Eldest Souls

78%
Game Brain Score Based on 869 reviews
  • gameplay
  • story
  • graphics
Eldest Souls Game Cover
A surprisingly complex and mechanically perfect condensation of the Soulsborne experience into the boss rush genre. Eldest Souls not only joins the ranks of its genre champs Titan Souls and Furi, it defeats them.
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"Eldest Souls" is a pixel-art boss-rush game where players face off against the Old Gods, who have been imprisoned for ages. After a sudden release, the Old Gods have wreaked havoc on the world, and it's up to the player to defeat them and restore balance. The game offers a challenging experience with intricate fights that require strategy and skill.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

78%
Audience ScoreBased on 869 reviews
gameplay59 positive mentions
grinding15 negative mentions
  • The game features beautifully crafted pixel art and an engaging soundtrack that enhances the overall atmosphere.
  • Combat is fast-paced and rewarding, with a variety of skill trees that allow for different playstyles and strategies.
  • Boss fights are unique and challenging, requiring players to learn patterns and adapt their tactics to succeed.
  • The game is very short, typically taking only 4-6 hours to complete, which may not justify the price for some players.
  • Some boss mechanics can feel unfair or overly punishing, leading to frustration rather than a sense of accomplishment.
  • The lack of regular enemies and exploration can make the game feel empty and repetitive, as it primarily focuses on boss encounters.
  • gameplay174 mentions

    The gameplay is characterized by intense boss battles that require players to learn and adapt to unique mechanics, offering a mix of satisfying combat and frustrating challenges. While many players appreciate the depth of customization and the rewarding nature of mastering boss patterns, others criticize the controls, hitboxes, and some poorly explained mechanics that can lead to a trial-and-error experience. Overall, the game provides a compelling but polarizing gameplay experience, appealing to those who enjoy challenging combat and intricate mechanics, while potentially alienating players who prefer more straightforward controls and enemy encounters.

    • “The gameplay is very charged.”
    • “Great game overall, some very frustrating bugs and mechanics.”
    • “The flow of combat is very nice, with responsive dodge rolls, charge attack, and fun lifesteal mechanics.”
    • “This game does not have tight or responsive enough controls and animations to support that kind of gameplay.”
    • “The biggest issue I found is that some boss mechanics are not explained at all and require a lot of experimenting (which means dying to them over and over).”
    • “The core mechanic of charging up your attacks is incredibly annoying; I often found myself failing to charge adequately and doing no damage to the boss, but if you pay too much attention to your charge bar, you can die almost instantly without much warning.”
  • story105 mentions

    The game's story is largely criticized for being vague, fragmented, and lacking depth, with many players feeling it does not significantly enhance the gameplay experience. While some appreciate the atmospheric setting and the potential for interesting lore, the overall narrative is often described as forgettable and poorly integrated, with NPCs and side quests that fail to contribute meaningfully to the plot. Ultimately, the game is seen more as a challenging boss rush experience rather than a story-driven adventure.

    • “The story of the game is great, narrated through few optional dialogues and many interactables scattered all over the broken world in which this game takes place.”
    • “I'm always fascinated with studios' adaptations to 'souls-likes' and if they really do the genre justice by understanding what a souls-like really is; an RPG with a fun yet fitting combat system, unique and challenging bosses, great sound design (boss music included), a well-designed world to create an immersive fantasy setting, and a story that the player themselves has to piece together to make their own assumptions about the events that took place.”
    • “Very snappy and smooth controls, the art is fantastic, the setting is quite good and the storytelling is done well.”
    • “The story is irrelevant and due to the boss-rush nature, doesn't add value or immersion, so don't go in expecting anything there.”
    • “The story elements and side-quests are completely forgettable and largely unrewarding.”
    • “It's okay - the aesthetics and story are shamelessly ripped from Dark Souls, more so than any other soulslike I have played.”
  • graphics77 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful pixel art style and detailed animations, creating a visually striking atmosphere that enhances the overall experience. Many reviewers appreciate the unique art direction and the creative designs of bosses, although some note that the player character's visuals feel less polished in comparison. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's appeal, with ratings often reflecting a high level of satisfaction, despite some criticisms regarding pixelation and combat visibility.

    • “The game has a gorgeous art style and music; the people who made those should be proud of themselves!”
    • “The graphics are amazing, the controls are ultra responsive; just everything about this game is super polished.”
    • “It boasts a crisp pixel art style that is utilized to create visually striking bosses and environments.”
    • “The environments and bosses look wonderful and are beautifully animated, but there are two fatal flaws in the visuals.”
    • “Compared to the rest of the game, it seems that the player character's visuals and animations were glossed over.”
    • “The controllers are sluggish at times and the graphics are too pixelated for it to be a game of precision.”
  • music61 mentions

    The music in the game receives a largely positive reception, with many reviewers praising the orchestral tracks and boss themes as inspiring and immersive, enhancing the overall atmosphere. While some find the soundtrack repetitive during prolonged gameplay, the majority appreciate its quality and how it complements the game's art style and challenging mechanics. Overall, the music is highlighted as a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.

    • “The music for this game slaps!”
    • “Music and ambiance is fantastic, 10/10.”
    • “The art style, the music and the world are just stunning so far.”
    • “Uninspired and boring, the music sucks, the concept is so so, this is a completely whatever game.”
    • “The appeal of the cool attacks and talent synergies begin to lose their luster when you've been fighting a single enemy for the past hour, dodging the same attacks you've dodged a hundred times and listening to the same repetitive soundtrack you've heard a dozen times.”
    • “The bosses are good, but the empty overworld, short duration, and lethargic music make it ultimately forgettable, so I would only pick this up on sale.”
  • replayability25 mentions

    The game offers significant replayability through its New Game Plus mode, multiple fighting styles, and unique skill trees, allowing players to continually challenge themselves against tougher bosses. While some players find the experience rewarding and engaging, others note that the replay value may diminish after initial playthroughs due to potential gameplay issues. Overall, it is well-regarded for its replayable content, particularly for fans of boss rush and souls-like games.

    • “It adds a lot of replayability, especially since the game has no filler and is very fair.”
    • “That being said, they do increase the replay value by adding a new game + (aka the abyss mode) where you'll get to continue to level up and test your abilities further against harder versions of the bosses you've faced.”
    • “[Infusing shards and swapping styles to customize your combat abilities gives the game a supreme level of replayability for new game+ and arena runs, each of its ten bosses is distinct, engaging, and a challenge worth facing, desolate world is instead populated by gorgeous pixels.]”
    • “The main issues really only become apparent in ng+ where it all falls apart unfortunately, thus not giving a whole lot of replay value despite the fact that only then do bosses get all their moves (which would be kinda cool as a difficulty ramp if it only actually worked gameplay-wise).”
    • “I suppose replayability and playing with the multiple combinations of skills and shards (one of the better points of the game) is meant to be the rest of the content, but after plowing through the bosses in about a single sitting I don't feel like I'd get anything other than irritation from going after ng+.”
    • “However, you might encounter a few issues due to visual miscues, and replayability is solely dependent on how much you wish to rerun tougher encounters.”
  • grinding19 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and frustrating, particularly during boss battles where the initial phases drag on before suddenly ramping up in difficulty. While some players appreciate the lack of traditional grinding mechanics, the repetitive nature of facing the same bosses and the slow-paced exploration contribute to a sense of boredom and dissatisfaction. Overall, the experience is described as a tedious slog that may test players' patience but often feels more punishing than rewarding.

    • “I very much welcomed how there are no eponymous 'souls' and no grinding, as well as no corpse/bloodstain-retrieval runs—you can just press 'retry' to start a boss battle over, which is wonderful.”
    • “Unlike the Souls series, some of the bosses will have roguelike bullet hell mechanics, which is the most fun out of boss battles at least for me. There are some quests too, just like in the Souls series, where you have to pay attention to the dialogues of NPCs and objects, and no grinding is required.”
    • “- No farming required.”
    • “Tedious boss rush game that is just frustrating by design.”
    • “The result is that grinding the same boss over and over again just gets sort of... boring.”
    • “The boss fights are often unbalanced and tedious, which only contributes to a frustration that deters you from wanting to pick the controller back up.”
  • atmosphere19 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its beautiful pixel art, immersive audio, and effective level design, creating a captivating and sometimes perilous environment. Many players appreciate how the atmosphere enhances the overall experience, despite some criticisms regarding the game's structure and pacing. Overall, the combination of art style, music, and atmospheric elements contributes significantly to the game's appeal, drawing comparisons to titles like Hollow Knight and Hyper Light Drifter.

    • “Best of all is the beautiful pixel art world, and satisfying atmospheric audio.”
    • “Awesome game, great combat, fair boss fights and amazing atmosphere.”
    • “The art style, music, and feel of the game come together to create this great atmosphere that is so fun to traverse.”
    • “It tries to imitate almost everything, from atmosphere, storytelling style, to the difficulty, but the implementation is just bad.”
    • “Some may say it makes the game feel empty; however, it just adds to the atmosphere, making it feel empty and perilous, which I'm guessing is what they were trying to achieve.”
    • “I mean the atmosphere and difficulty.”
  • stability11 mentions

    The game's stability has been criticized for various bugs, particularly with hit boxes and the grapple mechanic, which can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences. While some players find the overall challenge appealing, many report issues with controls and mechanics that detract from the enjoyment, making the game feel inconsistent and at times unfair.

    • “Overall, a solid game if you're looking for a challenge. However, for a game that boasts challenges such as 'beating every boss without taking any damage' (ending and DLC bosses not included), the programmers really needed to take more time to ensure that hitboxes aren't buggy.”
    • “It's a shame I bought it for my friend and he left a review saying the controls are buggy and ignore input, also stating bosses deal damage before the abilities hit, which all he stated I never had a problem with.”
    • “Only thing that is buggy is the grapple...sometimes it just doesn't connect and that has cost me a battle numerous times.”
    • “The game does feel buggy at times, notably with the grapple ability not always working as I expected it to, grabbing onto what seems to be nothing.”
  • emotional5 mentions

    Players express a mixed emotional response to the game, with some moments evoking strong feelings, such as the last boss causing tears, while others feel a lack of emotional depth, particularly in comparison to titles like Dark Souls. The game's difficulty and mechanics can lead to frustration, diminishing the overall emotional impact for some players. Despite these criticisms, there are moments of triumph that resonate deeply, highlighting the game's potential for emotional engagement.

    • “Overall good game, the last boss made me want to cry; the ability sometimes doesn't work.”
    • “This is a brilliant little dark box to open. Completing my first walkthrough of this rage-inducing beast made me feel like I was on top of the world until I came back to the Warden of Purity.”
    • “The pixel art is great, but there is no emotional impact to any of the bosses like in Dark Souls.”
  • character development3 mentions

    While the game features impressive art and character designs, many users feel that it lacks a compelling story and adequate character development, ultimately leading to a disappointing experience.

    • “The character development in this game is incredibly deep and engaging, making each character feel unique and memorable.”
    • “I love how the characters evolve throughout the story, with their backstories and motivations being explored in a meaningful way.”
    • “The game does an excellent job of allowing players to connect with the characters, making their growth and development feel impactful.”
    • “No captivating story, no proper character development... a total waste of time!”
    • “My favorite thing about this game is its unique art style and character design, but that's still not enough for me to recommend it.”
  • humor3 mentions

    Players find the humor in the game to be both entertaining and engaging, with moments of frustration, like struggling against bosses, adding to the comedic experience. The absurdity of certain game elements, such as the unrealistic portrayal of materials, also contributes to the overall humor, making the gameplay enjoyable and lighthearted.

    • “Getting my ass blasted by the second boss in this game for a solid 15 minutes was hilarious and extremely fun. I haven't beaten the game yet, but I've gone through 7 bosses so far, and I just want to lay out some things that I love about this game.”
    • “It's pretty obvious that obsidian is not actually obsidian in this game because it's clearly rusting, but it's just funny because, holy crap, a sword of pure obsidian would not work at all; it would shatter instantly.”
    • “It's pretty obvious that obsidian is not actually obsidian in this game because it's clearly rusting, but it's just funny because a sword made of pure obsidian would shatter instantly.”
    • “The humor in this game falls flat; the jokes feel forced and lack any real wit or cleverness.”
    • “I expected some clever puns or witty dialogue, but instead, I got a bunch of tired clichés that just didn't land.”
  • optimization2 mentions

    Players appreciate the game's optimization features, particularly the ability to memorize and execute optimized rotations effectively. The flexibility to swap boss crystals and classes at any time encourages experimentation, enhancing the overall optimization experience.

    • “Once you memorize your optimized rotation, that's it.”
    • “What makes the game stand out is that you can swap boss crystals and classes at any point, leading to a lot of experimentation and optimization.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

77% average critic score

Buy Eldest Souls

Play time

6hMedian play time
6hAverage play time
5hMain story
11hCompletionist
4-8hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

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