The games behind the blockbusters

Dual character adventure Soulstice leads our pick of E3’s secret sleeper hits

Dark corridors come alive with spectral beasts and magical strikes.

Each year E3 arrives and we’re inundated with an avalanche of game reveals. Amid the blockbuster announcements many small, interesting, and innovative games slip under the radar. To celebrate the ones that could have got away, we’ve selected our favourites. Leading the pack is melee combat adventure Soulstice…

This made-for-PS5 action game has a darkly beautiful art direction that resembles Nier: Automata crossed with Dark Souls – a gothic diamond in the rough. Developed by the team behind flawed gem Theseus, which itself recalled God Of War and Ico, Soulstice is rapidly rising up our most-wanted list.

The world Reply Game Studios is building feels fascinating and vital. A sprawling castle is lit by a needle of light on the horizon, teasing us onwards. Inside dark corridors come alive with spectral beasts and magical strikes. The Holy Kingdom of Keidas is a lush place in decline, and inspired by Japanese fantasy it revitalises the familiar soulsborne genre.

The land is descending into a nightmare owing to predatory creatures known as Wraiths; they’re invading from the other side of the Veil, and the living are on their menu. Wraiths will possess their victims, turning them into monstrous versions of themselves. Chimeras are hybrid warriors created from two melded souls, and are the only hope of saving Keidas from the terror of the Veil’s nightmarish creatures.

MIX ‘N’ MATCH

Playing as one such Chimera warrior team-up, sisters Briar and Lute, you venture into the city of Ilden, where a tear in the sky has enabled the Wraiths to flood into the world.

The twist in Soulstice? You play both Briar and Lute at the same time. Lute has sacrificed herself to bind her soul to Briar, giving the pair a balance of wild powers. Briar has superhuman strength and resilience while Lute flutters around her sister as a ghostly apparition, and can attack with mystical powers. Controlling the pair simultaneously ensures a blend of melee attacks and explosive combos mixed with Lute’s spectral powers – combining the pair in unique ways unlocks new Chimera forms and powerful transformative abilities.

When not tapping into the sisters’ supernatural powers you’ll be able to unlock and upgrade extra weapons throughout the adventure. The combo system is flexible enough to enable you to hot-swap weapons even mid-combo to blend attacks together for deeper, more damaging strikes.

In action we see Briar begin her combo with a spinning short sword attack before flowing seamlessly into an overhead hammer strike, and finishing with a distanced pike flurry.

The different enemy types all need to be managed in unique ways. Wraiths, Corrupted, and Possessed have strengths and weaknesses again the duo’s attacks. Some are susceptible to fast or heavy strikes, others must be weakened by Lute’s supernatural attacks first – her auras can expose hidden enemies. Enemies are tricky too, and the AI will adapt to your attacks.

ORDER, ORDER

There’s a deeper mystery at the heart of Soulstice, ensuring you’ll want to push on through the streets of Ilden, your surroundings becoming more warped and twisted as you get closer to the Veil. As the story progresses you’ll uncover the truth about the sisters’ backstory, and what The Order – the shadowy organisation they work for – is. There’s an Ico-like quality to Soulstice’s setup, but one reimagined with massive weapons and a version of Yorda who’s happy to get into the thick of the action. You’ll get more answers in 2022.