After nearly a decade of development, Lost Soul Aside has finally arrived. What began as a one-man passion project back in 2014 has evolved into the latest success story of Sony's China Hero Project, bringing Ultizero Games’ ambitious action RPG to life.
Lost Soul Aside is a fascinating example of how raw talent and passion can't always overcome fundamental design flaws. Yet, when its combat system truly clicks and you're seamlessly switching between weapons mid-combo, you catch glimpses of something genuinely special.
Story – Familiar Fantasy with Little Surprise
The story feels assembled from familiar fantasy tropes.
Players take control of Kaser, a warrior whose sister, Louisa, is kidnapped by mysterious interdimensional creatures known as the Voidrax during an uprising against a tyrannical Empire.
If you've watched anime or played JRPGs over the last two decades, you've likely experienced this story before.
The narrative relies heavily on predictable clichés, from the broken band of rebels to the ancient evil awakening after a thousand years. The problem is further amplified by excessive exposition delivered through scattered documents and lengthy character monologues.
Thankfully, beneath the narrative shortcomings lies a combat system that deserves attention.
Combat – Devil May Cry Meets Final Fantasy
Combat combines the combo-heavy philosophy of Devil May Cry with the flashy style of Final Fantasy, and the results can be spectacular.
The weapon-switching system allows players to seamlessly alternate between four combat styles:
- A fast sword for rapid strikes.
- A massive greatsword designed to break defenses.
- A spear that excels at keeping enemies at range.
- A scythe built for crowd control.
Once your energy gauge fills, pressing R2 and L2 activates Fusion Merge, temporarily enhancing all your attacks.
Arena, your dragon companion, provides additional abilities including protective shields, healing buffs, and devastating area-of-effect attacks.
Combat quickly evolves into a beautiful dance of aggression where you're constantly swapping weapons mid-combo, performing perfect parries, dodging attacks at the last second, and building toward devastating Fusion attacks.
The game offers tremendous freedom for player expression and rewards creativity and skill in a way that genuinely makes you feel powerful.
You can even break enemy stances and unleash spectacular finishing attacks.
Boss Battles – Brilliant but Frustrating
Boss fights represent both the highest and lowest points of Lost Soul Aside, often within the same encounter.
When everything works, these battles showcase the combat system at its absolute best.
Bosses such as the Rose Queen and Holy Knight Commander Victor require mastery of weapon switching, precise parrying, and strategic use of Arena's abilities.
Successfully overcoming these encounters feels incredibly rewarding.
Unfortunately, many bosses feature multiple health bars that artificially extend fights, turning what should be exciting duels into lengthy endurance matches.
The hyper armor system also makes some of your most stylish combo attacks ineffective against major enemies, forcing a slower and more methodical playstyle that sometimes clashes with the game's otherwise fast-paced combat.
Character Progression and Customization
Progression follows a traditional skill tree system.
Experience earned in combat unlocks abilities divided between Kaser's weapon skills and Arena's powers, creating two progression paths that gradually intertwine.
Kaser gains abilities such as Phantom Blades for closing distances instantly and Shadow Rift for devastating offensive attacks.
Arena provides support skills like Arena Claws, Crystal Blast for ranged combat, and various defensive abilities.
One particularly enjoyable feature is the weapon attachment system.
Attachments function as both cosmetic and mechanical upgrades collected throughout your journey across different dimensions.
They can increase damage, add elemental effects, improve healing efficiency, and significantly alter weapon appearances for players who enjoy customization.
New Game Plus and Endgame Challenges
Lost Soul Aside includes a robust New Game Plus mode.
Most of your progression carries over, including unlocked abilities, equipment, collected items, and Arena's powers, allowing players to dominate early encounters.
The game consists of four chapters and a prologue, lasting roughly fifteen to twenty hours depending on your playstyle.
After completing the game on Normal difficulty, Hard Mode unlocks as an intermediate challenge.
The true test comes with Nightmare Mode, which becomes available after finishing Hard and is required for players seeking the Platinum Trophy.
Although Lost Soul Aside follows a linear structure, optional challenge modes such as Dispersed Dimension provide combat arenas designed to test your skills while rewarding bonus materials and unlockables.
There's also a Boss Rush mode that allows players to revisit major encounters under unique conditions.
Technical Performance and Visual Design
Playing on the standard PlayStation 5, I encountered virtually no technical issues, likely thanks to the day-one patch.
Performance remains smooth throughout exploration and combat, with loading times averaging around four seconds.
The PlayStation 5 Pro version performs even better, offering an excellent frame rate through its exclusive Performance Mode.
The only technical complaints involve somewhat awkward transitions between boss fights and cutscenes, along with the inability to remap controls.
Having the dodge button assigned to L1 feels unusual and takes some adjustment.
Visually, Lost Soul Aside clearly draws inspiration from Final Fantasy.
Character models are highly detailed, environments are visually impressive, and several boss designs are genuinely memorable.
The various dimensions offer excellent visual variety, ranging from snowy landscapes to ancient ruins, although most environments remain relatively linear and lack meaningful exploration.
Audio – Incredible Music Held Back by Uneven Execution
The game's audio presentation is inconsistent.
Combat sound effects feel impactful, and Arena's abilities provide satisfying feedback during battles.
Unfortunately, the overall sound mix feels poorly optimized.
Music often cuts out abruptly during transitions, and certain sound effects end unexpectedly.
The English voice acting ranges from acceptable to occasionally awkward.
The soundtrack, composed by Cody Matthew Johnson with contributions from legendary composer Yoko Shimomura, delivers an orchestral score filled with excellent compositions and emotional moments.
Final Verdict
Yang Bing's passion project occupies a strange space where its greatest strengths and weaknesses exist side by side.
When you're engaged in a cinematic battle, effortlessly switching weapons and executing stylish combos, Lost Soul Aside reminds you exactly why action games can be so thrilling.
However, its linear structure, familiar story, and lack of substantial side content leave the overall experience feeling somewhat thin compared to modern expectations.
If you're still undecided, the free demo offers an excellent opportunity to experience exactly what Lost Soul Aside has to offer before making a purchase.
