Lost Soul Aside Finally Arrives After 11 Years, Only to Be at Risk

After being worked on for more than ten years, Lost Soul Aside is finally out, and people are talking a lot about it. The Chinese developer Yang Bing developed the independent action RPG. It took 11 long years to get people excited about it through fancy trailers, comparisons to Final Fantasy and Devil May Cry, and a development cycle that was like a Cinderella story.

The game had huge hopes when it was first announced in 2016 as a one-man project. It later grew into a full studio under Sony's China Hero Project. Players now have it in their hands, so the only question is: did it live up to all the hype?

For now, it appears that the answer is difficult to determine. Lost Soul Aside has just above a 50% positive rate on Steam right now, which is a dangerous spot for any new game. People have very different opinions about the PlayStation 5 version, so it's not doing much better. Some players say it's a hidden gem with some of the best fighting in years, while others say it's almost impossible to play.

The fighting system is the game's best aspect, something that almost everyone agrees on. Yang Bing and his team made style-conscious, combo-heavy battles, and it felt as if they got a lot of ideas from Devil May Cry and added some of Final Fantasy XVI's dramatic flair.

The fast moves, tight parries, and never-ending boss fights make for some really exciting battles. Fans have praised the game's combos, finding them enjoyable, and noted that fighting huge enemies provides a rush of energy. Lost Soul Aside is a great game for fans of elegant action games.

But for every nice thing said, there's a sharp criticism. The combat is often described as floaty by many players because strikes don't feel heavy or powerful. If you don't change the difficulty level, the game can also feel harsh, since one mistake will usually send you back to the last checkpoint.

The save system, one of the most controversial design decisions, exacerbates this problem. Saves are linked to particular NPCs before bosses, and until you reach the next checkpoint, your progress is not carried over. That means that just because you beat a boss and saved, you might have to go through the fight again later. This quirky feature has left admirers confused, with some describing it as an absolutely bonkers design.

Additionally, the way the game is currently played has become a lightning rod for criticism. On blogs and review sites, people have talked about frame drops, invisible walls, audio bugs, and even music that stops playing during cutscenes.

Performance on PCs varies significantly based on the hardware. High-end systems with RTX 5090s can run the game at more than 200 frames per second, but most systems struggle with stutters, hitches, and options that are difficult to use. Players have criticized the PlayStation 5 version, noting that the frame rate drops significantly.

Another thing that has been a pain is the voice acting. Many people have said that the English dub is laughable, and some players turn to Chinese or Japanese audio right away to make the dialogue more bearable. Fans also haven't fallen in love with the story or the characters, which is a shame.

It's challenging to become attached to the characters because the conversation and story feel generic, like leftovers from other Final Fantasy games. For some, the awkward writing has crossed the line into so bad it's good, making the otherwise serious tone funnier by accident. Despite the problems, a surprising number of players continue to enjoy the game.

For every person who complains about bad storytelling or broken animations, there are many who praise the combat or the beautiful landscapes. Some fans even like the bad parts, calling it a flawed but interesting experience that could become a cult favorite.

There have been comparisons to games from the mid-2000s that initially received mixed reviews but eventually gained devoted fan bases. Lost Soul Aside is in a peculiar position due to the mixed response. It's not the finished hit that many people were hoping for after 11 years of buildup, but it's also not a total disaster either.

It feels more like a rough diamond—not perfect, but with flashes of brightness that reveal what it could be when polished further. There are some problems with the game. The big question now is whether Yang Bing and his company can fix them with patches or if the game will stay as is.

Lost Soul Aside is at risk right now. You might enjoy it more than the critics say if you don't mind clumsy controls, funny voice acting, and just want to smash enemies with cool moves. But if you wanted a smooth, blockbuster-level RPG, you might want to wait and see if fixes can make the game more like what the trailers showed.

One thing is certain: Lost Soul Aside is one of the most interesting releases of the year, not because it's perfect, but because it's brave enough to be so messy and uneven after all the buildup. Based on what happens next, history will either remember it as a cult classic or a lesson.