Lost Soul Aside Review – All Flair, Barely Any Substance

Lost Soul Aside is an action-adventure that first grabbed people’s attention thanks to its flashy combat sequences in 2016. It became even more appealing when the project was revealed to be the work of a single developer. As support poured in (including Sony), development ramped up into a full studio with around 40 developers helping bring developer Yang Bing’s vision to life. Now that it’s finally out, despite the inspiring story behind its creation, what we have here is a game full of flair but lacking substance. A few more years in development would have done wonders, as questionable gameplay choices constantly tested my patience and made me wonder if it was even worth finishing.

From Resistance Fighter to Typical Hero

I don’t know if it’s the years of me playing games and looking at titles through a critic’s lens, but Lost Soul Aside’s initial hours left a bad impression. After the first two hours, I was already expecting a rough ride. Between the character models, the way the story was set up, the writing, and even the animations, every part of the game felt off. It didn’t prepare me for a grand adventure, but instead signaled a variety of red flags.

You play as Kaser, a resistance fighter returning from a mission and about to embark on another that’s meant to strike back at the Empire, which is your typical tyrannical government body that rules through oppression. But things quickly go off the rails as interdimensional beings called Voidrax suddenly attack the city. Kaser meets a caged Voidrax named Arena, who grants him newfound abilities to fight these otherworldly creatures. Kaser ultimately quests to save his sister and those affected by the Voidrax, as they apparently steal souls.

The game takes its time establishing this premise and for the most part, the locations you visit are impressive and visually stunning as we go through various rundown ruins to populated areas affected by the battles happening between the Voidrax and the rest of humanity. But poor writing and uninteresting characters fail to fill the gaps as the game opens up and you explore the world. Conversations felt lifeless, and I had no eagerness to learn more about this world. Kaser showed no real personality beyond his eagerness to save his sister, and those around him came off as dull and forgettable. The writing itself felt dated, like something from the early 2000s. The voiceovers didn’t help either, lacking the energy needed to make them stand out. Most sounded like they were simply reading lines from a page. Only Arena, the floating dragon-headed creature that is attached to Kaser allthroughout, showed a bit of charm, as his constant banter about his greatness and his demand to be addressed as “Lord Arena” at least gave me a reason to pay attention whenever he was part of the conversation.

Cutscenes were hard to stomach, as stiff animations and bare character details made it feel like I was playing with graphics set to the lowest settings. The same stiffness showed up in big set pieces. Kaser pulls off over-the-top battles that look cool at first, but animations like lunging at enemies or spinning around often come off as awkward. This lack of polish also extended to boss encounters and other characters during the game’s bigger moments.

Flashiness Bleeds Into Gameplay

The heart of Lost Soul Aside is its combat, which draws clear inspiration from games like Devil May Cry and Bayonetta. Kaser is a powerhouse, capable of cutting down monstrosities with style, as I won’t even question how easy it was for him to become this capable warrior who can beat humans with their own unique gifts that have been training for years. You start with a sword, then expand into weapons like the greatsword, poleblade, and eventually a scythe. You can swap between these weapons mid-combat, mixing and matching their movesets to deliver flashy combos.

This is the game’s highlight, though it, too, had its rough edges, as it’s mostly all flair and no substance. It’s fun mowing down waves of enemies in style. But the appeal fades as the game goes on, as uninspiring upgrades for each weapon type fail to really open up more options to dispatch each foe.

I also didn’t appreciate the combo inputs, as they mostly consist of me pressing either of the two attack buttons or holding one down for a different effect. This is a game without any hit stops to the combos, providing no clear gaps to really see combos connecting, which in turn limits the options to continue or commit to dealing greater damage. The lack of no hit stop (which is a staple for games like it) could effectively make some players feel like it’s more of a spammy than a satisfying combination of hits that lead to effective damage.

As you progress, enemies will slowly feel a bit spongy on standard difficulty, and I found myself exerting too much effort just to bring them down. Chaining combo after combo to chip away at health bars made fights drag, leaving me constantly tinkering with my weapon loadouts, as a single combo never feels like it made an impact that would traditionally excite the player to continue the onslaught.

The system relies heavily on accessories you’ll attach to weapons to modify stats. Each weapon can hold up to six, boosting things like crit rate, damage, or break damage to stagger enemies for a heavy strike. It’s a simple but important RPG layer, and if not tuned properly, enemies will feel like damage sponges. I eventually found a setup that boosted crit rate and crit damage, but I disliked how forced it felt. For a game that’s clearly action-first, putting so much weight on fine-tuning your accessories just to make battles feel right felt like wasted effort. The lack of straightforward weapon upgrades in the first playthrough puts too much weight on this system.

Even with adjustments, the numbers felt off. Some combos looked flashy and cool, but didn’t land with enough weight. Pulling off a 30-hit combo that only shaved 20% off a boss’s health made fights feel like chores. It’s especially frustrating because the boss battles themselves are some of the best moments in Lost Soul Aside.

Boss Encounters Are a Big Highlight

Boss battles look straight out of an animé, pitting you against towering monsters or enemies that flood the screen with attacks. One summoned hundreds of swords that surged at me like a tidal wave, one controls the wind, and one battle felt like I was going through a section straight out of a bullet hell shooter. These fights are what people will remember from the game, and they didn’t disappoint.

Between these set pieces are on-rails traversal segments that echo Devil May Cry’s weakest elements. You’ll be double-jumping, air-dashing, and climbing through awkward platforming sections. Missing a jump teleports you back to the last platform, though sometimes it bugged out and dropped me further ahead, skipping parts of the section entirely. Likely not intentional.

There are side activities like chasing orbs of light within a time limit, or collecting them in order. They feel like filler more than meaningful content, though they do reward extra experience and currency, making it worth the time. Secret challenge levels hidden in each area are more rewarding, testing your combat mastery with goals like defeating all enemies under a timer or surviving without being hit.

Irrelevant Crafting

Crafting feels like the most unnecessary system in the game. Chests gave me more than enough potions and materials, making crafting or even the effort of picking up materials from the game world redundant. I crafted once when it was introduced, but never felt the need again. Potions that boost damage or stamina recovery are useful, but I always had plenty without crafting. Eventually, I stopped picking up materials altogether. If the system didn’t exist, I doubt it would make a difference.

Both crafting and weapon customization come across as half-baked ideas. They seem like attempts to add depth, but instead feel like filler to pad out the game world.

It Needed More Time

It was rough as there wasn’t much pushing me to go on towards the halfway point. I was struggling to stay invested. With half the main story complete, I didn’t care about the characters, and combat encounters had become chores. Repeating the same combos just to clear a fight wore me down.

Thankfully, the second half of the game is better. Encounters become more engaging, and level designs improve. But it’s a long climb to get there, with my playthrough taking nearly 19 hours. For a team of fewer than 50 developers trying to build a Bayonetta-style action game of this length, it’s an ambitious but overwhelming task, and the cracks are plenty and hard to ignore.

The core concept is solid, and there’s fun to be had in its combat, but it’s not something I can comfortably recommend at full price. Lost Soul Aside feels like a project that just needed more time and refinement. When the credits rolled, I couldn’t help but wonder what this game could have been with another year or two in development and more hands to help bring Yang Bing’s vision to life. It’s a stylish action game that is capable of delivering high-octane encounters that would bring a smile to your face. But everything else puts too much pressure on the little good it has going for it.

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Verdict: 2 / 5 (Poor)

PROS

• Stylish, over-the-top combat inspired by Devil May Cry and Bayonetta

• Solid weapon variety with unique attack styles for each one

• Impressive and memorable boss encounters

CONS

• Weak writing and dull characters drag the story down to forgettable levels

• Awkward animations and stiff cutscenes hurt presentation

• Combat quickly becomes repetitive due to spongy enemies

• Crafting and customization systems feel unnecessary and underdeveloped

• Lack of polish in all aspects of the game is seen and hard to ignore at times

What I’ve Played 

• Finished the game at 23 hours played on my first playthrough

• Did a few challenges and tried some boss rush encounters after completing the game

*This review is based on a PS5 review copy provided by Sony

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About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.