![]() ![]() You’ll be itching to go at a particular boss one more time even with multiple deaths, with most of them being so close to completing the fight. While one or two of these monstrosities can be a tad cheap, each bout here strikes a fine line between fun and frustration. ![]() Eldest Souls is tough as all hell, with most of the bosses requiring you to die multiple deaths to get the hang of their patterns and rhythm. If you think the game’s 2D pixel art style looks inviting, a couple of fights with these Old Gods will prove otherwise. They will test your mettle and unleash a few surprises your way. The meticulous of you lot will find a lot to uncover here.Įach boss is unique and oozes character, from a giant guard with dark tendrils to even a Deer God. ![]() There are some quests you can partake in to get special items that buff you, but that’s up to you if you want to uncover them. However, it’s all kept tight and linear, to the point where all you need to worry about is killing the bosses in the area. The area itself has its own story you need to explore for yourself, being a crusader wielding a giant two-handed sword, complete with lush 2D pixel art and a harrowing-yet-kinda-bright art direction. The story is this: there are Old Gods you need to kill in this place called the Citadel because they messed up the land you’re in. Everything in this 2D action game is meticulously built to test your action limits, and you are sure to break a controller or two as you fail over and over getting mauled by the game’s adversaries the first 10 times. Despite its dubious title, the quality and design of this indie slaughterfest is anything but. Fortunately, death is only temporary and you’re quickly dropped back into the fray.If you love Soulsborne/Soulslike games but rather just cut to the chase and fight the genre’s tough-but-fair bosses in a 2D top-down fashion, Eldest Souls is going to be your 2021 indie jam. That said, if you aren’t in tune with the timing of your charge attack, you will die very quickly and very often. If the initial three bosses are any indication of the developer’s prowess for designing challenging but fair fights, this’ll be a banger of a game. Beyond the visual appeal, the game, whilst punishing, definitely has room to improve. The demo itself is short, and to avoid spoilers on the bosses, the game is definitely worth exploring. With each one rewarding you greater based on your knowledge of the fight, there’s an element of mastery that can be tested against in the arena mode: fight previously defeated bosses to truly test your mettle in a time attack setting. As you level up, you’re also able to choose between speed, attack, or counter style of gameplay. with the main style differences coming from killing bosses and augmenting your attacks with the shards gained from killing bosses. In terms of playstyle flexibility though you are locked to that one sword. If that's not an Anti-Moon Cannon, I'm gonna be disappointed. There is no “you must fight like this to win”, and thanks to that there almost always feels like room for improvement. This becomes a micro management of risk vs reward where you want to fully capitalise on the meter by using a flurry of small hits into a heavy vs just using the heavy attack, at the expense of your meter. Once empowered, the charge will start depleting and will disempower after hitting a threshold. This is something you’ll need to adapt and get used to with the requirement of learning when you can empower your sword. There’s a certain ebb and flow of the initial three boss fights that were available at the preview. But really, the only thing that’s truly worth caring about is how meaty and visceral the sword feels when you swing it. The squash and stretch almost feels out of place. A minor nitpick would be how the sword and cloak is rendered on screen, not quite matching the similar fixed pixel aspect ratio of everything else. The general animations feel responsive even when playing with keyboard and mouse. The art style really blends fantastical elements in a somewhat Dark Souls-esque style crossed with Bloodborne with more eye popping colours. Taking inspiration from Bloodborne, there’s a lot to like about this game and if you’re someone who likes a challenging but methodical boss killing game. Previews // 9th Jul 2021 - 1 year ago // By Owen Chan Eldest Souls PreviewĮldest Souls is a boss rush-style game in a similar vein to Titan Souls, albeit not as traumatising with having only one arrow. ![]()
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