Lost Soul Aside Review: A Game of Promise, But Slowly Unleashed

The moment I started playing Lost Soul Aside, I was greeted with a cryptic message that read: "Press R2 at the right moment to perform a Burst Pursuit and deal additional damage to enemies." While I didn't fully understand what this meant at first, I appreciated the game's dedication to showcasing its love for character action games. And while Lost Soul Aside struggles to put its best foot forward, once you get your hands on a wide range of weapons and moves, it becomes fun to hack and slash through. But it takes too long to get there.

A Slow Start

The game's slow opening is frustrating, forcing you to slog through an incredibly slow pace before being entrusted with its tools. This is particularly disappointing given the usual immediacy of character action games like Ninja Gaiden 2 Black or Devil May Cry 5. Instead, Lost Soul Aside feels like a trek before it even gets close to that starting point for others.

A World of Promise

Lost Soul Aside is set in a world inspired by Final Fantasy Versus 13, with its story of empire and combat focused on flashy, ethereal weaponry summoned by the main character. The game's visuals and narrative setup are reminiscent of modern Final Fantasy, but the execution of its early stages seems to take cues from Final Fantasy 7 as well.

A Blend of Styles

While Lost Soul Aside begins to open up once you get the greatsword, a slow and hefty close-range-decimator to complement the nippy sword, it's clear that the game is trying to blend different styles. The addition of four weapons eventually available allows for a wide range of playstyles, but this is often hindered by the lack of connective tissue in the game.

A Lack of Impact

One of the biggest issues with Lost Soul Aside is that most enemies don't feel like they react to much that you're doing. The sense of impact from blows is often lacking, making it feel like you're hitting sandbags most of the time.

A Sense of Disconnection

The game's camera can sometimes make it difficult to feel connected to the action, and perfect dodging makes Kaser constantly disappear and reappear around clusters of enemies. This lack of connective tissue is particularly frustrating when trying to execute combo chains.

A Long and Frustrating Endgame

After a certain point, groups of enemies you fight begin to blend together without much variation in how each encounter feels. Bosses also become less interesting, often requiring lengthy sections where they become immune to damage meaning you spend a lot of time sprinting in circles just waiting until you can bring the hits.

A Shining Light Amidst the Frustration

Despite its many flaws, Lost Soul Aside's flashy weapons and skills once you unlock them do show promise. The burst moves are particularly fun to activate with a squeeze of the trigger when Kaser glows blue partway through a combo.