Soulstice is a new game from Reply Game Studios, debuting sometime in 2022 on PC and next-gen consoles, and it was revealed this month during E3. This game has a lot to offer to fans of Soulslike games, action games, and games that are based mainly on combat because of all the influences and interesting new ideas for its story and characters. Game Rant spoke to developers Fabio Pagetti and Samuele Perseo about their work on Soulstice and what is it that marks the game as its own IP despite all the sources of inspiration.

There are many enemies in Soulstice, and each encounter delivers something different for the players, who will have plenty of strategic options to choose from when fighting creatures from beyond the veil. Among the most relevant influences, there are Berserk, Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, Claymore, Dark Souls, and much more. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

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Q: Considering this is not a Soulslike game, why did you choose a name that could be easily reminiscent of that sort of game? And what does "Soulstice" mean to you?

Pagetti: The title is based on a big event from the past history of the world the game is set in, which is aptly called Soulstice. Right now it feels like every game that comes out with the word "souls" in its title is automatically a Soulslike, but in this case, it's a wordplay on "souls" and "solstice." The former refers, for example, to the spirit of the younger sister, Lute; there's also a solstice in the game, and that's how the title was born. By all means, the game we're developing is not connected to Soulslike games.

Q: Since you brought it up, what is this Soulstice event you talked about?

Perseo: We cannot discuss this in-depth because that would require a long chat about the world-building and the lore in Soulstice. This subject is something we'll talk about later on, but anyway, the "solstice of souls" is kind of a cataclysm that took place eons before the game's events, and there's the risk it could happen again. The protagonists actually do not know what it is. It's one of the mysteries they have to unveil while exploring the city and progressing through the game, interacting with characters and uncovering things along the way.

The Chimeras are an invention, a weapon that was created by an order, the order they belong to. The Chimeras are the product of this order, and they are a sort of elite soldiers who are the only ones who can face the Wraiths, the other monsters that roam around the city. They are on a mission to reclaim the city of Ilden and they are the only ones who can do this. It's not something we've disclosed yet, but Briar and Lute are not the only Chimera in the game or in the world. Their identity, what happened to them in the past, what makes them special is at the center of their own story and the way their story reflects on that of the world.

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Q: Soulstice may seem like a Soulslike game at first glance, but what marks it as its own game?

Perseo: We have Dark Souls, Demon Souls, and all the other games like that as a clear source of inspiration for art direction and general tone, this grim and dark atmosphere that is more broadly like Japanese dark fantasy settings. Even Dark Souls has Berserk and fantasy fiction worlds as a source of inspiration for them, obviously. That was an idea for a setting we wanted to investigate and explore since the gameplay references are actually different and they're mainly Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, and Nier: Automata. 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. We said we would like to take that format of stylish combat adventure games as a genre and then take it from an artistic point of view, from a story point of view, in a direction that maybe is not abused, or not that crowded if you look at the other games that are already on the market.

There are two "souls" in Soulstice: one is more linked to gameplay and the other to atmosphere, world-building, and lore, and those are references that wouldn't necessarily come from games, but instead from anime, manga, and overall Japanese dark fantasy setting fiction.

Q: What inspired you the most while making the game?

Pagetti: In this industry, normally the third project of a studio is the project of maturity. From the first moment we decided to make a combat-based game, with our first title, Lone Wolf, we tapped into turn-based combat. With Theseus, our second game, with Unreal [Engine] we created a very simple, free-flow combat gameplay, and we are also people who love certain games like Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, Nier Automata, and also Dark Souls, Bloodborne, etc. From the beginning, we thought we wanted to do a combat-based game, but we asked ourselves how, and what would make it stand out to be special in this genre.

We then thought about a "double-character" because in the industry you know there's a lot of pair of characters even during combat. For example, in the past there was Banjo and Kazooi for Nintendo, which is a very different game [from Soulstice], so we thought "Ok, we want to do a combat game and let players control two characters while fighting." When we made this kind of decision, the first image that appeared in my mind was Guts from Berserk with the little witch, Schierke, and this is a powerful image, and I thought "Ok, I want to do this, I like this, all of my team like this kind of reference," and we started to work on that.

I worked on a huge knight, more similar to one of the brothers from Fullmetal Alchemist, in full armor, with his little sister. At one point, one of our designers said to me "No, Pagetti, you need to have two girls for this game because a big knight, a male character, the industry is completely full. You need to girls." When this idea came up I quickly decided that I liked it and worked on two female main characters. We started to work on our concept and we thought, "If the reference is Berserk, which is a huge reference to have, a combat like Dark Souls for two characters is very slow-paced, and it doesn't fit very well for this sort of character."

To us, it feels like they have to make quick movements, very spectacular moves and combos, and that's when we realized the best fit would be Devil May Cry, Nier Automata, and Bayonetta. We began our work with these two main pillars: this kind of big Berserk reference, and the combat gameplay from very famous IPs like Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, and Nier Automata.

Perseo: I can also remember some early concept documents that Pagetti showed to the team included also Lorian and Lothric, the twins from Dark Souls.

Pagetti: That's also a very important part because when I saw this boss in Dark Souls 3 it was amazing. It must have required Miyazaki a lot of creativity and to be very sensitive to think of these characters and this boss fight. They are two brothers, together, and one needs the other to fight the player, and it's very poetic. It's not only Dark Souls, blood, steel, no. I want the same for our two main characters. If you watch the trailer, Lute is always with her sister Briar, not only when they run or fight, but also when they stop for a moment and talk to each other. It's like the younger sister always hugs her sister. So yeah, I put that in the game from an idea I got while playing Dark Souls 3.

Perseo: We have this sort of parallel process that is going on. Gameplay always came first, so the first idea that Pagetti talked about is the "double main character," and while this idea was being fleshed out, I and Pagetti were also discussing how to make meaningful the story we tell, and a new world to set up. We didn't want to have too many things on our plate.

We wanted something that was strong and clear, but not something that was too much to manage, and that's why we introduced rules and limits for this idea to roll out and to have its place in a world that would have it as its center. So we liked the idea of two sisters, one that looks like a spirit and had to be sacrificed in order to make the other more powerful.

Those are things that came through many iterations, and every piece of the puzzle we put on the table called for more problems, issues, and things to decide or tweak. In the end, we felt that once we nailed the basics we just needed to proceed carefully to create this IP and to make sure the game was added value for us, instead of something that could slow us down or to water down the experience. It was meant to sustain a game that's primarily about action and combat, but also make it more interesting and engaging for those who want to be passionate about this side as well.

Pagetti: And also, I want to add why we chose two sisters instead of two brothers, for example. The relationship between two sisters, I see my wife with her sister, and that's very different from the relationship between two brothers, who are often in competition. Sisters, usually, have a different kind of approach, and it's more interesting.

Q: Briar and Lute look a bit like Guts and Puck from Berserk, and you spoke about the Berserk influence in the game. Were you saddened by the creator's death? How do you think his work influenced the genre?

Pagetti: I think it did, a lot. 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.

This kind of manga is very "sexy," not because of sexual content, but I call it that way because relationships between the characters, violence in the manga, the setting, a few events and situations, are always very interesting. They can make you read the manga until you finish it. Also, for example, [Miura] employs the European medieval times rather than the Japanese samurai, ninja, and all that. To us, it's very interesting to see this sort of transposition.

Perseo: It's like going full circle, in a way. The stories of those mercenary companies in Italy or in Europe in the middle ages made it possible for people all around the world to have this new kind of dark fantasy setting coming from Japan, and now we're trying to take it back home as a tribute. It's sort of a way to say "Thanks for that," while also doing our part in all this.

Pagetti: I also want to talk about another very similar Ip that influenced me a lot, and in fact, I think Soulstice is more Claymore than Berserk in some regards. I wanted to put a lot of Claymore into the game, both the manga and the anime because we needed something very special in the game. I like it a lot when in the anime or the manga, the protagonists at the beginning don't show their true power, and they fail. At one point they discover their true nature, and they can drastically change their current situation.

In Claymore, for example, the protagonist during each fight she can control her powers through defeating her enemies; also, in Dragon Ball, it works so well because there is this sort of growing up process for the main character, going from Super Sayan to Super Sayan 2, 3, 4, 5, and it's always like the first time. In Japanese manga, there's this kind of magic that can exalt readers and people, which other media from Europe or the U.S. somehow lack. They don't have the same impact on the audience.

Perseo: We like the fact that we could have the player experience shaped on this sort of narrative arcs, like sacrifice, failing, eventually getting stronger and more self-aware. It was a mix of things because, obviously, you can play it [the game] but also witness the story, and that's something that encompasses the relationship between the two characters. There's always the two of them together undergo this kind of growth.

Even from a gameplay point of view, it's something we tried to maintain this relationship when it comes to players getting better, the characters getting stronger, the challenges are harder to face, and so on. Generally speaking, especially because we'll be showing more and more as we go, be it gameplay elements, bosses, and so on, but these were pillars, as we said before. They were our sources of inspiration and modules we chose to follow.

Pagetti: In short, I want players to feel the same sensations that I have when, for example, Guts wore the Berserk armor, or when Claire from Claymore controlled her powers for the first time. I want the players to feel the same thing when watching that sort of anime in those moments.

Perseo: It's an action game, first and foremost, so we want to have this character progression theme work on a story level too. We're trying to make gameplay more meaningful in terms of story, but also make the story meaningful through the fact that you're actually overcoming those challenges yourself by controlling the character.

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Q: How long have you been working on the game? Did you plan to reveal it sooner or was E3 your target all along?

Perseo: We started in late January 2018. Our previous game was released in 2017 between July and October so there was a sort of hiatus in between, but we were prototyping different things, working on different assets. Let's say that from late January 2018 we were working on this specific game through all the stages that we described before. It was sometimes hard and even frustrating to just remain in stealth mode for so long, even for our teammates because they came to Pagetti and me asking why we weren't talking about the studio or talking about what we do.

Like in Braveheart, we were saying "Hold, hold! Not the time yet." We said we would do it when we have something ready, something suitable for the players to get enthusiastic about or when we secure a publishing deal, which we are very happy of by the way. We're working with Modus [Games], and Modus asked "Are you ready? Do you feel confident for E3 this year?" and we said kind of "Hell yeah!". That was much work to do for that, for the announcement, but we had some solid basis because the game was actually in development and we knew we had real stuff to show for. Now we're happy that we managed to hold our breath for so long waiting for the right time to strike.

Pagetti: For us, it's not an option to deliver a game that's not good. The game needed to be good, or very good, I hope. We tried to aim at the best level we could aim for this game. For sure, we're not a platinum game, we're not Capcom, but we do have a lot of passion and the possibility to do a very good game in this kind of genre. We want the game to release when it's ready, when it's polished. For sure, we have a plan, we have a milestone, all the normal production constraints, but at the same time, we want to deliver the best game we can.

Q: Considering how hard Italy was hit by the pandemic, how much of an impact did it have on the development of Soulstice?

Perseo: It's a challenge that many developers have to manage and take on around the world so, we were quite curious to see how other people, companies, and studios did this. Even the bigger ones have to adapt, obviously, to a new way to work, new ways to work together remotely. We did so starting from March last year, and actually, at the moment we still have a mixed setup. With some people who are at the studio with Pagetti and other people, like me, who are still working remotely.

Obviously, we are looking forward to going back to normal sometime in the future, the near future, hopefully, but there were further challenges with this, where everyone was very dedicated to the project, but it was hard to maintain a coherent vision.

Pagetti: That's the problem, really. Everyone works a lot and they don't have to come to the office for the project. Sometimes there are people who, to reach the office, need an hour by car, and they start to work before from home. The problem is when you put all the things together, here's the problem, especially if you're not from the same area as the office.

Game development requires teamwork, it's not for a single person to do. When we work at the office I can see, and that's only because I stand up to go to the coffee machine, I see something on their screens or their desk, and I can talk to people and tell them "No, this is not the right direction because we'd waste a lot of time on this rather than that," for example.

From home it's different. Sometimes I see something that's good, but other times it happens that some things are good for the game, but this kind of content is near to the final version. The game is big for us, it's not easy for a studio of 45 people. We need to go back to the office within September, I hope. Things are looking up here in Italy for that to happen. It's possible to work remotely, but the project is being slowed down.

Q: Were your previous games something you tapped into for Soulstice?

Perseo: From several points of view. We have addressed fantasy or mythology with Theseus with a dark approach, and that was true with Lone Wolf as well, but that was high-fantasy IP from the '80s. We wanted it to feel more modern, more engaging for modern players so, with respect for what Lone Wolf did for a lot of fans, we managed to do a nice work that was appreciated by the author and new fans and old fans alike in that case.

With Theseus, it was a more classical myth theme that we took towards a more horror direction. That was not that common, and Soulstice is on the same dark setting path that we've been following. On the other hand, we decided to change the style, but we wanted to have a signature style that could work well with the AA production that we had in mind.

Pagetti: When we started to work on this game, one of the first things that came to mind with the Japanese reference was to do Japanese graphics. For example, CEL shading or big, shiny eyes or character design that's very Japanese. The first time I told my team "We are not Japanese. That's a completely different culture, and if we tried to copy their style we would fail." I wanted a dark mood, a realistic tone, like Dark Souls and Bloodborne because they are not anime-oriented in regards to tone and art style.

At the same time, we can't use European, occidental characters. I have an example: you watch an anime, and after that, you watch the live-action version of it. Normally, I struggle watching live actions because they appear as a sort of joke to my eyes when compared to the anime. In this case, we couldn't use realistic characters because if you take, for example, Joel from The Last of Us or other characters with the same level of realism and you put them in a game where there are unnatural jumps and combat moves, they simply don't work.

We studied Bayonetta a lot and its proportions. For example, Briar has very long legs, and that's for special animations and special poses for combat [purposes]. The faces of the characters are not realistic; they're not European, but they are not like those in anime. It's a sort of mix. These were more difficult for us than creating the whole environment, for example. My team is very talented for this kind of graphics, and realistic things, not cartoons or minimal graphics, for example. At the same time, they put a lot of effort into creating this kind of non-standard character for the European market and the Japanese market as well. It's a sort of hybrid.

Perseo: There's also the tech part because we developed Lone Wolf using Unity, but in 2015 we switched to Unreal, and though Theseus was quite a different product from Soulstice we started working with the engine back then. Now we have, like, more than 5 years under the belt using Unreal Engine, and that definitely helped us because when we started to work on Soulstice we had new things to learn, many new things to set up with the engine and the workflow. The experience we had with Theseus proved really instrumental and raised the stakes, and it became something bigger using the same tech.

Pagetti: All the projects matter.

Q: Can you explain the differences between the types of enemies in the game?

Pagetti: In the game, we have three main families of enemies. There are the Corrupted, the Wraiths, and the Possessed. The Corrupted are basically people or militia who are touched by the Wraiths that came from the other dimension. The Wraiths are phantoms, and they are linked to the gameplay because it is based on the two different auras that Lute can cast on the battlefield. One is specific for this type of enemy as they are ethereal enemies, and Briar normally can't fight them. Her sister Lute can make these enemies corporeal and Briar can hit them and kill them.

Also, we have the Possessed. In the trailer, there is one. We call them the Archer, the red one, and they are human people possessed by the Wraiths, and the player can interact with them thanks to the other aura we have in the game, which is also cast by Lute.

Perseo: It's shown in the gameplay footage, not so clearly, just quick clips on the things. We will definitely have other opportunities to delve into much deeper detail on the combat, but that's really the basics. We have many different enemies, can't say how many at the moment, but the fact that they belong to one of these three classes actually makes each fight a bit different, and it also lets you play differently based on the targets that you take on first, the strategy you decide to develop, also the abilities that you use, and so on. Lute can only cast one aura at a time, so you have to switch targets or decide who to go for and how to move on the battlefield. You know, taking on the ones that are closer to you or going for the ones who are sniping from afar.

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Q: What exactly is the Veil, and how are the worlds connected?

Perseo: The idea behind this dark fantasy, but also low-fantasy setting is that we did not want to have a huge world with many different nations, and ancestries, we needed a sort of balance and a sort of conflict between our world and what lies beyond. This dimension of chaos, where the Wraiths come from, and the conflict between these two worlds is actually a conflict that exists between the two characters as well.

Everything is based around the fact that there are worldly and otherworldly things is a symbol that there is a meaning for the characters, for the world, for the relationship with the world. These monsters that come from the other side, and their own conflict, and their own identity as something dual, between the swordswoman and the ghost or shade, hits this sort of balance that we are trying to build and make meaningful throughout the whole game.

Q: How important is exploration in Soulstice? Are there hidden areas, characters, enemies, loot?

Pagetti: The game is a combat-based game, for sure. You have a long path in front of you when you start the game. There is exploration, yes, but it's not open; it's linear. There are some small areas that you can find through exploration, but it's mainly linear. There is puzzle-solving, there are alternative paths in several areas that you can explore to find some collectible or other enemies, and there are a lot of secondary fights that you can avoid during your playthrough. So yeah, mainly linear, but with some small hidden areas and collectibles to find.

Perseo: It's a little like the castle from the first Devil May Cry, whereas we have a whole city.

Pagetti: The main idea was to make a game where all the characters move in one huge setting. In our case, it's a huge citadel. Another example is in Metal Gear Solid 1 with the Shadow Moses base, or in Batman Arkham Asylum with the Asylum itself. We have this huge location divided into many levels and settings.

Perseo: We have no lava level, no underwater level, but there are many other things that you can explore and progress through as you try to explore the city and reach the top, but we can't say why.

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Q: Is there a loot system in the game?

Pagetti: There is itemization, collectibles, and stuff like that, but not like Diablo or some heavy RPG. It's more similar to Devil May Cry and Bayonetta. What you find is useful to reach the end and make you always stronger and increase your power.

Perseo: Since each character has their own progression path, there's currency and there are collectibles you find throughout the game that are meant to be spent on the two characters' progression path. There are other currencies you can spend on consumables or other items that make combat more interesting.

Pagetti: It's not a game where you find a sword and then make it +1, +2, or something. Or you find a helm, a better helm, it's not like this.

Perseo: This is for gameplay [reasons], but also character design reasons. Even though we have multiple weapons we do want everything to always feel very strong in terms of identity and from a creative point of view. When it comes to the characters, and their looks, what happens with them, and the things that they do- we want this game to have a very strong protagonist, so strong that there are actually two.

Q: Was Lute ever going to be controllable by the players?

Perseo: It's mixed, actually. You can do things with Lute, and we went through many different iterations on how to mix the things that she does on her own with what you can do as a player.

Pagetti: Mainly, you don't control Lute because we thought about that, and no matter what you do in terms of gameplay, players are always connected to the melee sister, Briar. Sometimes in the game, you control Lute, but mainly she is a parallel AI that improves depending on the player's combat style. At one point, if during combat the unity value of the two sisters goes up, Lute starts to target more than one enemy at the same time and allow players to have contextual actions during the combat and also create spectacular moves that are made by both sisters in synergy.

Perseo: It's also related to the story layer. It would be much easier for the player anyway to identify with Briar so when Lute talks to her it's a bit as if she spoke to the player, and also the revelations that they go through and the growth they go through is related to their relationship.

Pagetti: For example, in Batman Arkham Asylum there's a quick-time button when Batman fights. It's very cool, and he can make very quick combat decisions with this kind of interactive contextual button that appears depending on the enemies' attacks. Lute works in a similar way, but the difference is that she also makes her own decisions without any input from the player.

Q: If you had to choose your favorite feature in the whole game what would that be and why?

Perseo: The dual character system, I guess, but among the things that we have shown, definitely the dual character setup. It's what hopefully makes Soulstice stand out as a game of action and also with its story. I know what Pagetti would like to say, but he can't.

Pagetti: Exactly.

Q: Is there anything else you'd like to add that I didn't ask with my questions?

Perseo: I'd like to thank everyone for the really warm reception that the game earned so far. It's really humbling for us. We just hope that we can live up to everyone's expectations. We definitely mean to, and we're putting a lot of passion and work into this project. It's the two of us talking now, but it's like there were all 45 people with us. We know everyone on the team wants this to be the best game possible. It's an AA game, that's our ambition. We are putting in there all the effort and the quality that much bigger productions could imply. We'll show more as we go on and keep you interested in the game.

Pagetti: The love we've seen from the announcement for sure helps us to recharge our batteries and push for finalizing the game.

Perseo: And if players don't mind, there's a Steam page so if you want to support us, the way you can do that is by wishlisting the game and keep an eye on it as we go on. There's a lot more to see if you stay with us along this journey.

[END]

Soulstice is in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, set to release in 2022.

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