Lost Soul Aside is out this month and it feels like it's canon fodder

FF:Enhanced_Reality

FF:Enhanced_Reality

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Edit: this coming month.

Who remembers the first time we saw this game? I literally was blown away. Clearly it had influences from series like Devil May Cry, but it really was a great reveal.

When it was announced that PlayStation were getting behind this game, it was a pretty big thing. It did look like Sony could make it a part of their (at the time...) impressive first party line up.

But then it went dead silent with the occasional update or video, now it's out in a month and the amount of people I've talked too who doesn't even know this game exists is astonishing.

To say PlayStation got behind it, it really doesn't feel like it. I thought perhaps it might get a State of Play but, it's not looking like it.... The trailers have been few and far between, to me, it literally feels like it's being thrown out to die.

This China Joy project for Sony is only going to work if they really show off the games they're funding and supporting. But other than telling you that it was originally made by one person and that it's an action adventure with some souls like elements... I couldn't really tell you anything about it.

I was really looking forward to it too.
 
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I think this will have legs at $15 - 20. I think it's DOA at $60. Guess we'll see how the reviews are. Just a vibe I'm getting since I obviously haven't seen the whole game or anything. Could be better than I expect.
 
I hope they show more of it before the release. From what they showed so far I am not convinced. A demo would be cool.

Also, Hell is Us and Cronos New Dawn are releasing a couple of days after and both seems more interesting to me.

Maybe Sony doesn't believe that this game will be a hit...

This game seemed awesome to me when it was announced years ago. Now not so much, from the latest trailers the combat seems weightless and it seems to have a lot platform sequences, which I hate.
 
Looks like Temu DMC with Nomura character designs

Metal Gear Solid Delta will have all the mindshare when this drops. It's going to get annihilated for sure.
 
Yeah August through October are jammed packed for me. By then, might as well just wait for black friday/winter sale. Shame that Wukong beat them to it. Especially now where Souls-like are all the rage while dmc-like are on the decline.
 
FF:Enhanced_Reality said:
When it was announced that PlayStation were getting behind this game, it was a pretty big thing. It did look like Sony could make it a part of their (at the time...) impressive first party line up.

But then it went dead silent with the occasional update or video, now it's out in a month and the amount of people I've talked too who doesn't even know this game exists is astonishing.

To say PlayStation got behind it, it really doesn't feel like it. I thought perhaps it might get a State of Play but, it's not looking like it.... The trailers have been few and far between, to me, it literally feels like it's being thrown out to die.
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Well, kind of. Sony picking this game up was a sign of faith at the time that they believed in the project (which was already long known to gamers and had come down even then from its long-past peak of interest with its early trailers showing high-quality production values,) and it is bizarre that Sony has not done much to promote the game. It's been shown in one State of Play (not even the most recent one; it was last shown in February, whereas Stellar Blade got in 4 SoPs before release despite being signed around the same time,) and the promotional effort has been pretty weak. However, Sony did sign it into publishing back in 2022, and considering how long ago that was and that gamers first saw this game way back in 2016 yet few new elements have been shown to advance the game from its early promise, maybe Sony lost faith in it over time and is just letting it be. (The game is getting a boxed release though, so they are putting effort in.) And these Second Party releases don't always get red carpet treatment compared to their in-house products; depending on the budget for Lost Soul (over its 10-year development... albeit with a very small staff), the promotional effort may be proportional. Sometimes it just is what it is and we're expecting better promotion because it's on Sony's label but Sony just sees this as a small play (particularly in America and Europe. )

I certainly expected to know more about this game by now, and was caught unaware by this thread in knowing that the game is coming so soon. But the run-up and aftercare to a release can make a difference for a new release, and every game is a little different in how marketers get it seen. You're right that this isn't a great release time period (if they could have just finished it a month earlier, it would have had a better chance, and its original May release date made more sense.) Plus, little about the final release trailer is convincing me that this thing is filled with gameplay surprises which will make it a sleeper hit.

So, I don't know if Sony is just cutting bait, or if there's some kind of plan to get it to pop at the last second ? I'd be pleasantly surprised if it's the latter...
 
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I think lost soul aside, hell is us and cronos will all get overlooked some. I bought Hell Is Us for $36 and the other two will sit on my wishlist.


Plus I got everybody's golf which releases the same day as Hell Is Us. But I don't think that game needs to worry.

FF:Enhanced_Reality FF:Enhanced_Reality did you hear the new Burton C Bell songs?
 
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FF:Enhanced_Reality said:
This China Joy project for Sony is only going to work if they really show off the games they're funding and supporting.
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It's "China Hero Project" that Sony runs as a incubation support service; ChinaJoy is a games convention.

But either way, this is not the point of China Hero Project. Sony doesn't run this program for it to "work for" Sony. Hero Project brings games to PlayStation by funding titles, but few of these games in the program actually end up being published by Sony (and most go multiplatform; I think one VR project even ended up as a PC-exclusive if I remember correctly.) The point of these projects (Sony has multiple Hero Project programs across the globe now) is to farm talent in emerging development communities and put the PlayStation brand top-of-mind in areas where the console and the ecosystem are not well known. The actual launch of the games out of the Hero Project aren't Sony's job, and they're not even really invested in promoting the Hero Project itself to consumers (though it has been a great goodwill flag to raise for gamers who are interested in what they're doing here.) Many players have played games out of CHP and not even known that they were from the program, or even that he program exists. The development seeding, the relationships built, the awareness, that's the point of the Hero Project.
 
Game never looked appealing to me. When the game started as a fan project with one guy it had a lot of sympathy because many hated FFXV. This is however nearly a decade ago.
 
Should have just made a soulslike.

With a soulslike you have the blueprints and know what to do. With this, who knows.

The way to differentiate in soulslike today is to have more. More gear slots, more upgrades, more collectables that are meaningful, upgrades that don't stop at the end of ng0. Making a competition soulslike isn't easy but it is possible if you plan your work and work your plan.

Making a 3d full scale Final Fantasy is a bitch and very few studios are going to be able to do it justice.
 
Zacfoldor said:
Should have just made a soulslike.

With a soulslike you have the blueprints and know what to do. With this, who knows.

The way to differentiate in soulslike today is to have more. More gear slots, more upgrades, more collectables that are meaningful, upgrades that don't stop at the end of ng0. Making a competition soulslike isn't easy but it is possible if you plan your work and work your plan.

Making a 3d full scale Final Fantasy is a bitch and very few studios are going to be able to do it justice.
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I like the exact opposite, like how Hell Is Us is doing it. Souls-ish combat, but that's it. Normal campaign. Normal puzzles. Not a bunch of systems.
 
I was all about since I am an old school action game fan and that genre is finally seeing a real resurgence.

But after so long in development, the delay, and then a crop of other better looking action games in the pipeline... I will still play it at release but my excitement and enthusiasm is gone. My action game hype and focus is on Phantom Blade Zero now.
 
I think it might be fine...I'll highlight the standouts in August:

  • Catto's Post Office (PC) - August 4
  • Valiant Tactics (PC) - August 4
  • Defiance (PC) - August 5
  • 1000 Deaths (PC) - August 7
  • Gradius Origins (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PC) - August 7
  • Hidden Memories of the Gardens Between (Quest, PC VR) - August 7
  • The House of the Dead 2: Remake (Switch, PC) - August 7
  • Wildwood Down (PC) - August 7
  • Mafia: The Old Country (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC) - August 8
  • Slackjaw (PC) - August 8
  • Echoes of the End (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC) - August 12
  • Fallen City Brawl (PC) - August 12
  • Shields of Loyalty (PC) - August 12
  • A Fistful of Yankees (PC) - August 14
  • Drag x Drive (Switch 2) - August 14
  • Madden NFL 26 (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, PC) - August 14
  • Ovis Loop (PC) - August 14
  • Sword of the Sea (PS5, PC) - August 19
  • Discounty (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PC) - August 21
  • Particle Hearts (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PC) - August 25
  • Gears of War: Reloaded (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC) - August 26
  • Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar (Switch, PC) - August 27
  • Kirby and the Forgotten Land + Star-Crossed World (Switch 2 Edition) - August 27
  • Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC) - August 28
  • Super Robot Wars Y (PS5, Switch, PC) - August 28
  • The Knightling (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PC) - August 28
  • Lost Soul Aside (PS5, PC) - August 29
  • Shinobi: Art of Vengeance (PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC) - August 29

There are a lot of PC-only releases in August which makes the list smaller by 10 games for console owners. Also hopefully fans of PS2 platformers like Jak and Daxter, Sly Cooper, etc. will maybe give attention to Knightling.
 
It just took too long to come out. I understand it started as a solo dev project which is why it has taken so long, but that doesn't change the fact it's entering a different market than the one we had when this was originally announced.

It used to be a novelty, it stood out for being this stylish looking Chinese single player action game, something that wasn't very common back then (at least not as a console release in the west).
But it's releasing into a market where Chinese and Korean action games like these have become common, it's now competing with Lies of P, Wulkong, Khazan, Wuthering Waves, Wuchang, Stellar Blade, Ai Limit, etc as well as being compared to other upcoming games like Tides of Anihilation and Phantom Blade Zero, both of which honestly look way better.
 
Fbh said:
It just took too long to come out. I understand it started as a solo dev project which is why it has taken so long, but that doesn't change the fact it's entering a different market than the one we had when this was originally announced.

It used to be a novelty, it stood out for being this stylish looking Chinese single player action game, something that wasn't very common back then (at least not as a console release in the west).
But it's releasing into a market where Chinese and Korean action games like these have become common, it's now competing with Lies of P, Wulkong, Khazan, Wuthering Waves, Wuchang, Stellar Blade, Ai Limit, etc as well as being compared to other upcoming games like Tides of Anihilation and Phantom Blade Zero, both of which honestly look way better.
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To be fair to this game, it's trying to be a Devil May Cry-like Noctis simulator, which thankfully none of the released games you've listed are quite in that category aside from maybe Stellar Blade. I think for that crowd it has a clear landing zone for release.

The reviews and price might be the reason why it succeeds or fails.
 
FF:Enhanced_Reality said:
This China Joy project for Sony is only going to work if they really show off the games they're funding
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The name of Sony's project is China Hero Project.

China Joy is the name of the biggest gaming convention in the world, where PlayStation is going to showcase this game in a big ass and very cool botth where this game will be a protagonist.

FF:Enhanced_Reality said:
But other than telling you that it was originally made by one person and that it's an action adventure with some souls like elements... I couldn't really tell you anything about it.
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Well, it's just a Chinese indie game inspired by DMC action and Noctis as character but still being just an indie game. Thing is Sony did gave them money to turn it in something more AA and put themselves -Obama style- a badge of supporting Chinese game development for China market focused marketing purposes.

I highly doubt Sony ever considered that this game is going to have big sales or great reviews, specially when most top hack & slash games other than GoW and DMCV aren't top sellers. I think they consider it as one of the different small Chinese projects -pretty likely the smallest one- they support there to get some attention in the Chinese market.
 
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FF:Enhanced_Reality said:
To say PlayStation got behind it, it really doesn't feel like it. I thought perhaps it might get a State of Play but, it's not looking like it.... The trailers have been few and far between, to me, it literally feels like it's being thrown out to die.
This China Joy project for Sony is only going to work if they really show off the games they're funding and supporting. But other than telling you that it was originally made by one person and that it's an action adventure with some souls like elements... I couldn't really tell you anything about it.
I was really looking forward to it too.
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It's not a project for westerner to get used for chinese games, you know
It's a project to make chinese "playstation" games for ~chinese~
Whether you are on the ship or not is not really relevant, you are just "pc port of ps games" aka some extra money
 
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Hype was built on a premise that a single guy outdoing the whole Square, but then reality hit and it turned out that making full-scale game is much harder than 5 minutes long staged demo. Here we are almost a decade later, with a game that doesn't look nor interesting, nor unique anymore
 
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