Announced at last year's TennoCon, Digital Extremes' next game, Soulframe, saw a nearly 30-minute demo at TennoCon 2023. The upcoming RPG showcases some incredible grimdark fantasy vibes in its hauntingly beautiful world.
Soulframe is a more deliberate, slower, pensive experience compared to Digital Extreme's Warframe. Where Warframe is the fantasy of being a space ninja, dispatching hordes of enemies with ease, Soulframe is slower, with combat that takes inspiration from games like Elden Ring and Ghost of Tsushima.
The nearly 30-minute demo today highlighted this fact and pulled the veil back on the world and lore of the upcoming co-op RPG. The island of Midrath is dark yet hauntingly beautiful. During the demo, Digital Extremes showcased a gorgeous forest that looked almost like it was fighting back against the influences of industry in the world around it. As Soulframe's Steve Sinclair said on stage, it's a response to the "anxious" and "angry" world we find ourselves in today.
Despite this, while it definitely evokes some grimdark vibes, it's got cozy elements to it as well. The affable Avakot, a sproutling that points the Envoy the way towards the magick Stag that Ode has Tormented our Envoy is looking for. He's a funny, charismatic vibe that contrasts the darker world around him.
A Tale Of Souls
Taking on the role of the Envoy, players are able to travel between the physical and the soul world. Traveling to the Plane of Souls, players can go to the Nightfold Tent, which acts as a hub to change classes, equip new items and weapons, and even converse with the ancestors you've uncovered in your travels.
Envoys themselves have had their souls taken from them, and so throughout Soulframe Enovys will be reconnecting with the souls of their Ancestors. Over time, the Nightfold Tent will become a village of the Envoy's ancestors, building connections with them over the course of their time in the world.
The Ode has taken the memories, culture, and history from the people of Alca, so creating this bond with the ancestors, it's part of healing that wound.
Soulframe is also a three-stat RPG, with their Virtues helping to dictate the your style in the RPG. Leaning into Courage, Grace and Spirit can help to build up your stregnth, magic and stealth capabilities. This, in tandem with your ancestors, helps to define your skills and playstyle in the RPG.
The demo also showcased some co-op gameplay, with the two Envoys working together to explore the island, tackle enemies, and solve puzzles. However, despite there being co-op, Soulframe is playable solo as well.
Originally, it was announced as an MMORPG in 2022, it's starting to look more like a co-op action RPG hybrid. It'll be interesting to follow this as more development progress is revealed down the road.
Souls-like
Combat was on highlighted throughout the demo, with the Envoy dispatching enemies throughout with a mix of swordplay and magic. Soulframe is clearly inspired by other action RPGs, with a bit of Elden Ring and even flashes of Ghost of Tsushima on display here. Dodging and countering, finding openings, and showing patience looks to be key in successful combat encounters in Soulframe.
You can parry and counterattack with your sword, even chucking it Kratos-style, only to call it back to your hand to fight another day. Magic can also be utilized depending on your build, and looks to be varied from spells that turn enemies to stone to sending a wave of angry earth hurtling towards a group to smash them from underneath their feet.
One of the most impressive displays was when the Envoy set his sword alight, setting enemies ablaze and exploding on impact when thrown. There seems to be a lot of variation to how you approach combat, with even shades of the good old stealth kills that already have my brain spinning with the different stealth builds I want to try now.
Hauntingly Beautiful World
Soulframe's demo really highlighted the gorgeous world, from its incredibly detailed forest area at the start of the demo to the ruins of the Dermak Undercity. It evokes a world in ruin, one where nature is fighting back against the influence of the big bads of the world of Alca, The Ode. They have a sci-fi element to them amongst this fantasy world, with the Collector descending upon a nearby village like an Obelisk ship falling from the sky.
The demo was full of beautiful moments, such as one that evoked The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time where the Envoy pulled out their own instrument to play a leitmotif that ran throughout the gameplay. This unlocked a flashback memory locked away by a crumbled statue, showing a tender yet formative moment for a small girl and stag in the world before the Ode's influence took over.
Animal familiars also come to help the Envoy, from a hulking wolf you can ride as a mount to a small, but tenacious bird that helps to distract and even attack enemies in key moments.
However, probably one of the most beautiful moments came towards the end of the demo where instead of killing Deora, the Envoy set out to redeem her. Her memories locked away by the Ode, the Envoy defeats Deora, only to send her to the Plane of Souls, saved in the Silvern Sea, shaking her loose of the Ode's influence itself.
However, the final fight of with the Tormented Stag showcased just how hauntingly beautiful Soulframe can be. The music dominating the scene, the fight really ties up the whole demo. It's a stirring fight, where the sound effects are themselves muted, almost as if the Envoy is transported themselves, dominated by the memories of Deora and the Stag himself, as the Envoy seeks to free both from the Ode's influence.
The demo itself highlights an incredible first showing for the RPG, and it's worth a full watch. Some of the final moments of the demo are some of the most moving I've experienced in a while, and it's definitely got me inspired and excited to learn more about the world that the Soulframe team is building.
We still don't know a release window for Soulframe, but even this early look showcases a strong direction and one that I'm sure many are looking forward to seeing when the RPG is finally in all our hands in the future.
"Demo" - Google News
August 27, 2023 at 04:15AM
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TennoCon 2023: Soulframe's 30-Minute Gameplay Demo Showcases Its Haunting And Achingly Beautiful World - MMORPG.com
"Demo" - Google News
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