Young Souls is a New Dungeon-Crawling Brawler Now Available
Young Souls is a new brawler that harkens back to the glory days of medieval beat-em-ups like Knights of the Round Table and Golden Axe. The difference here is that this game is actually an RPG that’s layered with white-knuckled side-scrolling action. The story revolves around two orphans named Jenn and Tristan. Their surrogate father, who is also a mad scientist, went mysteriously missing one day. Upon searching for clues in his house, the twins make way down into a cellar where they encounter the “Moon Gate Portal.” They decide to enter it, only to find themselves in another fantastical realm where goblins reign supreme. The duo must find a way to find their mentor and survive this world while escaping in one piece. This 2D brawler comes with hand-drawn animation that is akin to contemporary shows. The screen will blister with goblin smashing madness and magical bombardment. There are deep gameplay features to be found in this title, which many may miss at a first glance.
Many seasoned gamers will be taken back to the dormant 2D brawler genre that was red hot during the 90s with Young Souls. Luckily, these types of games are slowly coming back, all with their own twists and styles. There were a bunch of them released by Capcom and Konami back in the day, now the indie sphere is taking things to new heights. The combat is crushing and it will demand complete focus to smite the enemies. Just with all standard RPGs, there will be a plethora of loot to garner that will gradually build up Jenn and Tristan to warrior status. Despite the welcoming aesthetic, this game does indeed come with hefty challenges that range from screen flooding hordes of goblin minions to oversized, bruising ogres. There is a lot to take in with Young Souls and, since it was released recently, there has been a good amount of praise for it.
Goblin Gauntlet
It is worth pointing out that, even though this game has a kiddie design, there is a surprisingly large amount of profane language in it. Happily, there is a filter that players can turn on which will block out all the colorful language so younger gamers can play the game without being bombarded with it. The story is thick, but once players make it into the first dungeon, the exposition will become lighter and gameplay will become more immersive. The combat in Young Souls is dense and unrelenting, however, there is a simplicity to it. Jenn and Tristan can upgrade themselves independently by going to the gym and beefing up their person. Hence, the standard three-hit combos they have by default can increase in damage, peppered with new power moves. The world design of Young Souls is separated into two distinct layers. One is the world of humans on the surface and the other is the realm of goblins which is underground.
The surface acts as a hub for gaining XP for the characters. Visiting the mayor of the town will provide some hints on certain gameplay elements, a pawnshop acts as basically a merchant to trade things and the gym is for increasing stats. The XP won’t come into play until Jenn and Tristan go back to their house and sleep in their beds. They will accumulate all manners of XP while battling underground with the goblins. However, there will be a constant trade-off with whether or not it’s worth going back to the surface or keep fighting through the dungeons. Players can warp between these two worlds at any time they want. Young Souls comes with a feature that allows gamers to jump from various checkpoints after they unlocked them. Very similar to jumping between bonfires in the Dark Souls games. Every dungeon is broken up into sub-sections that are blocked with gateways that require keys. The kicker is that some parts of the dungeon might have way stronger enemies, forcing players to go back and return there at a later time.
Tenacious Twins
There are indeed numerous variations of armor and weapons waiting to be plucked within the dungeons. Players can switch and experiment with all the different perks and abilities that can come with this loot. There will be armor sets that can provide anti-burning properties along with increasing HP, among other things. Thusly, there are also customization items that can be found that simply just change the look of Jenn and Tristan. Even though Young Souls can be a rather challenging game, it does come with three difficulty settings to take the edge off. Furthermore, there are also sliders that can be implemented to personally customize the experience. Players can increase enemies’ HP, activate auto-blocking, and more.
Young Souls does have a little bit of a Metroidvania layout to it. While exploring dungeons, players will find all sorts of doors and gates that require specific keys to unlock. These keys will be found in the far reaches of other dungeons, which will, more or less, force players to backtrack to unlock a particular gate. Some gamers love this format and some hate it, but this game has it, nonetheless. In any case, this RPG brawler does have a charming freshness to it that many gamers are enamored with. There is plenty of enemy variety and every dungeon has a specific look and vibe to it. The combat mechanics may be a little rudimentary, but it is serviceable enough to get some joy in slaying armies of goblins.
Dungeon-Crawling Duo
Young Souls is the type of game that deserves recognition among its RPG peers. It has a little bit of everything for everyone. Its accessibility can make it a good stepping stone for newcomers in this genre and it can be quite fun to play. Its lore is deep enough to keep players enamored with the world, but it doesn’t really wear out its welcome. It may have its shortcomings, especially with its roughly 15-hour story. However, if someone is looking for a tightly crafted, light-hearted action RPG, then Young Souls can be just what they are looking for. Young Souls is now available for the PlayStation, Xbox, PC, Google Stadia, and Nintendo Switch.
