Paradox Soul

About

Paradox Soul is a single player role playing game. It was developed by Ritual Games and was released on February 9, 2018. It received negative reviews from players.

"Paradox Soul is a 2D action-shooter Metroidvania game featuring Dr. Alli Rose. Explore a nightmarish test facility, battle epic bosses, and unlock unique suit abilities and weapon upgrades. Discover secrets in this hand-crafted labyrinth of evil."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

37%

Audience ScoreBased on 256 reviews

gameplay17 positive mentions

story11 negative mentions

The pixel art and atmosphere are well-crafted, creating an engaging environment.
The game offers a unique challenge with its one-hit kill mechanic, making players strategize their movements.
The exploration aspect is enjoyable, with secrets to discover and upgrades to find throughout the game.

The lack of a tutorial and confusing controls make it difficult for players to understand the mechanics.
Enemies take multiple hits to defeat while the player dies in one hit, leading to frustrating gameplay.
The repetitive nature of the combat and environments can make the game feel tedious and monotonous.

gameplay
75 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
61%
16%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its repetitive mechanics and lack of clear instructions on controls, leading to frustration and confusion. While some appreciated the smoothness and simplicity of the mechanics, others found the trial-and-error approach tedious and the overall experience lacking in depth and variety. Despite its potential for engaging moments, the gameplay often feels stretched and uninspired, making it more suitable for hardcore fans of the genre rather than casual players.
- “The gameplay is smooth and satisfying.”
- “Excellent fun addictive gameplay.”
- “The game has many different levels, multiple types of enemies, and a couple of interesting bosses, while also having some upgrades to spice the gameplay up along the way.”
- “I went the entire game without knowing some mechanics existed and finished the game extremely quickly.”
- “The 'combat' is either repetitive 1-2-3-4, then shoot back, cover shooting, or it's constantly restarting the 'room' because there's nothing but 'gotcha' trial-and-error gameplay of random assortments of obstacles that kill you in one hit.”
- “The gameplay is absolutely terrible, the game design is lacking, there is no storytelling, and it feels uninspired.”
story
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
62%
28%
The game's story is largely criticized for being minimal to the point of non-existence, with many players noting a lack of context, character development, and coherent plot. While some appreciate the environmental storytelling and minimalist approach, the overall consensus is that the narrative is vague, confusing, and fails to engage players, leaving them dissatisfied with the experience.
- “The story is subtle yet formulaic; it transcends language in a way, since it only relies on 'universal' expressions.”
- “Mildly interesting story with a plot twist ending.”
- “If you temper your expectations and enjoy minimalist storytelling and gameplay, it’s worth checking out.”
- “There is no story or explanation as to why we're here.”
- “There is neither story nor explanation on the character/world to get immersed in.”
- “There is no real story/plot, characters, or world building, or it's done so subtly as to barely exist at all except in the imaginations of its maker(s).”
graphics
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
72%
10%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the charming pixel art style and nostalgic retro aesthetic, while others criticize the visuals as bland or poorly executed. Many note that the graphics are functional and fit the game's atmosphere, but lack uniqueness or polish compared to other titles in the genre. Overall, the art style is seen as a double-edged sword, appealing to some for its simplicity and nostalgia, while disappointing others who expected more contemporary visuals.
- “A straightforward metroidvania with a charming art style that I genuinely enjoyed.”
- “It has everything, simple and engaging mechanics, a crude and silent atmosphere; when there is noise, it's explosive. Both visuals and art style are reminiscent of Risk of Rain.”
- “Classic pixel-based graphics; I think it's polished and the choice of colors fits well with the environment.”
- “The graphics are awful, 2/10.”
- “The game has shoddy graphics and clumsily designed controls.”
- “A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel 'art' as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
music
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
63%
20%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the atmospheric soundtrack that enhances immersion, while others criticize it for being overly repetitive and monotonous, leading to frustration. Many users noted that the looping tracks can become unbearable, detracting from the overall experience, despite a few praising the retro synth vibes. Overall, while the music has its fans, it often fails to maintain player engagement due to its lack of variety.
- “The soundtrack builds constant tension, immersing you deeper into the game’s eerie world.”
- “A very challenging side-scroller shooter with awesome music.”
- “Beautifully crafted retro-vibed metroidvania game opening up gamers' curiosity with its mystery, gameplay style, fantasy-horror segments, and amazing soundtrack.”
- “The music is just unlistenable; you can't pause the game (or I don't know how), and there are zero clues on how to do anything, so you just have to figure out the controls by yourself.”
- “The repetitive, 5-second loop of music made it almost unbearable.”
- “Even knowing the music was short, repetitive, and monotonous, I had to pull up my own playlist after shutting it off. It does not maintain volume levels between loads, and I did give the music a chance for the first 10 minutes, which proved the other reviewers right.”
grinding
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and monotonous, particularly during boss fights that lack depth and require repetitive trial-and-error to progress. The limited combat mechanics contribute to a frustrating experience, where players often feel compelled to bypass encounters rather than engage meaningfully. Overall, the game suffers from a lack of engaging gameplay and poor pacing, making the grinding feel more like a chore than a challenge.
- “This extends to the boss fights where there's hardly any skill involved, and instead you're getting 1-hit killed over and over again until you can get back to the part of the fight where you got 1-hit killed because you didn't do the single thing that you needed to do to beat the fight. This is the whole game: figuring out the single thing you need to do to get past the next obstacles, and there's no actual fighting, there's hardly any actual thought, and it becomes such a slog you start dying to the parts you already did over and over again because it becomes so tedious you'd rather start trying to run past or jump over everything than deal with the same cover shooting section again.”
- “There's potential here, but it's like the creator didn't understand what a 'metroidvania' was besides 'you get upgrades at points and need to go left before you can go right.' It's tedious, monotonous, and I can't recommend it.”
- “However, the execution is lacking as the difficulty is just a repeating pattern of cheap deaths, repetitive combat, and tedious room lengths.”
atmosphere
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
11%
33%
The atmosphere of "Paradox Soul" is characterized by a minimalist yet engaging design that evokes feelings of mystery and tension, enhancing the fast-paced action and exploration. While many players appreciate its compact and immersive environment, some feel that the atmosphere could be further developed to maintain long-term interest. Overall, it successfully combines pixelated graphics with a sense of isolation, reminiscent of titles like "Risk of Rain."
- “A minimalist metroidvania packed with mystery, fast-paced action, and an atmosphere that keeps you on edge.”
- “If you enjoy compact metroidvanias with a strong atmosphere and tight action, Paradox Soul is definitely worth your time.”
- “It has everything: simple and engaging mechanics, a crude and silent atmosphere; when there is noise, it's explosive. Both visuals and art style are reminiscent of Risk of Rain.”
- “The atmosphere of isolation and tension.”
- “The graphics and atmosphere are there, but the game doesn't hold interest for long.”
- “This atmosphere could be improved upon though.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, users report a lack of noticeable performance issues, although some feedback is based on limited playtime, such as just 10 minutes of gameplay.
- “I didn't notice any performance issues at all during my playtime.”
- “The game runs smoothly without any noticeable lag or glitches.”
- “Optimization seems to be a strong point, as everything feels responsive and fluid.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a cash grab, with users expressing disappointment over its low quality and likening it to subpar titles typically associated with the developer's history of releasing shovelware.
- “This isn't a PC game; it's a rejected PS Vita handheld game that they dumped onto Steam as a cash grab. It's fully on par with products from this developer and their shovelware-pushing publisher. It's garbage.”
- “GameMaker Studio is most commonly used to make retro pixel shovelware and cash grabs.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has limited replayability, with many users noting that once completed, there is little incentive to play again.
- “Not much replayability.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express frustration with the emotional impact of the game's mechanics, feeling overwhelmed by unavoidable attacks and unfair encounters that lead to a sense of helplessness. This design choice detracts from the overall enjoyment and can evoke feelings of anger and disappointment.