Soul Gambler

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In Soul Gambler, a modern adaptation of Goethe’s Faust, you play as Faust, selling your soul in installments for wish fulfillment. Your choices determine the story’s outcome through this interactive graphic novel, featuring comic book-style illustrations and environments. Will you maintain your soul or succumb to temptation?

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

82%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,248 reviews

story386 positive mentions

grinding15 negative mentions

Interesting story with multiple endings and choices that matter.
Unique comic book art style that enhances the experience.
Engaging gameplay that encourages replayability to explore different paths.

Very short game, typically completed in under an hour.
Lack of a skip option for previously read dialogue makes replaying tedious.
Some grammatical errors and awkward translations detract from the overall experience.

story
962 mentions
40 % positive mentions
57 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its intriguing premise and the ability to make choices that affect the narrative. However, several critiques highlight that the story is relatively short and linear, often leading to similar outcomes regardless of player decisions, which diminishes the impact of those choices. Overall, while the art and concept are praised, the execution leaves some players wanting a more developed and expansive storyline.
- “The story is excellent and is influenced by your initially chosen stats and later choices.”
- “The story had me intrigued, but not interested.”
- “The story is very intriguing, not boring at all, and I found myself clamoring to know which ending I would get (there are multiple endings).”
- “The story is not that exciting at all.”
- “The plot was kind of the weakest point for me personally; it seemed a little bit naive and forgettable.”
- “The story is shallow and was obviously written in another language and then poorly translated.”
graphics
205 mentions
59 % positive mentions
40 % neutral mentions
1 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally well-received, with many players appreciating the comic book art style and vibrant visuals that enhance the storytelling experience. While some critiques mention a lack of resolution options and static images, the overall aesthetic is considered charming and fitting for the narrative, contributing to a unique and immersive atmosphere. Despite some minor technical issues, the artwork is often highlighted as a standout feature, making the game visually appealing.
- “The visuals are fantastic and the storyline is intriguing.”
- “The comic book-style artwork is nice, and pretty unique compared to other visual novels on Steam which are almost all anime artwork.”
- “The art style is smooth and simple but nice.”
- “There's no options to change the resolution for the e-book or customize the graphics settings.”
- “What disappoints me the most is the change in art style and sometimes forced ending.”
- “The music is annoying and the art style leaves much to be desired with its unoriginal style, flat images and poor choices in color.”
music
163 mentions
36 % positive mentions
48 % neutral mentions
16 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting that while it can be atmospheric and fitting, it suffers from poor looping and repetitiveness, which detracts from the overall experience. Some users found the soundtrack to be decent but not particularly memorable, often describing it as annoying due to its abrupt transitions and lack of variety. Overall, while the music adds some ambiance, its execution leaves much to be desired, leading to a consensus that improvements in this area would significantly enhance the game's immersion.
- “Greatly immersive and story-driven game with basic yet enjoyable graphics and music that everyone will love.”
- “The art and music suit the tone, and the story pacing is good.”
- “The music changes with the scenery, and during 'dark world' scenes - which can occur and conclude very quickly - the music will react accordingly; this aspect of the game is very well-done.”
- “Bewilderingly, the e-book doesn't include proper audio controls, so while you can turn off the annoying background music, you'll need to alt+tab out and stop the rest of the UI audio using the Windows sound mixer.”
- “The music is also pretty bad; it consists of short background loops, but you can hear very clearly when it starts again, which is annoying.”
- “The soundtrack is short and often badly looped, which ruins the mood and immersion.”
replayability
102 mentions
31 % positive mentions
63 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability due to its multiple endings and meaningful choices that affect the storyline, making it engaging for players who enjoy exploring different outcomes. While some users noted the short playtime (around 1-2 hours) and repetitive dialogue as potential drawbacks, many still found value in replaying to uncover all story branches and achievements. Overall, it is considered a solid visual novel with a good balance of replay value, despite some limitations.
- “The game is highly replayable if you want to know more about the story, the characters, yourself, the situation, or even just to see different options play out.”
- “The multiple outcomes added a lot of replay value to the game: a single run of the game lasts about one hour and you can get up to five different endings.”
- “The story is lovely and it has a lot of replayability due to the different choices you can make.”
- “There is no replay value, and I wouldn't consider ever coming back to it; one more title to hold in my game library.”
- “Yes, it's a short game and can be blitzed through with replayability non-existent since it's the same thing over and over again.”
- “The replay value falls off after about two or three playthroughs because there are certain things that will happen every time and others that will happen most of the time regardless of your choices, so it gets boring to have to skip through dialogue you know already.”
gameplay
79 mentions
22 % positive mentions
75 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this visual novel is primarily focused on clicking through dialogue and making choices that influence the story, with minimal interactive mechanics. While some players appreciate the interesting "soul gambling" mechanic and the potential for varied endings, many criticize the shallow gameplay and poorly written dialogue, leading to a mixed reception overall. The game is best suited for those who enjoy narrative-driven experiences rather than traditional gameplay.
- “The gameplay mechanics are fairly easy from then on; it being a visual novel, you’re presented with the story as it unfolds and given chances to interact: do you want to do this or do that?”
- “The 'soul gambling' mechanic and basic RPG statistic elements that lead to different options are well implemented and choices lead to poignant and rewarding consequences.”
- “Gameplay is straightforward and fun while the story is well written and engrossing.”
- “As a visual/interactive novel, this doesn't feature any notable gameplay; it's just a lot of clicking through badly written dialogue that would never have been accepted or published in print, which poses the question, 'how did something this badly written end up on Steam?'”
- “The choices are stupid and the mechanics are weak.”
- “Otherwise, there is very little in terms of gameplay; most of the time is spent clicking to advance the dialog.”
humor
23 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players appreciating its blend of comic book art style and dark humor that addresses modern issues. Many found the writing and dialogue to be funny, leading to moments of genuine laughter and engagement, while the game's quirky charm and replay value were highlighted. However, some noted that while the humor is enjoyable, it may not be exceptional, with a few instances of unintentional comedy stemming from poor grammar.
- “Enjoyed the comic book art style and the story has a decent blend of humor in it.”
- “This game made me laugh, it made me smile, made me confused, sad, happy, and a whole lot of in-between.”
- “I was laughing out loud at multiple points in the story.”
atmosphere
19 mentions
63 % positive mentions
21 % neutral mentions
16 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is a mixed bag, with many players praising its detailed art style and atmospheric music that enhances immersion. While some find the overall atmosphere engaging and reminiscent of adult browser games, others feel it lacks depth and can be flat at times. Overall, the visual presentation and sound design contribute positively to the game's ambiance, despite some criticisms regarding character dialogue and repetitiveness in music.
- “Very nice art style and atmosphere.”
- “I would say the art is its strongest side, especially the backgrounds that can be very detailed and atmospheric.”
- “A great game with a very engrossing atmosphere.”
- “Atmosphere is non-existent.”
- “So the whole atmosphere feels a little flatter than it should.”
- “This game reminds me a lot of those adult video games in browsers that have a strange atmosphere.”
grinding
15 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and repetitive, primarily due to slow dialogue progression and the lack of fast-forward or skip options. Players find that multiple playthroughs to unlock achievements and explore different routes become monotonous, as they are forced to click through familiar content at a frustratingly slow pace. Overall, while some enjoy the content, the grinding nature detracts significantly from the experience.
- “The game felt tedious to me.”
- “Unfortunately, it hasn't been set up to allow fast forwarding or skipping in any sense, so multiple playthroughs to see all the different routes and achievements gets tedious real fast.”
- “After that, unlocking the achievements and the rest (hidden parts) of the story takes quite a lot of grinding.”
emotional
5 mentions
80 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
20 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate a mixed emotional impact from the game; while some players find it touching and engaging when fully immersed in the character's choices, others feel the music lacks emotional depth and the story fails to captivate, resulting in a lack of overall emotional engagement.
- “It is a touching game if you take your time and just do what you would do by having the same choices and chances as the main character has.”
- “It helps carry what is ultimately a boring story.”
stability
4 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from various stability issues, including technical glitches, typos, and continuity errors, which contribute to an amateurish feel. Despite these problems, some players still found enjoyment in the overall experience.
- “Some of the glitches seemed to be poor translations, while others appeared to be flat-out typos.”
- “Despite the spelling and grammar errors, the technical glitches, and the continuity errors, I still enjoyed this game.”
- “The work comes off as amateurish when there are glitches and typos in the game.”
character development
4 mentions
75 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
Character development in the game features a mix of appealing and stereotypical designs, with some characters being well-received while others are criticized for their creepiness. Overall, the inconsistency in character design detracts from the potential for deeper character development.
- “Some of the character designs were pretty cool.”
- “Oh, some of the character designs are pretty good too.”
- “There are some nice character designs.”
- “Character designs are as stereotypical as you can get, which is a shame.”
- “The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with anyone.”
- “I was disappointed by how predictable the character arcs were; there was no real growth or surprise.”
optimization
3 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game is generally well-optimized, running smoothly on licensed Windows systems. However, the lack of control options beyond mouse input can lead to repetitive actions, particularly during multiple playthroughs.
- “The game runs smoothly, which enhances the overall experience.”
- “I use licensed Windows, and this game runs without any issues.”
- “The only downside is the reliance on mouse controls, which can lead to repetitive clicking after multiple playthroughs.”