We tried out Soulmask as a part of the Steam Subsequent Fest and had a variety of enjoyable, even when the sport nearly overwhelmed us at instances
Play it someday, such demos typically solely final half an hour! I nonetheless have the phrases of my colleague Steffi in my ear. Actually, the free-to-play model of Soulmask is meant to supply as much as 40 hours of content material, and solely so “little” as a result of our progress right here remains to be restricted. Nevertheless, this surprisingly giant and fairly survival recreation is already doing a variety of issues proper
What’s Soulmask truly?
To begin with, the title gives basic survival fare: we get up within the jungle with nothing however a scrap of clothes. So we acquire wooden, stones and berries and a little bit later now we have constructed our first primitive instruments. After all, we proceed with a small shelter, varied workbenches and the seek for water.
Nevertheless, the sport doesn’t actually get going till a lot later, when a component that we final noticed in Steam’s high canine Palworld comes into play: placing collectively your individual survival group. On the planet of Soulmask, we repeatedly encounter enemy warriors who assault us on sight.
As soon as now we have realized the suitable ability, we will weaken them in battle, knock them unconscious after which recruit them as tribe members. We then assign our new mates to work in our base – be it cultivating fields, accumulating and processing assets, or no matter else is required. Our modest shelter will then develop into an actual village and later even an actual fortress.
The place ought to I begin?
Within the first few hours I spent in Soulmask, I used to be solely in a position to check out the basic survival a part of the sport. However even right here there was a lot to try this I nearly misplaced monitor. That is primarily because of Soulmask’s quite a few, and typically complicated, development methods. There are:
The analysis tree: That is the place I be taught new applied sciences, similar to higher tools and weapons, but additionally new buildings and crafting stations. To progress, I would like know-how factors and Consciousness Energy However how precisely I get the factors or enhance my energy remained a thriller to me within the demo.
The masks menu: Right here I can enhance my masks with crystals I discover and get passive bonuses. However I may be taught energetic expertise, similar to recruiting NPCs or a pulse that signifies close by enemies. Different, stronger masks can apparently even be discovered in a while.
The character window: I solely found this a part of the character growth by probability after a while. Right here it’s potential to speculate factors in values similar to energy or stamina every time I stage up, which give me smaller bonuses for every stage. I may view my competence in sure actions similar to woodcutting, stitching or archery. This will increase as I take advantage of them and likewise offers me smaller benefits.
Along with the development methods, that are helpful in themselves however require a variety of coaching, there are additionally intensive crafting choices. Inside three hours, I had constructed eight completely different workbenches, every of which unlocks quite a few recipes
The primary take a look at the map
Whereas I might spend days simply crafting new tools, instruments and workstations, there’s additionally the truth that Soulmask has a very massive open world. Up to now I’ve solely been in a position to discover a tiny a part of a jungle, however there’s an enormous map ready for me.
It’s nonetheless exhausting to say whether or not it’s price exploring. Up to now, the query marks on the map solely conceal smaller ruins the place we will decide up some loot and recruit warriors. Nevertheless, in a while we can even discover enormous pyramids and whole villages or be capable of tackle boss enemies similar to a sabre-toothed tiger. After which there are the secrets and techniques of the masks, which we are going to uncover over the course of the sport.
Multiplayer and endgame
Soulmask is certainly designed to be performed for a very long time. Even within the demo, the fixed unlocking of recent prospects – whether or not higher instruments, contemporary talents or a bigger base – is motivating. Even after hours, I haven’t even begun to see every thing the survival recreation has to supply.
And if I can consider the trailer, I can later construct nearly complete cities for my tribe and might even compete with or towards different gamers in multiplayer. The builders even promise actual tribal wars, so I can lead my subordinates into battle and assault different tribes and settlements. How properly this works and, above all, how intelligent the AI warriors are will solely be revealed within the last model. And even then in all probability solely after dozens of hours
Editor’s verdict
I hadn’t actually regarded into Soulmask earlier than enjoying it and was fairly shocked by the graphics and scope of the survival recreation. Though the official screenshots have been prettied up a bit, the title seems fairly slick. And I can uncover a lot within the demo alone – from dungeons to boss battles, recruiting tribe members and breeding animals.
And up to now, all of it works fairly properly. The action-heavy battles might take some getting used to at first, and the builders ought to urgently work on the readability of the menus, however in any other case I’ve only a few complaints concerning the demo. Technically, the sport runs fairly easily for me too.
I can’t but choose how properly the multiplayer works, for instance, and there’s nonetheless a giant query mark hanging over the AI of my recruited villagers. Nevertheless, with its complexity, the already spectacular scope and the attention-grabbing tribe idea, Soulmask positively has the potential to face out from the survival crowd.
