Lost Soul Aside is out now, and the game had its fair share of issues while being in development. Having just launched today on the PS5, I can think of no better time to try out its combat, especially with the free demo available for a brief period. It just might be the best option, judging from the feedback I have seen online.
The PlayStation Twitter account issued a rather bland announcement alongside the flashy combat footage, which did look pretty good. One player mentioned it felt like a mix of “Devil May Cry” and “Final Fantasy,” and with the tempo, effects, and overall feeling, it is definitely an action title. Some of the feedback from genuine players, however, is not as optimistic.
Let’s start with the English voiceover, shall we? It’s awful. Social media is filled with disapproving remarks about it. Several people are referring to it as one of the poorest attempts at voice acting available. Ethan was one of the users who, through a rather loud tweet, exclaimed, “DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME IN ENGLISH! The voice acting is TERRIBLE” (accompanied by a crying emoji), and he was far from the only one. Another user remarked that the Portuguese translation sounded like a Google Translate attempt, which is equally as bad. What is being recommended en masse? It is to change the audio to Chinese, which is allegedly significantly better.
Moving on to the price. The game is $60 and this isn’t going down well at all. One commenter mentioned that it’s a load of rubbish and that they’d be outraged at paying 30 euros for it. Another commenter, Rich8606, labeled it as a “AA game” without the AA production values and threw the $40 at the game, which is arguably a tad insulting. Ouch.
On the bright side, some users appear to be enjoying it. User Bacardí Papí complimented them for “[staying] up way too late playing [it] last night because it was ‘so much fun.'” Another user, Lssassindark891, remarked “Loving the game! Definitely worth it!” So the divide is certainly there.
The oddest complaint, in my opinion, is from a user named Will, who is complaining about character models. It is unclear what he is referring to with his statement, “Those weird Asian character models are so unrealistic. It is so bad when you can’t tell if it’s a woman or a man.” Ya, I guess. I am not sure what’s behind any of that, but to each their own.
Everyone seems to be noting the absence of reviews. There are a lot of people jokingly asking “Where’s the reviews?”. Jaspelino, for example, said, “Still no reviews lmao.” That in itself, should be a red flag. It also sets off alarm bells when there’s no critical coverage the moment a game launches. After playing the demo, Rich8606 even predicted the Metascore to be in the low 60s or maybe even 50s. Yikes.
The availability of the free demo is extremely positive. At least you can check it out before you make the purchase—which remains the best-case scenario. SeaBrick commented that they “really wanna try the demo,” while Kadath Studio shared their excitement to “dive into the demo and feel the speed.” That is indeed a smart move from the developers.
The wait is finally over, and Lost Soul Aside is officially released. Despite the game’s decade-long development, the criticism is distinct. While a number of critics have branded it as ‘fire,’ others have dismissed it as ‘mid’ or ‘meh.’ Some critics go as far as praising the gameplay and combat, yet blame the voice acting, the translations, and maybe even the price for Lost Soul Aside ‘falling off the radar.’ My advice is to get the demo; with the gameplay, at least the English dubbing will drop a bomb on you—so I recommend you change the audio language first.
