Soulstice is a game that exhumes the expression 'imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,' and it's pretty blatant. Does that really hurt it? To be honest, no. It doesn't give the game much room to breathe and grow, though, and that was the bigger issue I had overall.

You'll have to forgive me for thinking it, but I really went into this title thinking it was a Soulsborne game. Yeah, I'm guilty of that mistake like I saw so many others fall prey to. Must've been the name... But anyway, it's not. It's in that genre limbo between others - not really just an action RPG, not really hack and slash, and not a Soulsborne. "Stylish action," I think we're calling these games? Sure, but to me, that sounds about as bad as "boomer shooter."

The other complaint I noticed a lot from fellow gamers was about the camera. Again, if we went into a game expecting third-person Souls-like camera work and ended up with PS2-era fixed camera angles, I could see the confusion. If I'm honest though... I did not hate the fixed camera angles, nearly at all. They do a great job of framing each area exactly as the devs intended, providing some really grand views and overall helped frame the world... even if the world was pretty dull and felt copy-paste way too often.

Story and lore? Pretty good! Chimeras are warriors forged of two souls, and for our heroes, it's sisters Briar and Lute, with Briar as the human warrior and Lute as her spectral companion. Their story unfolds through the 20 hours and it's twisted and wickedly perverse, as you would expect from a world like this. Chimeras protect the realm from the ghouls and goblins (Wraiths in Soulstice lore), and at the start of the game, you're tasked with investigation and closing a rift from the spectral realm that threatens to tear open the boundaries and allow a flood of those nasty evil spirits to roam free. Standard fare, but the narrative is told well and the other characters you meet along the way (for the most part...) do well to add to the overall arc.

So yeah, I mean we have the normal formula of this ill-named genre - fast combos, quick character action, a devil trigger power-up that you gain through pulverizing enemies with style, and a varied list of weapons. Unlike some other titles though, there isn't enough diversity in the offering. Weapon variety? Sure, we got 'em, but they aren't really THAT different. Combos are the same and they do the same thing, the difference being more of a rock-paper-scissors aspect versus enemy type. Flying enemies? Bow or fast daggers. Armor? Fist or gauntlet-style mortar cannon. It works, but again felt uninspired.

One of the new techs Soulstice brings is with the character's partner/sister Lute, who rests on Briar's side throughout the quest. She has two auras, blue and red, and you trigger those to, yeah, you probably guessed it - do damage to either red or blue enemies. It's also used in world exploration to destroy walls, crystals (that, yeah, if you've played Devil May Cry, you probably already know - they drop currency) and to deal with land mines of each color.

What Lute brings with these blue and red fields is new to me, but again, it doesn't feel that enjoyable. Towards the mid to late game, you will find enemies of both types on the field at a time, which is cumbersome until you get an upgrade that leaves the field up for a few seconds after dropping it, so you can just alternate between the two. It was then that I wondered... what was the point of this mechanic?

This was an average game and I did enjoy more than I didn't, but also felt like it was a bit too repetitive, especially in level design. It does leave you with one hell of a cliffhanger ending, and I fear we will never get a proper sequel to continue where the devs left off. I would absolutely give the team another shot if they were able to scrape together enough goodwill. Here's hoping.

Neverwinter was my third or fourth attempt to find a live service game I could daily drive. Did it hook me? Well, for a good while—almost 200 hours, to be exact—yeah, it did. Until I started seeing through the shiny facade and realized, "Wait, that wizard ain't wearing any clothes!"

One thing I've noticed with free-to-play games is they often forget to update their content after launch, and that was a big reason I eventually ditched Neverwinter. Shame, because I actually liked what it had going on.

The combat's probably the best part, especially from a character standpoint. They ditched the old click-to-attack/tab targeting thing for a more action-packed style, which was smart. Smacking enemies around as a DPS feels satisfying, but hitting max level in about 10 hours and not getting any new cool stuff to play with after that? Major bummer. Games like WoW and FFXIV make leveling up feel epic with new abilities that shake up your playstyle. Neverwinter? Nah, they missed that memo. And forget about swapping classes on the fly like in Final Fantasy—once you pick, you're stuck.

The story? Ehh, bland from the get-go and paced worse than a snail race. It's not like FFXIV where you actually care about what's happening. I did a dungeon and ended up with a quest for some NPC's funeral before I even knew they were dead. As you can imagine, I quickly ran to the funeral to attend... oh, actually that quest is still incomplete in my log. shame.

At its heart, Neverwinter's just a grindfest. Same old treadmill since day one. Hit max level and all you do is grind for better gear to grind for even better gear. Some content's been time-gated for ages, which is just lazy design. And gear? Good luck getting anything decent—it's all locked behind dungeons and trials that you need a party for. Even after 200 hours, I'm still rocking gear I picked up in my first few hours. Where's the fun in that MMO gear-up thrill?

I tackled all sorts of campaigns and adventures, but eventually, I hit a wall. What's the point if there's no carrot dangling in front of me? Games are supposed to be an escape, sure, but I need goals to keep me going. Neverwinter didn't give me any, especially after I peeked at some end-game content and realized how bland it looked compared to other games.

Next stop? Maybe I'll revisit Final Fantasy XI, my dial-up internet PS2 days. Ah, nostalgia, here I come? Queue nervous laughter.