Soul Sacrifice Review

Posted By Austin Yorski about 3 weeks, 1 day ago

Soul Sacrifice Review

You are a sorcerer. It is your job to slay monsters and sacrifice the souls of the evil men whose corruption created them. Your only weapons is your body. An arm becomes a twisted cudgel, blood becomes piercing shrapnel, and even your spine can be torn out and used to impale the grotesque monstrosities that stalk the land. The sorcerer’s lot is barbaric and gory, but it also affords immeasurably opportunities to acquire power.

Unfortunately, your days of sanctioned murder are over. You have been imprisoned by Magusar, a being of such unholy power that he can reduce his enemies to fine red mist with a wave of his hand. Your execution is imminent. The only thing separating you from having your soul absorbed is a sassy talking book named Librom.

Good luck.

Make no mistake: Soul Sacrifice is a dark, brutal experience. Every surface is covered in viscera, every character is an unrepentant killer, and the only hope left is the prospect of a swift death. Despite this, Keiji Inafune’s action-RPG is one of the most engaging experiences released this year. It shares plenty of traits with Capcom’s popular Monster Hunter series, but it is also a beast all its own. Appropriately enough, it is a pulpy amalgamation of a number of great ideas, held together by a unified vision and a number of clever design choices.

How about a kiss?

As the unnamed sorcerer imprisoned by Magusar, your only chance of survival is to magically relive the memories of the author of Librom, the aforementioned sentient tome. Each page and chapter of the grimoire unlocks the power of the sorcerer who lived the events, allowing you to steadily build up an arsenal of abilities and a surplus of sacrificed souls. Reaching the end of Librom uncovers more details about the horrifying world around you, but it isn’t necessary. You can challenge the final boss at any time–from the moment you complete the opening tutorial. Just don’t expect to stand a chance against your captor.

The framing device of the book allows for the mission-based structure of the game to flow seamlessly. Each monster hunt and story sequence flows logically and skillfully from the next, despite the format. Librom provides context for every creature, environment, and phenomena in the world, if you so choose to discover it. Once you get a grasp on navigating his pages, it’s hard to imagine the game being any other way. Soul Sacrifice may paint a harsh and unforgiving landscape, but it’s a world that begs to be explored.

Sorcerer high-fives must be awesome.

Basic gameplay is simple. Most missions task you with defeating a certain number of enemies, usually accompanied by one large boss Archfiend. The player can equip “Offerings” to the face buttons in order to attack, à la the pins from The World Ends With You, each of which comes with restrictions like limited usage or a cost to health. Combat is slow and deliberate, with pattern recognition, strategy, and reflexes all playing an important role. Thoughtful preparation and intelligent teamwork are key to any encounter, although the game gives you plenty of tools to keep fights fresh.

The first and most common tactic is the titular sacrifice. Downed enemies and allies can be “Saved” or “Sacrificed” for various bonuses to health and power, as well as contributing to your alignment. You are free to balance or min-max your custom character as you see fit, with pros and cons for every play-style. Perhaps more interestingly, you can also invoked a “Black Rite” upon your own body, seriously crippling yourself in order to access immense power. You will remain injured, burned, or boneless until you restore your body with Lacrima, which is a valuable currency that Librom insists is not his tears. He is a liar.

You are given plenty of freedom. What evil you commit with said freedom is up to you.

The constant risk/reward propositions of minute-to-minute gameplay keep Soul Sacrifice constantly engaging. Collecting, boosting, and fusing your Offerings is a game unto itself, but synchronizing those choices with your arm buffs and party members is a delicate balance that somehow never manages to bog down the back-end. It also helps that the disgusting nature of the game’s weapons and abilities is unique and novel. In combining split-second decision making with meaningful long-term consequences, Soul Sacrifice distills everything addictive about the Monster Hunter formula without falling prey to any of its shortcomings.

Of course, Inafune takes inspiration from plenty of other sources as well. You may have already pinned down Librom as Grimoire Weiss from Nier, but that is far from the only thing borrowed from Cavia. Drakengard‘s themes of sacrifice and man’s inhumanity are woven throughout the experience, as are elements of Arthurian lore. I came into Soul Sacrifice without any expectations of emotional attachment, but the game somehow managed to make me care. The fact that the software avoids becoming mired in its own hopelessness is an achievement in and of itself, but the ambition of its storytelling is impressive by any measure. Not since Lost Odyssey have I seen the written word utilized so evocatively in an interactive medium.

Is there an art book for this game? I need it badly.

Needless to say, any praise I have for the writing or gameplay goes double for the contributions of Yasunori Mitsuda. I knew going in that the soundtrack would be good–the man scored Chrono Trigger and Xenogears–but I was unprepared for the haunting beauty of these arrangements. Soul Sacrifice is a game that screams for a lazy nü-metal OST, but Mitsuda delivers yet another collection of tracks worth owning in their entirety. Even the menu music is heartbreaking.

If there are any weak spots to be found in this package, they would be the occasional lack of clarity. Soul Sacrifice throws you into the deep end pretty early on, counting on players to learn from their mistakes and adapt to new challenges. While most of this is within reasonable bounds, there are a few mechanics that could have used some extra explanation. Most notably, the concept of Soul Essence is left somewhat vague, requiring some trial and error before a player can ascertain the finer points of equipping Sigils.

Every wasteland has a story.

It could also be argued that repetitive voice clips from computer-controlled allies are a problem. However, as the multiplayer ecosystem evolves and more players fill the servers, hopefully it will become unnecessary to even bother with A.I. companions. Cooperative play is an important aspect of Soul Sacrifice, as Archfiends possess ridiculous amounts of health. Sacrificing your friends may seem like a one-way trip towards frustration, but it is actually yet another turn of brilliance. Being sacrificed kills your character, but grants you increased rewards. As a last ditch effort, taking one for the team becomes a perfectly viable option and yet another piece of the fantastic strategic puzzle of combat.

If you own a PS Vita, you almost certainly need a copy of Soul Sacrifice. Gravity Rush and Persona 4 Golden may present more inviting worlds, but neither are as cohesive and polished as Keiji Inafune’s latest masterpiece. The only good excuse for missing out on this game is a devastating case of hemophobia.

A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for review purposes and played for about 20 hours. The title is exclusive to the PS Vita.

Also, follow me on Twitter @austinyorski (please).

Soul Sacrifice Review

By Austin Yorski

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