Azwel has a number of seemingly spectral weapons available to him, summoning them from thin air and sometimes even dropping them from above. Newcomers Grøh and Azwel, alongside guest fighter Geralt of Rivia, add plenty on their own. Most of the characters in Soulcalibur VI are familiar faces like Mitsurugi, Sophitia, and Ivy. Soulcalibur VI is an extremely rewarding game to learn, and the osmosis of its systems and mechanics feels much more natural than other fighting games.

Sidestepping can counter a heavy vertical slice, but horizontal moves and some kicks might track that movement better. If an opponent is hunkered down behind their guard stance, you’ll need to grab them or throw out an attack with a “break” property. Each move can have different properties, and different moves can counter others. Positioning and smart movement are important, especially when getting knocked out of the ring can end the round. A lot of Soulcalibur, in my experience, has been a mental game. The simplicity of inputs begets a greater mindgame. Super attacks, here called “Critical Edges,” are now just a simple push of the right trigger, while your power-up move (Soul Charge) is back and right trigger, each managed by a meter at the top of the screen. Throwing together a combo feels intuitive and some special moves are easier to input than others. There are only four key buttons (horizontal and vertical attacks, Kick, and Guard), with a handful of moves activated using a combination of them. One of the greatest benefits of Soulcalibur VI for a casual or first-time player is how easy it is to pick up. This particular iteration adds a few twists to the dance, while still keeping it right on that thin hem. In my opinion, it’s best when you feel like you’re on the razor’s edge between a win or a loss with every move. If the tense ballet of steel doesn’t click, then the whole package falls apart. If you dug Soulcalibur’s single-player modes in the past, this is very much up the same alley, and of the same quality.īut the heart of Soulcalibur is its combat. I’m still working my way through it-it’s much lengthier than the campaign, even by sheer volume of fights-but it’s a wealth of activity that never quite gets too repetitive. Each bout can have conditions applied, like slippery surfaces or your opponent only being vulnerable to a certain kind of attack. You can level up, get more powerful weapons, and consume food to give you boosts in fights.

It’s mostly text-based with a few cutscenes, like the main campaign, and over the course of the story a few role-playing game mechanics start to slip in. You take your character on a journey, played out on a large map with different nodes representing events or battles. The character creation is simple to use and surprisingly adaptive, allowing you to make all kinds of things: monsters, popular fictional characters, or even Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty. While their fighting style has to adhere to one of the casts’, your avatar’s appearance can range from a spooky skeleton to a lizardman, automaton, colossus, or just an average human. Libra of Soul isn’t about the main cast, but rather, a create-a-fighter you make in whatever image you want. Of special note are Geralt’s ministories, which play out like an extra bit of Witcher content and feature the same voice actor as the games, Doug Cockle. It’s enjoyable, but I had more fun with the individual character campaigns, which give each a little more room for their personalities to breathe. Most of the main campaign is presented through audio and static illustrations, save a few cutscenes for critical moments. It’s a pretty straightforward mode, with plenty of characters popping in for cameos and some light humor. Soul Chronicle features one main story, following the staff-wielding Kilik’s quest to destroy Soul Edge, the nefarious blade that corrupts people and seems to emanate raw evil. Soulcalibur VI has two main single-player modes, one centered around the game’s cast (Soul Chronicle) and one focusing on a created fighter (Libra of Soul). The latter is a surprisingly strong draw, though it doesn’t seem so up-front. Soulcalibur VI keeps that spirit alive, offering a lot to do whether you’re a multiplayer monster or more content to womp the computer opponent under varying circumstances.

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