Stray Souls

About

Stray Souls is a single player survival action adventure game with a horror theme. It was developed by Jukai Studio and was released on October 25, 2023. It received negative reviews from players.

Enter a world of nightmares in this third person, action-horror, inspired by the classics of the genre. Fight terrifying creatures, solve mind-bending puzzles, and unravel a horrid family secret to expose the chilling truth behind your existence.Unlock the secrets hidden within the haunted town of Aspen Falls, featuring gruesome enemy encounters, epic bosses, cunning puzzles, and a deep story wher…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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38%

Audience ScoreBased on 222 reviews

story30 positive mentions

gameplay6 negative mentions

The puzzles are fun and engaging, providing a good challenge.
The game has an interesting storyline with multiple endings that keeps players intrigued.
The graphics and sound design are impressive, creating a creepy atmosphere reminiscent of classic horror games.

The game is riddled with bugs and glitches that significantly hinder gameplay.
The combat mechanics are poorly executed, making encounters frustrating and unchallenging.
The story is often confusing and poorly presented, leading to a lack of immersion and connection with the characters.

story
130 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
61%
16%
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its intriguing premise and multiple endings, while others criticize it for being confusing, poorly executed, and lacking depth. Many noted that character actions often feel arbitrary and the narrative is cluttered with disjointed lore, leading to a frustrating experience. Overall, while there are elements of potential, the storytelling is hampered by bugs and a lack of polish, leaving players feeling unsatisfied.
- “The storyline of 'Stray Souls' is a masterclass in psychological intrigue.”
- “The writing is sharp and compelling, a testament to the studio's commitment to storytelling.”
- “In conclusion, 'Stray Souls' marks an impressive debut for the studio, showcasing their prowess in storytelling and ambition in puzzle design.”
- “The story is poorly shown or written; the obvious negative part is the gameplay and infinite bugs. In this condition, the game shouldn't have been presented.”
- “The story is unfortunately also not great and all over the place; the puzzles are confusing and made for developers and not for players, and the audio normalization for anything that goes on in this game is null and void.”
- “If you want a polished game with a deep intricate plot, then you probably won't find it here.”
graphics
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
40%
7%
The graphics of the game have received generally positive feedback, with many reviewers praising the impressive visuals powered by Unreal Engine 5, which enhance the game's horror aesthetic and environmental design. While some comments noted that the graphics are not groundbreaking or next-gen, they are considered a strong point of the game, contributing significantly to the overall experience. However, a few reviews pointed out that the visuals may have overshadowed other aspects, suggesting that the budget may have been primarily allocated to graphics.
- “Visuals are great as expected from Unreal Engine 5.”
- “The game’s environmental assets are its best asset — the game looks good and the models (both character and enemy) are appropriate and fitting with the horrific aesthetic.”
- “Stray Souls excels in all three important areas: story, music, and graphics.”
- “From the chosen aesthetic alone, you can see all the games that Stray Souls wants to be - all the games that you should be playing instead.”
- “Stupid story, bad graphics.”
- “Graphics and visuals (2/5):”
gameplay
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
76%
16%
The gameplay has been widely criticized for its numerous technical issues, including glitchy mechanics, unintuitive puzzle controls, and poor enemy pathing, which detract from the overall experience. While the atmosphere draws inspiration from classic horror games, it ultimately fails to deliver a satisfying survival horror experience, leaving many players disappointed. Despite some potential for improvement, the current state of the gameplay makes it hard to recommend.
- “The sense of atmosphere gives the fear of Silent Hill with not knowing what is ahead, the mechanics of Resident Evil, the audio of Slender Man, and the memories of all the classic horror games the horror community comes to love.”
- “The best shining light about the entire game is the gameplay.”
- “So.... I will recommend it, but just for the music and maybe because they will improve the mechanics.”
- “The gameplay has several faults like unintuitive puzzle controls, poor enemy pathing, and lackluster boss battles.”
- “Way too glitchy, couldn't even fight the first boss without having trouble with broken game mechanics.”
- “The gameplay misses the point of survival horror completely.”
music
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
49%
8%
The music in the game, composed by Akira Yamaoka, has received mixed reviews; while many praise its quality and atmospheric contribution, others feel it lacks prominence and memorability, with only the credits song standing out. Despite some criticisms regarding its dominance in certain scenes, the soundtrack is generally regarded as a highlight, adding significant value to the overall experience. Overall, while the music is appreciated, it is suggested that players approach the game with tempered expectations regarding gameplay.
- “The music, creature designs, and the overall visuals of the game were great.”
- “For a brief moment, I was given hope that the game would be good as some banging music by Akira Yamaoka started to play.”
- “Stray Souls excels in all three important areas: story, music, and graphics.”
- “Disappointingly, the music wasn’t really prominent and I can’t think of any song other than the credits song that was even the faintest bit memorable — I even thought that the electric guitar in the opening scene might’ve been a bit dominant and heavy-handed.”
- “So, it’s a budget game, grab it when on discount, listen to the music, and hopefully the gameplay is fixed so the game is more tolerable.”
- “I cannot believe that the venerated music composer of Silent Hill signed up for this; it must have been a slow month.”
stability
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from numerous stability issues, including significant bugs and glitches that hinder gameplay, such as problems with aiming during critical moments and frustrating camera angles. These technical flaws often detract from the overall experience, making it difficult for players to engage with the game's intended atmosphere. While some players find humor in the glitches, the overwhelming consensus is that the game's stability is a major drawback.
- “There are a lot of bugs and glitches (for example, not being able to aim in the first boss fight).”
- “It's almost impossible to feel scared due to the number of glitches that trivialize anything spooky into something ridiculous.”
- “Took me 8 hours to beat, and just like the demo, it is buggy and the camera angles were giving me a headache.”
atmosphere
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
30%
13%
The game's atmosphere is heavily influenced by classic horror titles, evoking feelings of dread and mystery akin to Silent Hill and Resident Evil, with commendable sound design that enhances the experience. While many players appreciate the immersive and nostalgic ambiance, some express disappointment, feeling that the gameplay diverges into less atmospheric territory with cheap jump scares and shooter mechanics. Overall, the atmosphere is generally well-received, though opinions vary on its execution and alignment with survival horror expectations.
- “The horror atmosphere and sound design is superb.”
- “Although a bit on the short side, this adventure is exceptionally atmospheric.”
- “The levels do carry this dreadful and mysterious atmosphere, and that’s successfully conveyed through its presentation.”
- “Horror and dread can be a delicate atmosphere that can be difficult to maintain.”
- “While I may be treading on the fringes of speculation, the game's atmosphere and narrative complexity only fueled my suspicions.”
humor
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is largely described as unintentional, with players finding it amusing despite—or perhaps because of—the game's attempts at horror. Many reviewers noted that the character reactions and glitches contributed to a comedic experience, leading to a mix of "good bad" humor that may not align with the game's intended tone. Overall, while the game may not succeed in its primary goal, it offers a surprisingly funny experience that can entertain players.
- “On the plus side, the environments and models look great, the leading voice actors did a great job and the sound effects are strong, and lastly the game is unintentionally very funny.”
- “It wasn't scary and at points became so funny when they tried to make it scary.”
- “This game is funny in ways that it could never be if it was trying to be funny.”
optimization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players noting significant issues such as poor optimization and lack of custom key mapping, which detracted from their experience. While overall performance was generally good with only minor frame rate drops, many felt the game felt stiff and overly scripted, leading to a less fluid gameplay experience.
- “Overall game performance was good; there were a couple of areas where my frame rate dropped a little, but nothing unplayable.”
- “Poorly optimized and no custom key mapping is an instant return for me as I play on a custom keyboard.”
- “It feels poorly optimized and stiff; in addition, there are many triggers that feel quite scripted.”
- “Performance and bugs (2/5):”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players frequently describe the grinding aspect of the game as tedious, particularly noting that many puzzles require excessive wandering and can lead to frustration. This has prompted some to seek external help, such as walkthrough videos, to progress through challenging sections, especially in the forest levels.
- “The two forest levels were a bit annoying and tedious.”
- “I did find a lot of the puzzles to be a bit tedious, leading me to wander for ages and eventually breaking down and looking up someone else's video to figure out what I needed to do.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been criticized for its low replayability, with multiple users rating it just 1 out of 5. Players feel that once completed, there is little incentive to revisit the game due to a lack of varied content or engaging mechanics.
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
While the story's logic was criticized, the emotional impact of the ending resonated strongly with players, evoking tears and leaving a lasting impression.
- “The story was kind of illogical (which is why I knocked a star off), but I have to admit that the ending made me cry a bit.”