Bandai Namco has delivered Tekken 7 this year, but has also not been idle. SoulCalibur 6 is coming and according to the developer it is also being developed. Time for a SoulCalibur 6 preview!
Next year, the game should be released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The unveiling during The Game Awards came unexpectedly and suddenly there was a trailer. Meanwhile, we already know something about the fighting game with weapons. For example, SoulCalibur 6 has been under development for some four years alongside Tekken 7, according to Okubo a busy but instructive period.
When Tekken 7 was released in June this year, problems like input lagged the gameplay. Meanwhile, that has largely been remedied with patches and SoulCalibur 6 will suffer a lot less if we can believe the developer. There are also improvements to the Unreal Engine 4, where both games run on, implemented.
Strong focus on the story
Despite the fact that part six is not a remake of the first part, it has to clarify a lot about the origin of Soul Calibur and Soul Edge, the two symbolic swords that stand for the good and the bad side, and why there is fighting. This was not always explained clearly in the franchise, and Bandai Namco now wants to take advantage of that, according to Okubo.
In fact, this game can lay the foundation for a series of new parts if it catches on. SoulCalibur 6 is not just a new part. It is the first in the series that appears on the current generation of consoles and that will have to bring about a considerable change. Not in the first place to be able to show what the first part could not do at the time.
Simpler combat
Bandai found that with previous parts the fighting became too complicated. That is why the whole system has been changed, but the focus is still on fighting with swords. The differences with Tekken in which you just fight your fists must be clear to players.
With SoulCalibur 6 the developer wants to maintain a complete fighting system like part five, but give players the positive feeling that the action from Calibur 2 had for example. Learning to master the controls is part of a fighting game, but with the new part fans of the series should also be able to simply enjoy the fights themselves.
In any case, fights are dynamic, as we also experienced while playing. For this SoulCalibur 6 preview only two fighters were available - Sophitia and Mitsurugi - and one level. The horizontal and vertical attacks, special attacks and camera movements contribute to a cinematic experience without too much effort. Even with little knowledge of the combos and special attacks you must be able to do a lot of damage.
Power of the current generation of consoles
If we are talking about damage; the characters look as hurriedly as they touch each other. Sneezing and tearing in clothes are visible, but do not influence the gameplay. These are extra details that stand out and emphasize the power of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
In general, the game looks slick. Here and there it can be a bit more detailed, but it is a big improvement compared to SoulCalibur 5 from 2012. For the artistic design, Bandai wanted clear landscapes during the fighting and according to Okubo it was a challenge to get the lighting and clarity of that level but they can clearly be satisfied. The characters and backgrounds look sharp and that is the game experience for good.
It is a pity that there is as yet no sign of interaction with the environment. Okay, you can throw enemies off an abyss and end the battle with that. Apart from that we could not notice anything and that is somewhat remarkable, since it was in earlier parts. It would be nice if the final version of SoulCalibur 6 does.
Preliminary Conclusion
The first real impression of SoulCalibur 6 is a good one. The game returns to its roots and will clarify the story from the beginning, or at least an attempt to do so. With so many fighters and the Soul Calibur and Soul Edge there is of course a lot going on. Whether they all return is still to wait, because except for Sophitia and Mitsurugi, the developer can not let anything go.
Yet we get the impression that there is enough to experience with the 'new' story, and a fighting system that has been taken care of by Bandai. The game should become more accessible to newcomers who do not want to learn all combo's by heart, but for the more experienced players it does not just have to be superficial. With SoulCalibur 6 the road is probably completely open again for the series.
SoulCalibur 6 will appear somewhere in 2018.
Thanks for reading.
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