and type, some of these enemies will leave a long lasting impression on you, not just for their look, but also because it may take you hours to get past them.
There is a bit of a learning curve to the game, while the first few missions definitely appear to give the player a chance to get to grips with everything, the change from “tutorial” mode to “Kick you in the face” mode is brutally swift. The key element that will drive the games success is the bite-sized missions which, even when maddeningly difficult, are not enough of a chore to put you off trying again immediately after dying. This is the part of the game that really feels as if it has been built with the Vita in mind and shows great foresight by the designers.
The audio in the game, in particular the voice acting is also done very well, serving to give the ambience needed to convey the apocalyptic setting that our character finds themselves in, as well as the eerie monologue that accompanies the history of Magusar as we venture through his past.
With all this said, I still get the feeling that Soul Sacrifice will end up as one of the you love it or hate it games that so many titles in this generation seems to produce. Regardless of you opinion on the game, we can’t deny that this is a great addition to Sony’s line-up and a solid attempt to fill a niche that only Nintendo were fulfilling previously.
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