Thoughts on Soulframe from Tennocon 2023
Tennocon has been and gone, but we got to see a lot of stuff. One of the cooler things was the intro into Tennolive, the big content reveal, and it started off with Soulframe, the other game Digital Extremes is making. After a long wait, people didn’t seem that happy to have a massive Soulframe trailer before their Warframe stuff, but it was interesting to see.
Soulframe looks like a sort of Elden-ring-y sort of thing, with combat similar to that of the Drifter in Duviri. You’re mostly restricted to melee, although it does look like you can get a bow later on, and you can yeet your sword at enemies. They showed off some of the HUD and the base area, which seemed to be in some sort of ghostly second realm, but most of the gameplay took place in either a forest or some sort of weird underground city area which looped back up to that forest. In this gameplay, we are rushing to save a magical stag, which is being taken over by some sort of weird, metallic corruption and being captured by your enemies.
Most of this gameplay though is walking. Well, more running than walking. We also get to ride a giant wolf for a bit, the one seen in the original Soulframe trailer. The enemies are mostly the same as the ones in the trailer too, aside from the boss and one other rather tall bad guy that is probably just a variant of normal enemies.
We do see some co-op gameplay though, but it seems temporary. Maybe an opt-in opt-out system or something, or maybe some parts are just solo only. Not sure. Either way, we have a radio buddy in the form of a ghost of an ancestor, who guides us on his way.
Honestly though, from what I saw, the movement and combat did look rather slow. A little stilted perhaps. It does look more refined than the Drifter in Duviri, but it is definitely stilted in some parts. At the end we fight against two bosses, a lady and a metallic monster known as a Torment Stag. Both of these beings, we manage to free and make whole again, which is nice.
Story-wise, there’s clearly a lot we don’t know. The main plot is that humans have forgotten their past or something, and we are here to make them remember and become better people. The enemies call us traitors (or Gruul) and it seems we also forgot our past or something before being brought back to life with magical powers. But the premise is interesting and I’d like to know more.
Holy shit though, the biggest thing is the art direction. The music and the art are amazing. Even if the game feels somewhat slow, it is all absolutely beautiful. The visuals are divine. But what really stood out to me was the music. It was enchanting and lures you in. It builds up and explodes at just the right moment.
Honestly, the gameplay video did run on for a bit, and it does seem like there is a LOT of running around through forests and stuff in Soulframe. But the visuals and sounds do make me want to actually play the game, even if the combat looks rather rough. While not as interesting as what Warframe brought us, I am still interested in this game. Let’s hope they tighten up the combat a bit, though.