A breath of fresh air for the fighting games niche

Dec 18, 2017 08:01 GMT  ·  By

SoulCalibur VI, the fighting game that we've all been waiting for is expected to make its debut in the second half of 2018. According to Bandai Namco, the game developed by Project Soul will be launched on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

Although the game was announced a few weeks ago, SoulCalibur VI is already playable and we've been fortunate enough to get our hands on a demo that contains a very limited roster of characters and just two maps.

First of all, let's mention that SoulCalibur VI isn't really a return to the past or a travel to the future of the series. According to the game's producer Motohiro Okubo, the team reviewed the previous titles in the series and reached the conclusion that there's too much of a thin line between good and evil.

That's one of the reasons they have decided to revisit the events of the original SoulCalibur game and uncover hidden truths. We know for sure that Mitsurugi and Sophitia will be among the returning characters since I got to play them both at a Bandai Namco press event.

I can confirm that the “ring out” mechanic is back in game, so you'll be able to knock out your opponent of the stage and win a fight. The Reversal Edge battle mechanic is another key feature that allows you to keep defending against an opponent's techniques while activated.

If successful, you can follow-up with powerful counterattacks. The only problem is you have to read your opponent's attacks and that's mostly based on luck. Basically, Reversal Edge is a “rock, paper, scissor” game in which you'll have to guess the right move against your opponent's attack.

Two modes have been announced, but I've only been able to play one, Versus Mode (Player vs. Player, Player vs. CPU). The second one enables online multiplayer. There's no mention of a single player mode yet, but we don't rule out the possibility.

Built on the Unreal Engine 4, SoulCalibur VI feels and plays smooth as butter. It believe it's a breath of fresh air for the fighting games niche because it offers more combat mechanics, including an 8-way run movement system, which allows players to move around their opponents and execute attacks from whichever angle they prefer.

I've been told that Project Soul is still fine tuning the Reversal Edge battle mechanic to make it easy to understand for players new to the franchise. Check the gameplay videos attached to the article and feel free to ask anything about the game.

SoulCalibur VI screenshots (26 Images)

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