14 DAY TRIAL // The term soulslike used when describing a game has almost lost its meaning. There are so many games these days that are trying to capture the successful formula established by From Software, that advertising them as “soulslike games” does little to make them more interesting for fans of the genre.
Strayed Lights is one such game that pretends to be soulslike. On the bright side, developer Embers is adding its own twist on the soulslike formula, one that involves … colors. Set in a mysterious land of giant shadow creatures, Strayed Lights stands out thanks to its gorgeous visuals and interesting combat.
Since this doesn’t seem to be a narrative-driven action-adventure game, I’ll be focusing on combat, which is also what I enjoyed most. After spending a few hours with the demo, I believe the main pillar of the combat system is the parry mechanic.
Although you can also attack enemies, parrying will do a lot more damage, so you’re encouraged to use one mechanic over the other. The twist is that enemies change color, so you have to change your color to in order to successfully parry them. Basically, it’s a two-tap parry with one mention that if you don’t switch to a color matching the enemy, you will still not take damage if your parry move is successful.
If you match the color of the enemy and parry successfully, you will not only damage the enemy, but you will also replenish a little bit of your lost health. In comparison with most soulslike games, this system feels more forgiving, but that’s because there don’t seem to be any items to replenish your health.
The giant shadow creatures that I faced throughout the several levels that I played are more of the same. Their attacks are almost telegraphed, so you have plenty of time to parry them. But there’s a reason the parry times are more generous: you’re also required to switch colors more often than not.
There’s also rather basic skill tree that lets you use some abilities that stun or do more damage to the enemies. These abilities unlock the more glowing crystals dropped from enemies you have on you.
What’s interesting is that you don’t have to spend crystals to unlock these abilities, they simply open up and you can use them once you have gathered enough crystals. As you continue to parry and dodge, an energy bar will fill allowing you to unleash a finisher move.
I did not get to see more biomes, but the one I explored looked pretty amazing. Granted, it was quite empty, the landscapes are breathtaking. I hope the levels become a bit livelier as you progress into the game.
Apart from the very nice visuals, I have to commend the developers for involving Grammy award-winning composer Austin Wintory in the project. The soundtrack is very good and certainly adds to the atmosphere.
Conclusion
Strayed Lights shapes up to be an interesting action-adventure game with soulslike elements. With a little bit more attention to details and a meatier gameplay, Embers’ debut title could be elevated to “must-play” status.
Also, I found the story a bit thin, but that’s usually not a problem in this kind of games. Strayed Lights will be available at the end of April on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Preview key was provided by the publisher.
