Lost Soul Aside Might Lack Depth, But It Dresses to Kill

Lost Soul Aside has certainly had a rough go of it since its release, and a lot of those troubles are backed up by some issues with the game that are difficult to ignore. While the developer has committed to fixing Lost Soul Aside's performance issues that have plagued it since launch, the game has other problems that aren't so easily fixed — like bad English voice acting, repetitive gameplay, and a narrative and characters that lack the depth necessary to leave their mark on the game's legacy. However, no matter how shallow it may be at its core, there's no denying that it has style.

One of Lost Soul Aside's best features is its visuals, which are stunning to witness at times. While there are issues with the camera focusing and some occasional environmental pop-ins, when the game's graphics are working right (which is 95% of the time), they are gorgeous, despite being built with Unreal Engine 4 rather than 5. Those visuals wouldn't be what they are without the game's art style, though, which is evident in the design of its world, the way its characters are dressed, and even the weapons Lost Soul Aside's protagonist Kaser uses. To put it simply, for all the substance it's lacking, it sure is packed with style.

Lost Soul Aside Is All Style, Little Substance

Flashy Combat, Shallow Core

Lost Soul Aside's story is existent, it's there, but it feels like it's really only there to give context to its world. This is because the game's true appeal is its combat, which is both flashy and fun, despite revolving around a rather repetitive loop of killing boss after boss with little breathing room in between. In fact, Lost Soul Aside's combat is so flashy, it feels as though when the developers were asked how many particle effects they wanted in the game, they simply replied, "Yes."

Every swing of Kaser's weapon in Lost Soul Aside, and that of the skills and weapons of the game's enemies, comes with plenty of light and flash to make it look like one big explosion of color on the screen. There's actually so much of it occurring all at once at times that it's difficult to discern what is happening on the screen, even though players are able to register what actions they're inputting into their controller. Even so, it makes Lost Soul Aside's combat feel action-packed and exciting, and as though every attack and ability truly originates from a fantasy world.

Dressing Up the Adventure

That's not all either, as the game has customization features that rival even some of the biggest AAA titles out there. For one thing, players can change Kaser's outfit and the color of Lost Soul Aside's Arena, even though those options are limited. Where its customization truly shines, though, is in its Weapon Assembly feature, which allows players to attach accessories to their weapon that not only have stat bonuses but can also be manually positioned on the weapon itself and even transmogged if players don't like the appearance of an accessory but still want to use it.

It's that kind of player expression and cosmetic gameplay that gives Lost Soul Aside its style, even if it does lack the substance to go with it. It helps that it has stellar graphics as well, despite the camera and performance issues that accompany them. At the very least, if players want to get the most out of Lost Soul Aside, perhaps it's better that they don't try to look beyond the surface with this one and instead try to find most of their enjoyment in its expression.

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