Soulstice is the upcoming new IP from Reply Game Studios, which made its debut at E3 under two weeks ago. Since then, fans of Soulslike games and action games focused on combat seem very keen to know what's next. Ever since the reveal trailer dropped, some players started noticing how Soulstice has a lot in common with more than video games, thanks to its deep connections to Japanese manga of the caliber of Claymore and Berserk. The game's dark fantasy atmosphere is something that it shares with Kentaro Miura's work, as Fabio Pagetti and Samuele Perseo told Game ZXC during an interview.
Soulstice is a tribute not only to Miura's work, but to Japanese games, manga, and anime in general. The influences of Capcom's Devil May Cry are huge, and even more so those from Miura's dark tones and European fantasy settings, especially with Soulstice being developed by an Italian studio that tapped into the best of both worlds. The world-building and lore are key elements in Soulstice and the city of Ilden, the place where all of the game is set.
Characters and Dark Fantasy in Soulstice Compared to Miura's Berserk
Pagetti spoke about how Reply Game Studios' first two games had an impact on Soulstice as well, especially Theseus, thanks to it being developed using Unreal Engine. This allowed the team to become more acquainted with the tools prior to this current project. While from day one Pagetti was very clear about how the game was a tribute to Japanese media, he also made sure that this didn't turn into a way to mirror Japanese culture. Soulstice still retains these European undertones with the way characters are brought to life. Perseo explained the context behind the decision of making Soulstice's world akin to that of DarkSouls, Berserk, and other IPs.
"Especially Devil May Cry and Bayonetta are set in a sort of fantasy present world, whereas Nier Automata is more sci-fi-oriented, obviously. We found it interesting that in that genre of stylish combat there was room, we thought, for a middle ages world with a dark fantasy and low-fantasy setting."
Even having two protagonists was inspired by both Dark Souls 3, specifically, and sort of worked its way into a Berserk comparison that was aptly made by Pagetti during the interview. In the case of Dark Souls 3, the inspiration was the boss encounter where players have to defeat two brothers, Lorian and Lothric, who basically fight together and whose relationship is shown through their every move. With Berserk, Pagetti said that as soon as the early concept art was ready for Soulstice main characters Briar and Lute, he associated them with Guts and Schierke; the swordsman and the young witch.
It's an apt comparison; Briar is actually a swordswoman that does share some physical similarities with Guts, like a metal hand and a missing eye, whereas her sister Lute is a spirit bound to Briar that controls the battlefield with her mystical powers. Pagetti also explained why he thinks Miura's work has been a great source of inspiration for the genre as a whole, rather than Soulstice alone, and how the developer himself was touched by the manga artist's influence:
"If you take a look at other games, they have a lot of small things or bigger things they take from the work of Kentaro Miura. He influenced me even before I started to work in the industry of video games because I started by drawing comics. In his work, especially the relationships between the characters in the first part of the manga, in the golden age, it did absolutely [influence me], yes."
According to Perseo, Miura's inspiration for Berserk coming from mercenary companies in Italy and Europe, and then Reply Game Studios choosing a dark fantasy tone that's more in line with Miura's work, makes Soulstice come full circle in a way. Even the themes of sacrifice, failure, and then the personal growth that comes with that are very much a thing in Soulstice. The characters become more self-aware as the story goes on, and they unveil mysteries of the world and their own identity, and that's something many Japanese anime and manga share.
Soulstice is in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, set to release in 2022.
