Souldiers

Souldiers is the first work of Spanish studio Retro Forge and is a true ode to retro gaming. Its audiovisual aspect, its gameplay and its challenging level transport us to a world of pixels and devilish difficulty.

Speaking of retro games, there are three key aspects to consider: the pixel-art style, which oscillates between 8 and 16 bits; direct and uncompromising action, no video sequences or long strings of dialogue; and the high level of difficulty, a challenge which punishes even the smallest mistake.

It’s on these three main pillars that Souldiers is based, a game developed by six young Spaniards who have chosen a name as appropriate as Retro Forge for their studio.

Souldiers is first and foremost a 2D metroidvania, which means that it is a game with action, platforming, exploration, puzzles and RPG touches. It's a mix that fits in perfectly with the retro style of gameplay we've enjoyed in the past, but doesn’t detract from the fact that it's not easy to make a good metroidvania. However, it must be said that Souldiers comes out on top in every respect!

The first thing that strikes you is how polished everything is; from the controls to the detailed scenery and animations, to the "minor" aspects such as the menus and user interface.

In addition, Souldiers brings a handful of very interesting ideas to the table. The first one is right at the start of the game, where you have to choose between one of the three available classes. This is not a simple reskin, but three different ways to play, each with very different approaches, pros and cons and unique skill trees. This is unusual for metroidvania games, which are usually built around a single character and the skills he or she acquires. For this reason, Souldiers had to adapt the entire adventure to all three classes, because if they hadn't done so, it could have led to mismatches that would have ruined the game experience.

Another interesting idea presented by Souldiers are the orbs. In addition to the usual abilities that allow us to access new areas, in Souldiers we acquire a series of orbs that give us elemental powers, which we can switch between depending on what we need at any given moment. In addition, orbs also open up new paths or allow us to use elements of the scenery to move forward, essentially making them another fundamental part of the metroidvania formula.

It's the kind of game where you feel like (and that’s the key) going back to previous areas once you've acquired new skills. And our curiosity is not only rewarded with an item or an upgrade, but also by discovering that the area was much larger than we first thought.

Last but not least, the audiovisual presentation of Souldiers is to be highly commended. Retro Forge's game has simply one of the best pixel-art out there right now.

The level of detail in the scenes could even be considered sickening. And special mention should be made of the way the scenery elements react to being hit depending on the orb we have equipped at the time.

The animations are also of superb quality. Any character, be it a protagonist, an enemy or an NPC, has a great number of features and all of them are very well crafted. Souldiers is a marvel for the eyes. And for the ears! Because the soundtrack is not far behind, with compositions that also exude a love of retro.