For this Stray Souls Review, we unlock the secrets hidden within the haunted town of Aspen Falls, featuring gruesome enemy encounters, epic bosses, cunning puzzles, and a deep story where not everyone is who they seem. Play as Daniel – an average teenager whose life is forever changed after inheriting the home of his estranged grandmother and meeting a mysterious woman with intimate knowledge about his family, the house, and its shocking connection to his past. The gameplay elements inspired by classic horror combat with soulslike precision put a fresh spin on the modern action-horror genre.
- Decent graphics.
- 26.35GB Download size.
- Platinum trophy.
- You get the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions of the game.
- Controller settings - Invert axis and sensitivity sliders.
- In-game cutscenes.
- A 3D world with 360-degree camera control.
- Goes for a cinematic camera view system.
- 3rd person view.
- You can pet the dog!
- Horror aspects throughout from subtle nods to jump scares.
- A lot of puzzles to solve as you go through.
- Auto saves regularly.
- The story is a series of murders that happened in this house and then 18 years later a young kid starts to learn what happened.
- A torch is used most of the time to fit the atmosphere.
- After you get out of the house the game does open up a lot and gives a bit more freedom.
- Has some really solid ideas and gameplay sequences.
- Third-person view.
- Eventually, you get a gun and can shoot the spirits.
- The lighting and weather effects do look really good.
- All items and enemy placements are randomized.
- When they do the subtle horror with things like a glancing shadow or object movement, It adds a lot to the game and is very effective.
- Going more Silent Hill than Resident Evil but it does straddle both lines.
Stray Souls Review Cons:
- Really small text and the game starts off very text-heavy.
- The game has this weird stutter-shaking effect when you go too close to a wall in the attic or randomly when using stairs.
- Forces you to run a very strict narrative, with no deviation.
- Puzzles don't always have a clear theme or help.
- Cannot rebind controls.
- Facial expressions don't fit and look out of place most of the time.
- Had a few hard cuts between scenes.
- You can only let the dog once.
- As the story progresses and things change the dog never reacts.
- It's all over the place with instances being common like getting grabbed by a "force" and getting dragged along the floor then getting up and going into a room and commenting on how you need food or a haircut.
- Puzzles just get chucked at you.
- The animation and general look of the *scary person* are comical from their movement to how they peer around corners.
- All the performance issues really ruin what could be a good game experience.
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Stray Souls:
Official website.
Developer: Jukai Studio
Publisher: Versus Evil
Store Links -
PlayStation
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