Review
Played on: Xbox One X
Released: 2018
Played on: Xbox One X
Released: 2018
Released: 2018
Introduction
The Soul Calibur franchise has been around for years now, I even did a retrospective on my favourite in the series: Soul Calibur 2, read it here. I've played pretty much all the SC titles through the years, with SC4 coming to mind as the one I've spent the most time with after SC2.
However, the series has had a difficult job of reinventing itself or catching the spotlight like it did back in it's glory days of the Sega Dreamcast release of SC1 and the multi platform release of the second game, living off the famous perfect arcade port flair.
Years have passed since and the fighting genre seems to thrive on smaller budget releases these days. We still have series like Tekken, Street Fighter and Dead or Alive receiving frequent releases but not as groundbreaking system sellers or technical hardware showcases.
Years have passed since and the fighting genre seems to thrive on smaller budget releases these days. We still have series like Tekken, Street Fighter and Dead or Alive receiving frequent releases but not as groundbreaking system sellers or technical hardware showcases.
Among all of these, Bandai-Namco have decided to revive the SC series with a sixth entry, technically seventh if we count Soul Blade. Let's take a look at the newest release of souls and swords.
Plot and setting
The story in SC6 is a sort of reboot of the entire franchise, going back to SC1 to uncover what they describe as hidden truths. Nonetheless, it's the same kind of setup as always: a mix of various historic, geographical locations and characters mixed into on fantasy world where they're all seeking the ultimate powerful sword. Be it for good or bad intentions.
This time around, there are two main singleplayer modes in addition to classic arcade ones, like battle and network modes. Network is about battling out online against other human players, truly testing your skills to the limit. The main two modes though, are Libra of Soul and Soul Chronicle.
This time around, there are two main singleplayer modes in addition to classic arcade ones, like battle and network modes. Network is about battling out online against other human players, truly testing your skills to the limit. The main two modes though, are Libra of Soul and Soul Chronicle.
The latter serves as a sort of fleshed out arcade mode, where you can play through a series of events for each characters with plot sequences being presented as text during a timeline. There are sadly no intro or ending movies here, just artwork and still images displayed as the story. A little sparse with a low budget feel.
Libra of Soul is where the main game resides. Here you build your own character by choosing fighting style, body type, weapons and outfits. A lot of customisation is available, with furthermore added through the season pass. Libra of Soul presents you with a text story on a huge world map. Here you move along, travelling various routes to fight against enemies and earn experience points to level up and take on the harder enemies along the way.
Libra of Soul is where the main game resides. Here you build your own character by choosing fighting style, body type, weapons and outfits. A lot of customisation is available, with furthermore added through the season pass. Libra of Soul presents you with a text story on a huge world map. Here you move along, travelling various routes to fight against enemies and earn experience points to level up and take on the harder enemies along the way.
It feels like a somewhat fleshed out version of the main mode seen in previous SC releases, yet not really daring to take new directions in ideas. It does get quite addictive to level up and get better weapons, however I found the story too text heavy and full of filler to engage myself into.
Gameplay and features
Although SC6 runs on a new game engine entirely, it feels like what you expect SC titles to play, probably closest to SC4 and 5. New and old movesets for reoccurring characters are available and it instantly feels like home when you start fighting.
There are of course a few new characters added, with Grøh coming to mind as a out of place and badly designed. New to SC6's gameplay is "reversal edge" a sort of action implemented, slow-motion, scene where the player activating an attack needs to choose strikes and the defender has to choose the countermove. It admittedly looks very flashy and cool, but kind of wears off it's charm and resides in the "gimmicky additions" category after a few hours.
For a fighter like SC6 it has a healthy amount of options on offer and it's perhaps it's strongest suit, bar the lack of cutscenes. Otherwise, there's plenty of customisation options and the main game mode is large, albeit sparsely presented, to dig into.
For a fighter like SC6 it has a healthy amount of options on offer and it's perhaps it's strongest suit, bar the lack of cutscenes. Otherwise, there's plenty of customisation options and the main game mode is large, albeit sparsely presented, to dig into.
Some strange omissions are the lack of a second outfit per player, sure we can make our own, but it feels a little cheap to not include. A larger selection of fighting arenas would've been welcome too.
Video
It seems to be a reoccurring issue for Bandai-Namco to struggle with optimising the Unreal Engine 4, which SC6 is built upon. Tekken 7 still runs at a laughable 720p on Xbox One X, Ace Combat 7 sees both the PS4 Pro and XB1X versions run at 1080p and here we have SC6 running at 1440p on both systems.
It's a game with one arena and two characters onscreen. Was it really that hard to make it run at a sharper and higher resolution, at least on the more powerful XB1X?
Added into the mix of bad optimisation, is the fact that this game has some of the worst loading time I've seen in a fighter. For a genre that's all about jumping fast from fight to fight, and in and out of menus, it's almost insufferable. It has definitely made me play it less. We're talking slower loading than large open worlds.
Added into the mix of bad optimisation, is the fact that this game has some of the worst loading time I've seen in a fighter. For a genre that's all about jumping fast from fight to fight, and in and out of menus, it's almost insufferable. It has definitely made me play it less. We're talking slower loading than large open worlds.
What makes it even worse is that loading occurs between selecting something as basic as the battle mode from the main menu, then loading again to get into the actual fight. Simply terrible optimisation.
End result is a fairly standard looking title, and sure, it has some flashy lighting and sunsets, but the arenas look basic and hide behind an extremely aggressive depth of field, blurring the backgrounds during battle into oblivion
End result is a fairly standard looking title, and sure, it has some flashy lighting and sunsets, but the arenas look basic and hide behind an extremely aggressive depth of field, blurring the backgrounds during battle into oblivion
We do have the classic SC characters, who are all looking their best here, but compared to larger games in different genres and it becomes apparent that the staff and budget of Soul Calibur is far from what it used to be. When I see massive third person shooters with better character models than this, I realise the industry leading visuals of fighters is a long gone era.
As a whole, the visuals are nice enough one eye, but it pushes no boundaries and looks average for it's generation. A shame, begging the question that maybe Bandai-Namco should realise they aren't really optimising the UE4 engine well.
As a whole, the visuals are nice enough one eye, but it pushes no boundaries and looks average for it's generation. A shame, begging the question that maybe Bandai-Namco should realise they aren't really optimising the UE4 engine well.
Audio
Classic Soul Calibur sound, feels like it's lifted from the previous releases, and the music is a neatly orchestrated but forgettable affair. Soundtracks from the previous games are available to unlock with points gained within the game.
I know quite a few people enjoy the SC soundtracks so this one won't disappoint as it holds the same style and quality. For me, however, there's nothing striking about the audio in this title that sets it apart from previous instalments and thus it fades into the pool of SC soundtracks with a distinct sound to them, but nothing that sets itself apart from the rest.
Summary
To my great disbelief, I left disappointed. There's more work that could've been done here to raise it up from a bare-bones feel and bad optimisation. The annoying loading, combined with short and fast fights, just make playing it a frustrating waiting game. The lack of a proper skip button for long text dialogues makes you end up pressing next over and over, then watching even more loading before commencing in a short, but sweet taste of a fighting.
Somewhere along the way the developers forgot the idea that fighters have always been built around quick entries into battles and moving fast to the next.
I wouldn't really recommend SC6. It seems like a slimmed package and just a overall more annoying experience to play than previous SC games. It's sad to see the developer struggle with optimising and adding content post-release. Giving us the vibes of an unfinished product, even though the Libra of Souls mode is fairly well padded out.
Even as basic as using the game only for a two-player, versus fighter to pick up and play with friends, it fails with tedious loading, losing the momentum and fun.
I wouldn't really recommend SC6. It seems like a slimmed package and just a overall more annoying experience to play than previous SC games. It's sad to see the developer struggle with optimising and adding content post-release. Giving us the vibes of an unfinished product, even though the Libra of Souls mode is fairly well padded out.
Even as basic as using the game only for a two-player, versus fighter to pick up and play with friends, it fails with tedious loading, losing the momentum and fun.
