Pixelmad Studios announced that their new hack-and-slash adventure game, Soulborn, has entered into free closed alpha testing. The game is a throwback to classic 3D adventure titles from the heyday of PC gaming in the late 1990s, where titles like Heretic II and King’s Quest VIII were pushing the boundaries of 3D entertainment.
You can join in on the free closed alpha test for the PC version by joining the Soulborn Discord channel.
They also released three-and-a-half minutes worth of gameplay from the alpha build, and other than some animation issues here and there, as well as some floaty physics, the game actually looks pretty good.
So yeah, let’s get the bad out of the way first: The running animations look clunky and awkward, like the kid from the first Fable game, and the jumping-flip into the bow attack is stilted and needs a better transition between the flip and the float downward, as well as higher deceleration between the flip and the float animation.
I know the blend-time can be difficult to nail, but if you nail it right it looks pitch-perfect, like in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, where you don’t even think about it, you just see it and enjoy it when Link pulls off the slow-motion bow shot.
He needs more of a ease-down animation blended between the attacks and the ready stance. Again, I know this is nitpicking but it just adds to the overall presentation quality.
Also, a falling animation from high heights and a landing animation would go a long way in ramping up the presentation quality. Especially a landing recovery animation blended into the ready-state animation. That would make every fall and every large jump feel impactful and dynamic.
Beyond that, a lot of the other portions of the game actually look good.
The combat looks solid enough. The sword combo looks acceptable. The hammer swings look decent enough, and while the bow could use a little more recoil on the string pull for a stronger visual feedback on letting the arrows fly loose, it’s tolerable.
The environments – the dungeons in particular – are lit quite well, and they look like classic 3D platforming levels. You have to navigate around lava, hop across to timed-platform grates, and jump, swing, and dodge your way through the areas.
It reminds me of all those fun-filled 3D platformers on the N64, like Chameleon Twist and Bomberman Hero.
Anyway, if you like what they’re doing with Soulborn, feel free to check out the Discord, or follow the development by visiting the official website.
The game isn’t due to release until late 2021 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
