Soul Axiom
- February 29, 2016
- Wales Interactive
- 5h median play time
There’s something to be said about esoteric, formless, almost alien experiences in art.
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Get on Xbox Games Store"Soul Axiom" is a first-person sci-fi adventure game set in the virtual afterlife. As the player, you'll solve puzzles, manipulate objects, and uncover the story of your character's past lives and deaths. With surrealistic, visually-stunning environments, the game offers a thought-provoking exploration of life, death, and the nature of reality.
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Reviews
- Soul Axiom features a unique and intriguing narrative that explores themes of memory and consciousness, providing a compelling backdrop for the gameplay.
- The game boasts colorful graphics and a distinct art style reminiscent of titles like Myst and Tron, creating an engaging atmosphere.
- Puzzles vary in difficulty and can be quite inventive, offering moments of satisfaction when solved, especially for fans of the genre.
- The gameplay suffers from poor execution, with frustrating controls and a lack of clear guidance on puzzle solutions, leading to confusion and backtracking.
- Many levels are criticized for being poorly designed, often feeling repetitive and lacking in meaningful engagement, which detracts from the overall experience.
- The save system is problematic, as players cannot save progress mid-level, forcing them to restart entire levels if they need to take a break or encounter bugs.
- story145 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as intriguing and well-crafted, with a unique delivery that unfolds through collectibles and cutscenes, encouraging exploration and engagement. However, some players find it derivative of other titles like Bioshock, and there are criticisms regarding its pacing and coherence, with certain elements feeling disconnected or bland. Overall, while the narrative has compelling aspects and a beautiful setting, it can be overshadowed by gameplay issues and a lack of clarity.
“I went on an intriguing journey, faced difficulties that put me in danger during my mission.”
“The setting is beautiful and interesting, and the story is dropped in just small enough pieces that you want to know more.”
“The story unfolds as you play, leaving you wanting to find out what exactly is going on.”
“Now you can, but you will forget the plot and you will ask yourself, 'Where am I in this story?'”
“I have absolutely no idea what the point of them was or how they even have anything to do with the story, even after beating the game.”
“The last point I want to make is the story, if you could even call it that.”
- graphics75 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 51 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the colorful and artistic design reminiscent of Tron, while others criticize the rough visuals and outdated cutscenes that detract from the overall experience. Many players appreciate the unique art style and atmospheric elements, but some find the graphics simplistic or glitchy, leading to a less immersive experience. Overall, the visuals are seen as a blend of appealing aesthetics and technical shortcomings, impacting enjoyment differently for each player.
“Amazing art style.”
“The graphics are stunning & gorgeous.”
“For a small studio, this game has excellent graphic and sound design, and a decent, if somewhat stale, sci-fi plot.”
“It is painfully clear after some hours how much of the graphics got reused over and over again.”
“Next is the graphics... absolutely awful stuff.”
“Even on ultra graphics, I still felt like I was playing a PS2 game, especially since the cutscenes are rendered in 360p.”
- gameplay58 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Soul Axiom" is a mixed bag, featuring inventive puzzle mechanics and unique powers that manipulate the environment, but marred by repetitive backtracking, a frustrating user interface, and occasional bugs. While some players appreciate the originality and depth of the puzzles, others find the execution lacking, leading to a frustrating experience that detracts from the overall enjoyment. Overall, the game offers interesting concepts but struggles with consistency and polish in its gameplay execution.
“Wonderful gameplay.”
“The story is cryptic and interesting, and gameplay is fun if slightly repetitive.”
“Gameplay: 10/10 (puzzles are perfectly crafted, and game mechanics are... purely awesome)”
“The whole gameplay is based on backtracking and repetition after repetition and quite a lot of trial and error until you find by accident what to do.”
“Interesting topics to think about, but gameplay-wise it is absolutely horrible.”
“This game, however, falls very flat in its gameplay, which frustrated me enough to not finish it.”
- music20 mentions
- 90 % positive mentions
- 10 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere, contributing to a spooky and immersive experience. With a diverse soundtrack featuring around 50 memorable tracks, players appreciate how the music complements the visuals and gameplay, earning high ratings such as 9/10. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout element that adds depth and enjoyment to the game.
“The music is great, adds to the game's ambience and creates more immersion while playing.”
“The soundtrack is beautiful, the design is well executed, and the atmosphere is simply great.”
“In Wales Interactive, there are very responsible and talented people; the plot in the game is very interesting and delightful, and it also has a cool 50 songs that may be remembered by you personally.”
- atmosphere19 mentions
- 68 % positive mentions
- 16 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in the game is widely praised for its cool concept, varied level design, and strong art direction, creating a blend of peaceful yet creepy elements that enhance the overall experience. Many reviewers highlight the effective use of soundtracks and visual effects, such as depth of field, to amplify the unreal and abstract ambiance. However, some express concerns about the execution, suggesting that while the atmosphere is compelling, it may not fully compensate for gameplay shortcomings.
“Freaky atmosphere and very cool style carries over from the original; the puzzles and levels are great. This is good value, and I hope the developer keeps making these games!”
“The soundtrack is beautiful, the design is well executed, and the atmosphere is simply great.”
“Behind the really peaceful atmosphere lurks a dark, creepy presence.”
“The atmosphere in this is very minimal and that is exactly what they need.”
“Especially the depth of field effect really enhances the unreal and abstract atmosphere.”
- optimization11 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is praised for its smooth and visually appealing engine, with most users reporting good performance. However, some players experienced issues, particularly on Linux, where performance was notably poor, and there were occasional struggles during specific in-game actions like shattering objects. Additionally, concerns about middling performance and puzzle design were mentioned, indicating room for improvement.
“Attractive puzzles, highly optimized, pleasing to the eye.”
“Note that the engine runs smoothly and beautifully and is itself not glitchy at all.”
“Performance was mostly good except I noticed the engine struggled a bit when you shatter something, like wood or ice, but the game was never unplayable.”
“Even at the lowest setting, it still has abysmal performance on Linux (unplayable in 4K, stutters randomly at 1080p).”
“There are downsides though, with performance and puzzle design often middling and sometimes poor, which both drag the experience back somewhat.”
“Improve the optimization, please.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game experiences notable stability issues, particularly on Linux, with persistent graphical glitches and gameplay bugs that, while generally manageable, detract from the overall experience. Additionally, players have reported frustrating glitches and performance problems that contribute to a lackluster gameplay experience.
“It has some graphical glitches on Linux that the developers can't/won't fix.”
“Sadly, it's also full of boring puzzles, an uninteresting story, horrid cutscenes, and some of the worst glitches I've seen in a video game.”
“[Awful graphics, some frustrating glitches, game drags on well past its welcome]”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players initially struggle to connect emotionally with the game due to its abstract and otherworldly scenarios, but as the narrative unfolds and context is provided, they begin to feel a sense of accomplishment and engagement. The challenges ultimately contribute to a rewarding experience that enhances emotional investment.
“At first, I had trouble finding emotional access to the game, because there was no context of how to interpret the literally otherworldly situations, but then eventually the world was explained and made sense.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Reviewers indicate that the game's replayability is primarily tied to the unique experiences it offers, though many do not foresee themselves replaying it.
“The game offers a unique experience that makes it worth replaying.”
“Each playthrough provides a different perspective, enhancing its replayability.”
“The variety of choices and outcomes encourages players to revisit the game.”
“The game would be replayable only for the 'experience'.”
Critic Reviews
Soul Axiom Review
In conclusion then, Soul Axiom is a slow burning game, but one that satisfies if you engage with the world and its lore. The pacing won't be to everyone's liking, as it isn't a fast paced, reaction based experience, but it is compelling more because of this than in spite of it. Add to this the numerous monkeys to be found, as well as three possible endings and the game has more longevity than the average puzzler. If you fancy having your grey matter teased, you could do a lot worse than this.
70%Soul Axiom Review - Please Delete this Memory
Soul Axiom has a few fantastic puzzles and some lovely environments. Sadly its also full of boring puzzles, an uninteresting story, horrid cutscenes, and some of the worst glitches I've seen in a video game.
40%Soul Axiom Review
Undoubtedly, fans of abstract puzzle games will find a lot to enjoy here. But those not so inclined to stick with something a little frustrating and overtly self-insistent perhaps may prefer to wait for the next reboot of this intriguing but poorly executed experience. Where Journey uses the concept of abstract, indirect storytelling to its empowerment, Soul Axiom ends up leaning on it like a crutch when it suits, much to its detriment in terms of the overall experience. The confusing PR description of the game, which is nothing like the experience you actually get, is testament to that muddled framework. This is well worth a go, but it is not a polished gem by any stretch of the imagination.
40%
