After an extensive 11-year development journey, which saw it evolve from a solo passion project to a full-fledged team effort, Lost Soul Aside has finally launched. However, its debut has been met with a somewhat lukewarm reception, reflected in its current “Mixed” rating on Steam on release day. Even many positive reviews highlight a range of complaints, including issues with audio mixing, the quality of English dubbing, a rather generic storyline, an unconventional checkpoint system, and noticeable performance problems in certain game areas.
While the official Lost Soul Aside X account has not individually addressed every piece of feedback, it did release a statement acknowledging some key concerns. Specifically, the development team confirmed that certain prologue cutscenes are pre-rendered in 4K resolution at 30 frames per second. This technical decision is, in some instances, leading to noticeable stuttering during playback, which detracts from the overall player experience.
The Lost Soul Team expressed their apologies for this issue, stating, “We are actively working on optimizations, and future updates will address this to deliver a smoother gameplay experience. Thank you for your continued support and patience!”
Lost Soul Aside originally began as a solo endeavor by developer Yang Bing, who drew inspiration from the acclaimed Final Fantasy series, particularly Final Fantasy 15. In 2017, with significant backing from Sony, Yang Bing founded Ultizero Games to further develop the ambitious title. The action game experienced multiple delays throughout its production, including a postponement from an initial May launch earlier this year, before its eventual arrival today.
For those interested in experiencing the game firsthand, a demo is currently available on both PlayStation 5 and PC. This demo offers players a segment of the story, a dedicated combat arena for honing their skills, and a challenging boss-rush mode.
Lost Soul Aside is now available for purchase on PlayStation 5 and PC.