SoulCalibur 5 Review
Even without the perplexing addition of Stars Wars characters, the last SoulCalibur felt like a game that had run out of creative steam. All the swashbuckling pirates and disgruntled golems played much the same as they had on the Dreamcast, and although Project Soul added the Soul Crush system to make blocking more risky – as well as a customisation mode that let you adjust appearance and attributes – it was akin to owning the same sports car for 10 years straight. It still had the capacity to excite, but familiarity had dulled some of that early intensity.
It seemed that SoulCalibur would join the same ranks as Killer Instinct and The Last Blade: fighting game series that once went toe-to-toe with the best of the best, but were destined to fade away. This tragedy, however, has not come to pass. Although Namco took a misguided step with the epically bad SoulCalibur: Legends, the weapon-wielding warriors have returned in SoulCalibur 5 – And this time, the performance upgrades offer much more mileage.
Set 17 years after the last game, this chapter of the Stage of History is populated by 27 characters, including familiar faces like the dauntingly breasted Ivy and the whimsically sadistic Tira – neither of whom has aged a day – in addition to three descendant characters who inherit the bō-staff, ninja garb and Chinese sword of Kilik, Taki and Xianghua. Although the protégés conduct themselves in a strikingly similar fashion to their forbearers, they each pack enough new tricks to give veteran players something fresh to experiment with.
The less familiar side of the roster is made up of a handful of new characters – including the hidden dagger antics of Ezio from Assassin’s Creed – as well as six unlockable fighters that range from Mokujin plagiarists like Edge Master and the new mask-wearing Kilik to the throne-abusing Algol from SoulCalibur 4. While having three random-style characters may seem like a bit of a cop-out when compared to the progressive headcount of Super Street Fighter 4, the five genuinely new additions offer a solid increase in terms of match-up diversity.
Patroklos and Pyrrha – respectively the son and daughter of Sophitia – are introduced in a new Story mode that sees them facing off against the likes of Voldo and Maxi while learning about the history of the warring swords. The 20 chapters it spans put an emphasis on narrative rather than collecting weapons or meeting special fight conditions, which is shame given the series’ Edge Master Mode heritage. But even though you’ll beat the angelic boss in little over three hours, it’s an enjoyable if linear journey that benefits from the less cumbersome approach to storytelling of this mode’s guest developer, CyberConnect2 (known for the Naruto games and the forthcoming Asura’s Wrath).
