SOULCALIBUR 6

The latest game in a series that doesn’t need an introduction for any veteran fighting game’s fan, Soulcalibur VI continues the legacy of the franchise with a renewed roster and the same solid controls it’s always been known for.

Those players who are interested in the ongoing lore of the Soulcalibur franchise will find that the decision to reboot the story offers some interesting new possibilities for the series going forward. If you’re only interested in the basic fighting mechanics of the game, and really don’t care about the story, don’t worry: this is as good a fighting game as they get.

Revisiting the Stage of History

If you’ve never played a fighting game other than Street Fighter or Tekken, then the concept of Soulcalibur VI might be a bit alien at first. Unlike the vast majority of fighting games available, Soulcalibur has never been about characters beating each other with fists or energy blasts: it’s all about their weapons.

Each character has a weapon that’s more or less unique to them: Mitsurugi has a katana while Siegfried wields a Zweihander. This means that every character plays entirely different from each other, and players have to factor in values like weapon ranges and speed when facing their opponents.

Soulcalibur VI is both a prequel and a reboot of the franchise. While the previous game in the series featured some new characters as the story of the Soul Edge moved forward, here we see some characters that we’re familiar with as they appeared in their mid 90s games.

Fans of the series who’ve grown used to using characters like Patroklos and Zwei might be a bit disappointed by their absence, but being a reboot means that some new characters also appear in the Soulcalibur VI roster.

Newcomers like Groh and Azwel are great new additions to the series. Other veteran characters, like the aforementioned Mitsurugi, also received some proper revisions to make them more competitive when compared to the rest of the new roster.

Create and Admire

Creating a custom character has always been one of the most entertaining aspects of any Soulcalibur game. Starting with Soulcalibur III, this feature has been a fan-favorite ever since, allowing players to create a character that reflects both their play style and their fashion sensibilities.

Character creation is back and better than ever in Soulcalibur VI. Aside from the thousands of customizable equipment parts to choose from, players can also modify each individual piece of their character’s anatomy.

Thanks to the power of Unreal Engine 4, every character in the game (even player-created ones) looks positively amazing. Particle effects and volumetric lighting looks superb, accentuating the action of every fight amazingly well.

Another thing that fans should be on the lookout for is this game’s collaboration characters. Making a comeback from The Witcher III is Geralt of Rivia, while the ravishing android 2-B returns after being introduced in Yoko Taro’s NieR: Automata.

With a roster that manages to introduce some interesting new characters and revitalize some of the franchise’s staples, Soulcalibur VI easily becomes the best entry in the series, and a serious contender for the title of the best fighting game ever made.

Pros

• Amazing visuals
• Fluid gameplay
• Smooth animations and excellent hitboxes
• Excellent roster and entertaining character creation

Cons

• Too much DLC