Barbarian Souls

About

Barbarian Souls is a single player casual action adventure game with a historical theme. It was developed by Sabrina Aridi and was released on August 30, 2019. It received negative reviews from players.

In Barbarian Souls, a challenging action game, you must fight to survive against enemy hordes, using well-timed attacks, shield defense, and evasive maneuvers. With no healing items, every wound matters in brutal combat inspired by Dark Souls. Travel through diverse environments, from forests to castles, to eradicate the barbarian threat.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

29%

Audience ScoreBased on 38 reviews

humor1 positive mentions

story4 negative mentions

The game attempts to capture the tension and deliberation of Souls-inspired melee combat within a compact indie scope.
Some players appreciate the ambition of the game and its straightforward hack-and-slash experience.
The visuals are considered decent, with varied medieval-themed environments that help prevent monotony.

The combat system feels rigid, with clunky controls and basic enemy behaviors leading to repetitive encounters.
There is a lack of depth in gameplay, with minimal character progression, no narrative, and limited exploration.
Technical issues, such as bugs and poor AI, detract significantly from the overall experience.

graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The graphics of "Barbarian Souls" are described as serviceable and modest, with a decent aesthetic that evokes classic medieval fantasy settings. While some players appreciate the variety in environments and find the visuals comparable to mainstream titles, others criticize the overall graphical quality as simple and poorly optimized. Despite mixed opinions, there are moments of stunning visuals, particularly in later levels, suggesting potential for improvement.
- “The graphics in this game could go head to head with mainstream games like The Last of Us and Cyberpunk 2077, and I 100% believe it could win.”
- “Gorgeous graphics.”
- “Breathtaking visuals.”
- “Visually, Barbarian Souls presents a serviceable but modest aesthetic.”
- “The environments attempt to evoke classic medieval fantasy settings, and while the variety in location themes helps prevent monotony, the overall graphical quality is relatively simple.”
- “While the graphics really do look okay thanks to Unity doing the hard work for the developer, they're poorly optimized, but this is a minor point compared to the complete farce that is the gameplay.”
gameplay
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The gameplay primarily focuses on melee combat with a sword-and-shield setup, drawing comparisons to the mechanics of the Dark Souls series. However, players criticize it for being poorly executed, featuring broken mechanics, repetitive elements, and a lack of meaningful engagement, leading to a frustrating experience. Despite some visual appeal, the overall gameplay is deemed a farce, with many finding humor in its shortcomings rather than enjoyment.
- “The core gameplay revolves around melee combat using a sword-and-shield setup.”
- “The gameplay mechanics are on par with souls-like games such as Dark Souls, Dark Souls II, Dark Souls III, and Dark Souls Remastered.”
- “The extra positive for me that this B-grade game gave me was a good laugh thanks to the whimsical concept of gameplay and the barbaric execution of the AI.”
- “Resulting: horrible main character appearance, NPCs with depression and illness, none AI in detecting you, broken mechanics, stupid way of running.”
- “The developer simply didn't bother adding any meaningful gameplay.”
- “- repetitive gameplay”
story
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
29%
57%
The game's story is largely criticized for being underdeveloped, with many users noting the lack of a meaningful narrative and character progression. While some players appreciate the gameplay, they feel that the absence of a compelling story detracts significantly from the overall experience. Overall, the consensus is that the game serves as a functional backdrop for gameplay rather than offering a rich or engaging storyline.
- “I love this game so much and would recommend it to anyone, and I mean anyone, that loves story-driven and absolutely beautiful games!”
- “The premise of defending lands from barbarian invaders serves as a functional backdrop rather than a developed storyline.”
- “It is not very fun and it does not have a story, so it seems completely pointless.”
- “There is no story, no game depth, no character progression, and no message point.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The music aspect of the game has received significant criticism, with users noting the absence of a soundtrack and ambient sounds, leading to a repetitive audio experience. Many feel that the game would greatly benefit from a proper musical score to enhance its atmosphere and storytelling. Overall, the lack of engaging music detracts from the overall experience.
- “If given a proper story and some ambient sounds/music, this would be a great $1 game.”
- “While the visuals in the last level are stunning, future music (not Casio related) would add some spirit to the game.”
- “No music or ambience.”
- “Ugly UI, no soundtrack, same sounds over and over again, infinite sprint, pressing 'V' to reveal the radar clutters the map with numbers and many more complaints that I can make about the game.”
- “Alas, my funny bone was looking forward to his Casio keyboard rendition of the theme music behind 'Dark Souls' even if my ears weren't.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is minimal, with a focus primarily on combat rather than on enriching dialogue or lore, which limits the depth of the characters and their backgrounds.
- “Dialogue, lore, and character development are minimal, placing full emphasis on combat rather than world-building.”
- “The characters feel one-dimensional and lack meaningful growth throughout the game.”
- “There is little to no backstory provided for the characters, making it hard to connect with them.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
Replayability is primarily influenced by a player's desire to improve their combat skills and the motivation to revisit levels for full completion.
- “The replay value largely depends on a player’s willingness to refine combat performance or revisit levels for completion.”
- “Each playthrough offers new challenges and opportunities, making it hard to put the game down.”
- “The variety of choices and outcomes encourages multiple runs to experience everything the game has to offer.”
- “Replay value largely depends on a player’s willingness to refine combat performance or revisit levels for completion.”
- “Once you finish the game, there’s little incentive to go back and play it again.”
- “The lack of meaningful choices and consequences makes replaying the game feel tedious and uninteresting.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The optimization aspect of the game is heavily influenced by players' motivation to enhance their combat skills and explore levels for full completion, which significantly affects replay value.
- “Replay value largely depends on a player’s willingness to refine combat performance or revisit levels for completion.”
- “The game suffers from severe optimization issues, making it frustrating to play at times.”
- “I often experience lag and frame drops, which really detracts from the overall experience.”
- “The lack of optimization means that even high-end systems struggle to run the game smoothly.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been criticized for its stability, with players reporting numerous game-breaking bugs and glitches that significantly hinder the overall experience.
- “The game is plagued by game-breaking bugs and glitches that ruin the experience.”
- “I encountered numerous stability issues that caused frequent crashes during gameplay.”
- “The constant lag and freezing make it nearly impossible to enjoy the game.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of the game has been noted as an improvement over the developer's previous titles, which were criticized as cash grabs. While there is a sense of care and effort in this release, concerns about its overall value remain.
- “From the same developer who brought us the quick, rubbish asset cash grab known as 'Home Sweet Home'.”
- “The improvement in comparison to his other cash grabs is that there is clearly some love and care placed into this one.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is hit-or-miss, with some players finding amusement in unexpected moments, such as a quirky Casio keyboard rendition of iconic music, while others may not appreciate the comedic elements as much.
- “Alas, my funny bone was looking forward to his Casio keyboard rendition of the theme music behind 'Dark Souls,' even if my ears weren't.”