Young Souls

83%
Game Brain Score Based on 203 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Young Souls Game Cover
Young Souls is a fun side-scrolling hack-and-slash, offering deep RPG elements, great writing, and characters you'll care about.
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Young Souls is a fantasy hack and slash game that can be played in both single-player and multi-player modes. Orphaned siblings Jenn and Tristan must navigate and battle in a dangerous parallel world filled with goblins, in search of their missing foster father. With a deep storyline, various weapons and accessories to discover, and the ability to travel between worlds, players must level up and strategize to save their father in this beautiful 2D brawler meets story-rich action RPG.

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

Reviews

83%
Audience ScoreBased on 203 reviews
story35 positive mentions
stability11 negative mentions
  • The game features a charming art style and smooth animations that enhance the overall experience.
  • Combat is engaging and rewarding, with a variety of weapons and a satisfying parry mechanic that encourages skillful play.
  • The story, while simple, is enjoyable and the dialogue between the characters adds humor and personality to the game.
  • The game suffers from balance issues, with difficulty spikes that can make certain sections feel unfair.
  • There are several bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, including issues with item pickups and character animations.
  • The pacing can be slow at times, with lengthy cutscenes and dialogue that may detract from the action.
  • story103 mentions

    The story of the game is generally seen as a mixed bag; while some players appreciate its charm and character development, others criticize it for being predictable, poorly written, or lacking depth. Many reviews highlight that the narrative serves primarily as a backdrop for gameplay rather than a compelling focus, with some noting that it becomes less engaging as the game progresses. Overall, the story is described as simple and fun, but not particularly memorable or impactful.

    • “It has a wonderful story to it, it's a good length (it took me and a friend 14 hours for our first playthrough) and the combat is fairly easy to get the hang of but it takes a lot of skill to be actually good at the combat.”
    • “The game is heavy story-driven but it's really well written and you'll grow fond of the twins.”
    • “Young Souls delivers an amazing experience and a fun beat 'em up with charming visuals, a good story with fun quirky characters, and great to play with a friend!”
    • “Story-wise, it feels that in the end a lot of events are just mashed together at a quick pace and happen one after the other, so it kinda loses impact.”
    • “The beginning message of the game cuts deep, but the plot and parts of dialogue felt like they were for an angsty teen.”
    • “The big problem is just that the story isn't well written.”
  • gameplay84 mentions

    The gameplay of the game is a blend of classic beat-em-up mechanics with modern features, offering a variety of weapons and a tag-team system that enhances combat dynamics. While many players appreciate the fluidity and depth of the combat, including parrying and dodging, there are criticisms regarding unresponsive controls, balance issues, and a lack of replayability. Overall, the game is seen as enjoyable, especially in co-op mode, but it suffers from some frustrating mechanics and a decline in quality towards the end.

    • “The combat is fluid, fast, and skill-based: they nailed the concept of an arcade beat 'em up mixed with a sort of 'Dark Souls' style where parry and dodge play a crucial role if you want to stay alive... it's challenging without being frustrating, I'm really loving the gameplay.”
    • “The various movesets of the different weapons and other mechanics like hotswapping characters (which also can generate an attack) and ranged options (like a bow and magic) keep it interesting in the long run.”
    • “Absolutely love this game so far, fun mechanics and great visuals make for a very good time.”
    • “The dialogue is terrible, the fighting mechanics felt like Castle Crashers, but a lot worse.”
    • “Controls are kinda unresponsive, the hitboxes are really bad, gameplay is inconsistent, no online co-op, 90% of the equipment are useless, magic system is underwhelming, story is boring, backtracking done wrong, level-up system is nothing but annoying, no consistent combos for each weapon type, hit lag too heavy, equip menu is messy, no replayability, small variety of enemies, not much content overall.”
    • “The gameplay is mostly solid, although it is frustratingly common for enemies to hit you when it felt like they shouldn't have, especially when you are fighting a group.”
  • graphics56 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their charming and unique art style, often compared to the aesthetics of Paper Mario, with smooth animations and a visually appealing design. While the visuals are described as beautiful and engaging, some players noted issues with loading times and a lack of variety in the environments. Overall, the game's graphics contribute significantly to its enjoyable gameplay experience, making it a standout feature for many players.

    • “The animation and graphics are just amazing.”
    • “Young Souls delivers an amazing experience and a fun beat 'em up with charming visuals, a good story with fun quirky characters, and great to play with a friend!”
    • “The art style is gorgeous, but the world itself is pretty small with little to nothing to see other than a few interesting characters and bland boring dungeon 3D backgrounds that could very well be asset flips.”
    • “I don't know what takes it so long to load anything since the game isn't that new and the graphics don't look that complex to warrant the waits.”
    • “I believe from rewatching footage that it comes out in 14-15 frames, and 15 (in a 60 fps game) is the bare minimum for a completely prepared person, with nothing else they're thinking about, reacting from visuals alone.”
    • “→levels don’t have much different beside visuals.”
  • music16 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it underwhelming and repetitive, while others appreciate its fitting nature and overall quality. While a few users describe the soundtrack as generic or forgettable, others enjoy it enough to seek out the composer and add the OST to their collection. Overall, the music is seen as decent but not particularly memorable or impactful.

    • “Pretty good story, amazing art, good challenging combat, superb music and sound design.”
    • “The soundtrack is awesome too, although (in my opinion) it gets too silent sometimes.”
    • “I don't recall any music specifically, but that's generally for me a good thing, as it means it fits in well and feels natural without distracting from the gameplay.”
    • “Some ambient music is there, but it gets repetitive fast and you just want to get things done to get out of the map.”
    • “The music is a bit underwhelming, though.”
    • “What little music there is is completely forgettable, unfortunately.”
  • stability11 mentions

    The game has been reported to have several bugs and glitches, particularly in the pause menu and inventory, as well as issues like falling through the world and UI elements getting stuck. While these problems can be annoying, most are not game-breaking and can often be resolved with simple fixes. Overall, players find the game enjoyable despite its stability issues, and there is hope for improvements in future updates.

    • “Unfinished, buggy, amateur trash.”
    • “As well the game has its slew of assorted bugs and glitches, such as falling through the world or getting stuck in objects/terrain when using the teleporter, UI elements getting stuck on-screen, items becoming unable to be picked up, etc. Most are easily remedied by either fast-traveling, loading into a new stage, or other simple fixes, so nothing really game-breaking.”
    • “There are definitely glitches, but since it's only been out for 5 days, I would hope that they are working on them, although none of the glitches that I've encountered are game-breaking; only once did I need to restart the game in order to fix a glitch.”
  • replayability8 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players find it infinitely replayable due to weapon experimentation, others criticize the lack of a new game plus mechanic and limited content, leading to low replay value. Issues such as unresponsive controls, a boring story, and a lack of meaningful endgame content further detract from the experience, although co-op play does enhance replayability for some.

    • “Infinitely replayable.”
    • “Different weapons also allow for experimentation, so there is replay value.”
    • “Co-op adds loads more replay value!”
    • “The lack of a New Game Plus mechanic results in late-game weapons only being usable for a couple of fights, which hurts replay value.”
    • “Controls are unresponsive, hitboxes are really bad, gameplay is inconsistent, and there is no online co-op. 90% of the equipment is useless, the magic system is underwhelming, the story is boring, backtracking is poorly implemented, the level-up system is annoying, there are no consistent combos for each weapon type, hit lag is too heavy, the equipment menu is messy, and there is no replayability. There is a small variety of enemies and not much content overall (100% in 14 hours), and there aren't even procedurally generated infinite dungeons. The recommended difficulty is too easy (I beat it solo without leveling anything).”
    • “It doesn't have much replayability, though.”
  • grinding7 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be somewhat tedious, particularly due to the need to return to specific areas for gear updates and leveling up. While some appreciate the balance between challenge and progression, others feel that the grinding can detract from the overall experience, especially for those seeking a more action-oriented gameplay. Suggestions for improvement include better access to upgrade materials and a transmog system for gear customization.

    • “The game does not feel well balanced at their default settings as you start off grinding a lot before you get the skill level drip you would expect.”
    • “It feels like a really tedious process to have to go home to level up, then go to the gym to upgrade stats.”
    • “100% achievements will probably take you a bit longer for the gold farming ones.”
  • humor6 mentions

    The humor in the game is highlighted by its amusing character designs, particularly the goblins, and the comedic development of the protagonists, who are portrayed as both adorable and arrogant. Players find the writing to be entertaining, especially in the early stages, with moments of hilarity arising from gameplay mechanics that allow for easy enemy defeats. Overall, the humor contributes to a fun and engaging experience, despite some criticisms of the writing quality later in the game.

    • “The goblin designs are funny and the protagonists are adorable, despite the game's attempts to pass them off as arrogant teenagers.”
    • “The two young jerks that you play as were hilarious and showed amazing character development as the game went on.”
    • “Young Souls starts off story-heavy with some funny writing.”
  • optimization5 mentions

    The game's optimization is mixed; while it performs well on the Steam Deck, players may need to adjust settings for consistent frame rates due to suboptimal optimization. Additionally, the presence of bugs can affect performance ratings, leading to variable player experiences. Overall, while some users report great performance, others highlight significant optimization issues.

    • “Mostly good performance on Steam Deck.”
    • “Depending on the player's performance, it is possible to receive one star or even five stars in the activity, which is equivalent to more points.”
    • “Performance is great.”
    • “The game is not optimized very well, so expect to use high TDP to achieve consistent FPS.”
    • “The game is riddled with bugs, severely impacting performance.”
    • “Depending on the player's performance, it is possible to receive one star or even five stars in the activity, which affects the points earned.”
  • character development4 mentions

    Character development in the game is notably mixed; while some players appreciate the hilarious evolution of the two main characters, others feel that overall character growth is lacking. The distinct character designs and dynamic cinematic presentation are praised, but the straightforward storyline leaves little room for deeper character exploration.

    • “The two young characters you play as were hilarious and showed amazing character development as the game went on.”
    • “While the explicit style may not appeal to all, the character designs are distinct and varied, and the cinematic work is unique, interesting, and dynamic.”
    • “Interesting gameplay, straightforward storyline, some soul-like experiences, and great character design!”
    • “Additionally, there really isn't any character development, either.”
  • atmosphere2 mentions

    The atmosphere of "Young Souls" is highly praised for its engaging depth and immersive storytelling, making it a compelling experience for players willing to invest time. Its side-scrolling beat-em-up design strikes a balance between accessibility and depth, enhancing the overall ambiance of the game.

    • “If you're looking for something with great atmosphere, story, and gameplay that assumes you've got a bit of time to settle into a groove with it, I definitely highly recommend Young Souls.”
    • “A side-scrolling beat-em-up with just enough depth and atmosphere to make it both engaging and easy to jump in and out of.”
  • emotional1 mentions

    Many users felt a lack of emotional connection with the characters, indicating that the game's narrative or character development may not effectively engage players on an emotional level.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

87% average critic score

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Play time

4hMedian play time
4hAverage play time
4-4hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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