It’s always a good day when a game we’ve been watching closely exits Early Access, and it’s time to finally give it the full review treatment.
That’s now the case for Soulstone Survivors, a bullet heaven that stands out from the crowd due to its sheer wealth of content. And, after three-years in development, it’s out now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series.
As I alluded to in my recent interview with developer Game Smithing, I sadly slept on this one during its Early Access era, as I’ve always been more of a console gamer (that is now slowly changing!).
On the bright side, though, that has allowed me to experience the game in its full glory, and I have to say the wait was worth it!
What is Soulstone Survivors?
With the game releasing just days before the 1.0 launch of Vampire Survivors, Soulstone Survivors is one of the earliest bullet heavens or auto-shooters. Structurally, things are business as usual: battling against screen-filling hordes of enemies, your attacks are auto-generated, and your focus is instead on dodging projectiles and hoovering up shiny XP. The real thrill, however, comes from choosing randomised upgrades as you level up, gradually transforming yourself into a screen-clearing god.
Unlike the granddaddy of the genre and many of its imitators, Soulstone Survivors doesn’t feature a ticking clock. Instead, players must slay a set of number of enemies to trigger a boss encounter, and a standard run is completed once five bosses have been killed. This structure I did enjoy, as it presented less pressure and allowed me to take my time in finding healing crystals and collecting more XP.
As I mentioned up top, the game’s biggest USP is its depth. There are 350+ active and passive skills to equip and upgrade, giving players a wealth of options to choose from between each run. On top of this, there are 20 unique characters that can be unlocked by completing specific in-game challenges. Each of these characters comes with their own distinctive abilities, strengths and weaknesses, and equipable weapons that can be crafted by visiting the blacksmith.
Endless Builds, Endless Replayability
I spent the majority of my time in the standard Void Fields mode, but there are two other modes worth diving into. Unholy Cathedral is a boss rush style mode that unfolds in an extremely cramped arena and Titan Hunt sees players take on giant screen-filling bosses.
Void Fields might seem deceptively shallow at first with there being just five biomes, but there is plenty of mileage to be found. There are five progressively more challenging levels for each map and these add new curses such as limiting healing and buffing up bosses. And then there’s the Endless Mode, which can go on forever if players have the skills to survive. Here runs are no longer self-contained and players can continue maxing out their builds map after map.
One thing I really enjoyed is how the meta progression encourages you to play through these different maps and modes. Within the game’s giant skill tree, there are several coloured crystals and materials you’ll need to upgrade your abilities. These are unlocked by completing runs on certain maps, preventing the grind from feeling dull and repetitive.
A Bullet-Heaven to Behold
I was also really impressed by the game’s performance and presentation. Unlike many other survivors-likes, it opts for a more stylised 3D look, and it holds up beautifully, even when the screen is packed with hundreds of enemies and incoming projectiles. The swarms of approaching enemies, and the many different explosions and particle effects coming from your character make for quite the spectacle when you’re late into a run.
When it comes to the audio, however, things aren’t as polished. I do have to cut the game some slack for being a smaller indie project, but the voice acting here isn’t the best, and it gets annoying when your character frequently repeats the same lines of dialogue. The music itself is fine, but with each stage’s soundtrack looping on repeat throughout a run, that started to wear thin over time, too.
The Verdict
Soulstone Survivors might not reinvent the wheel when it comes to survivors-likes, but it does offer incredible value and depth. Even after spending hours playing for review, I felt like I had only scratched the surface of what it has to offer. With multiple characters to master, three distinct modes – each with its own difficulty tiers – and a wealth of upgrades to unlock, there’s plenty to keep calling you back for just one more run.
If you’re on the hunt for a fresh new survivors-like or bullet heaven to keep you occupied over the next few months, this could be the one.
Soulstone Survivors is out on June 17 on PC (Lin, Mac, Win), PS5 and Xbox Series. I played the game on PlayStation via access kindly provided by the devs and their PR chums!
