izigame.me

Soulstice is a 3rd person action game that focuses on fast and frenetic combat with characters and enemies that have a dark anime aesthetic.
The cutscenes are good, even if the voice acting is uneven. I enjoyed the combat as I improved with it and I was invested in the world enough that I would like to find out what happens in a sequel. I spent about 50 hours to finish the game--and most challenges--on Knight (hard) difficulty without using items. If you have any interest in this type of game, it is worth at least one playthrough.
There are a couple issues I think kept this from being more popular:
INFLUENCES
First, I think it misses the most important features of the games it resembles (and possibly was inspired by). The combat system is similar to Devil May Cry in that you are expected to keep up a continuous stream of actions against waves of enemies. You even get a score and rating at the end of each battle, and at the end of each chapter. Unfortunately, Devil May Cry fans often cite the creative possibilities of the combat as their favorite feature, and Soulstice combos are relatively simple.
You eventually obtain several weapons, but they mostly differ in that each will do more damage to specific enemies. Otherwise it's just different animations. They all have launchers, they all have gap closers, they all have delay combos, and they all have air slam attacks...and they all are done the same way on the controller. You can switch between weapons in mid-combo, but that isn't to use the weapons for different purposes, it's just because it should increase your score.
Since the combos are simple, I thought that perhaps the game wanted to be closer to the older God Of War games. Unfortunately, the God Of War games were more about journeys through interesting levels and epic boss fights, and Soulstice's levels--while interesting to look at--lack much variety (note that this is also similar to Devil May Cry).
CAMERA AND CONTROLS
Second, the controls have some weird decisions. Many of the complaints have to do with the fact that the game uses a fixed-camera at times. This is mostly only between combat engagements, but occasionally for combat as well. I rarely had any issues with these sequences, and I had very little issue platforming during these segments.
The camera issue I have is the decision to keep the camera up close to your character during combat where the camera is free. Enemies can and will attack you from off screen. Some attacks have indicators before they pop, but it's still maddening have to constantly try and take the time to move your character to a position and rotate the camera to see important enemies that you may not be currently engaged with, and that is important because...
...you have a companion that has the ability to interrupt attacks from enemies. You may be interrupting several attacks in quick succession, and you are trying to attack and dodge with the main character at the same time, so you can't be expected to learn a specific interrupt timing for each attacks. Instead you get a button prompt on the screen that you want to press as soon as it shows up. The prompt looks bad on its own, but worse is that because the camera is so close, they have to give you some sort of prompt for off-screen enemies and it's a tiny arrow that I don't think I've ever noticed fast enough.
If they had gone the route of the old God Of War games where the camera would usually be back far enough to see the whole combat area, the issue over what you can see would be essentially eliminated. (I'm also wondering if they couldn't have a distant camera and still have the interrupt button prompt because it would cover the entire enemy...may have backed themselves into a corner there.)
The other part of this issue layer is small, but important, and that is weapon selection. You select weapons with the D-pad, and since there are six that you can switch between, they put two weapons on the left/up/right parts of the D-pad (down is for items). The problem arises in that they should have had it where one press gives you one of the weapons and two presses gives you the 2nd weapon. Instead, it depends on what weapon you currently have!
For example, up on the D-pad represents the hammer or the whip. If you currently have equipped the bow, then one press up gives you the hammer and two presses would give you the whip. If you are already on the hammer though, one press gives you the whip, and two presses puts you back at the hammer! You see the issue? In the midst of combat, I should always be able to do the same button(s) for the same result. It's an unnecessary complication for a game with combat that requires lots of quick actions.
EXTRA NOTES
Bosses have great visual design and an epic feeling, but were not that difficult. Note that the first boss, the big archer, is not indicative of what you will encounter later on. There is much less chasing in all other boss fights.
There is a layer of the combat where your companion has to create a particular color field (blue/red) to damage certain enemies. It starts out feeling like a pain, but as you go through the game you will gain abilities that make using them easier. You also learn to think of turning them on and off as parts of your combos rather than leaving them on long term, and eventually it's barely an issue. I don't see it as a reason to not play the game.
Another frustrating part early on is that you will feel like you are chasing enemies a lot. This is another experience that will get better as you go. Between the gap closer skill you can get for your first weapon, a ranged weapon, and a weapon skill that pulls you to an enemy, you eventually find that getting to enemies becomes less and less of an issue.

This game is worth a buy at full price in my opinion, and don't let a few rough edges ruin the enjoyment you can have with it.