Young Souls – Review
Not many genres evoke as strong an emotion in me as beat ’em ups do. When I started playing Young Souls, I was immediately transported back to my youth, where I would spend hours trying to beat Golden Axe or accidentally summon the police in Streets Of Rage. Arcade-style gameplay is ideal for this type of game; and in most cases the local co-op is enjoyable as well.
They proceeded to beat those days into oblivion like the punks they were by scoring far higher than they should have. There are excellent systems, a wicked sense of humour, and some of the most realistic writing I’ve ever seen when it comes to portraying how teenagers swear in this wonderful modern take on an old genre. Swearing is a part of their personality, and it’s endearing to watch them do it.
However, Young Souls has you playing as Jenn and Tristan, who were adopted by The Professor, and now have to save him from some evil goblins. Weird experiments and secret underground worlds are to blame for everything that has happened in this high-fantasy world, at least as far as you know at the beginning of the game.
To go and rescue someone is a simple enough reason, and beating up a lot of things is a reason enough in and of itself. Because of their mismatched family, you’ll find yourself rooting for them as the storey progresses, especially as we learn more about each of the people involved.
Young Souls’ core gameplay is a mix of beat ’em up and dungeon crawler elements. Through a magical gateway in your basement, you’ll have to forge your own path through a series of magical dungeons that are all connected. You must defeat a slew of foes in order to find the Runes of Power needed to charge the portal and free the Professor.
Your enemies will not only include the standard bad guys, but also a number of bosses. In these situations, your abilities will be put to the test. Open doors with parried attacks, roll out of the way of big blows, and use your standard and magical attacks to deplete their health bars will all be commonplace tactics. Many bosses will become faster and more aggressive as they lose health bars, which means you’ll have to beat them in multiple phases on a regular basis. Even if you’ve been beaten up by the same enemy multiple times, defeating a boss in these battles is an exhilarating experience.
Many of the dungeons you’ll be exploring have multiple routes through them, and some of those routes require special keys or unlocks, so while you can sometimes choose your own path, you’ll generally just take the one that’s open to you. In the course of your journey, you’ll find keys that lead you back to previously explored areas, which is a great reason to keep going.
While the path may be straightforward, the freedom to return to town at any time to shop, upgrade your weapons or abilities, or hit the gym is a welcome perk. The latter is a result of your progress in the game. While sleeping, you may acquire a gym ticket if you have a sufficient amount of experience. Once you’ve completed the mini-game, you’ll be able to boost one of your three stats. To break up the monotony of the game, it’s an enjoyable diversion.
As you progress through the game, the loot you find and buy will allow you to alter your character’s statistics. Weapons come in a wide variety of types, each with a unique set of advantages and disadvantages. Of course, you’ll have favourites, but the combat has a wonderful weight to it, with each wallop deserving of a wow. It’s a lot of fun to try new things.
