It has been a while since a great 2D brawler was released. Can Young Souls scratch that itch fans have been scratching in a post Castle Crashersand Dragon’s Crown world? It has co-op, leveling up, side quests, loot, and much more. It has all the makings for a new indie classic, but is it worth the money?Games can include the best elements from other amazing titles but still manage to fail at launch. While not perfect, the game still has a lot going for it. Young Souls has issues as well as its fair share of enjoyable content. Here are some examples of where the game excels and fails.
8 Best: Co-Op
There is nothing like a good co-op brawler. Young Souls was built around this idea. It is local couch co-op only, which may not be for everyone. Being able to jump online would be a good thing to patch in for the future but the missing feature isn't terrible for the game.
Thankfully, the game doesn’t force anyone to play co-op only. There is also a tag team system so that Jenn and Tristan can be swapped out on the fly. The game is better with a friend or loved one close by but it can be just as fun alone.
7 Worst: A Slow Start
The game begins in the heat of action. After the siblings reach an impenetrable boss, things flashback to before this all happens. This slows the pace down to a literal crawl, which is accompanied by a lot of text and fetch quests.
It can be aggravating to some players to start a game like this. It’s a weird trope that affects games just as much as it affects movies. Thankfully the pacing is better after this rewind in time but it was odd, to say the least.
6 Best: Brawling With An RPG Twist
Young Souls is more than a brawler. It is also a dungeon crawler. The premise finds the twins battling an evil goblin army in an ever-expanding underground network. The game is also a bit like a Metroidvania in this way.
Jenn and Tristan level up, increase stats, and collect tons of loot. Players can speck the siblings the same but it might be a better idea to make them different. This should also help players who wish to go on this adventure alone.
5 Worst: The Music
A brawler should pump players up to dominate enemies on the battlefield. While the weapon variety and overall RPG structure can help put players in the mood, the music will not. Young Souls’ music funnily enough does not have soul in it. There’s no pizazz to it. The score feels a bit too sleepy instead. It’s not bad music. It just doesn’t fit with the action.
Some of the best music in the industry has come from old-school brawlers. The Streets of Rage series for one, along with a majority of early Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games. It’s a shame that Young Souls doesn’t deliver in this department.
4 Best: The Art Style
At first glance, this may look like a cartoon-infused 2D brawler. It certainly is that, but cutscenes will reveal there is more to the character work. The models are in 3D. They look polygonal-like from the PS1 era except cel-shaded in to give them more color. It’s a unique art style that pops. The level design isn’t that great but thankfully the colorfulness of the enemies and Jenn and Tristan will brighten up any uninspired rooms in the dungeons.
3 Worst: The Story
The story can feel just as generic as the music. The basic premise sees Jenn and Tristan trying to find their father figure, the Professor, who seemingly disappeared due to some goblin activity. The idea that goblins exist in reality is very basic for a fantasy story and has been done many times before.
While there are attempts to make Young Souls feel like a more mature story, like the infusion of cuss words, it is more childlike. It is a young adult story at best. The lack of voice work also makes it hard to care about anything going on.
2 Best: Assist Options
Young Souls is jam-packed full of great assist features. Players can customize their experience to their liking. When playing without a co-op partner, these options can feel like an absolute blessing. There are ways to increase damage done to enemies as well as decrease damage received. There are too many options to count. Plus there are actual difficulty modes as well. This game is built with the player in mind, which all games should strive for.
1 Worst: Glitches, Loads, And Saves
The assist features are great but several other mechanics and design choices were seemingly done to annoy players. For example, players can only use one save slot per file, meaning they can’t back up data. This game can virtually feel unplayable at times. This is the case for the Switch version at least.
Some glitches make the game freeze in the middle of battle. When players try to equip gear this can cause a huge slowdown. The load times are also long and frequent. Hopefully, patches are coming to help rectify this issue.
Young Souls is currently available on PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One.
