Prima Game of the Week | Soul Calibur VI

Why You Should Play

• Classic roster of characters.
• Multiple single player story modes!
• Create-a-Soul mode returns to create new fighters or customize existing characters.
• Arguably the best Soul Calibur fighting mechanics since Soul Calibur 2.

As the seventh entry in the Soul Calibur series (not counting the off shoots), Soul Calibur VI takes a step back to its roots, while also advancing the series forward in many ways. After many characters were replaced by younger counterparts in Soul Calibur V, Bandai Namco has taken a step back with Soul Calibur VI offering a soft reboot of the series. While the development team didn’t go all the way to Soul Edge, most the events in Soul Calibur VI take place between the first Soul Calibur and Soul Calibur III. This brings back many fan favorites, while also giving Bandai Namco a chance to add some new characters, including a guest character in the way of Geralt from The Witcher series.

Gameplay

One of the current trends in fighting games is to make them as accessible as possible. Soul Calibur VI does this well, while still catering to the hardcore competitive scene. Several new and changed mechanics are squarely focused at newcomers and casual fans. First and foremost is the Reversal Edge system, which allows players to perform a counter of sorts that will absorb almost any attack (including throws), then provide a counter attack that leads to a Rock, Paper, Scissors-like cut scene. Not only does this provide flash cinematics, it also gives novice players a way to compete without engrossing themselves in frame data and  more advanced mechanics.

The trademark Guard Impact system has also had some revisions. Now there’s only one way to Guard Impact, and it no longer costs mete like it did in SC5. Instead of having to choose between a forward and back Guard Impact, or a high or low option, a single Guard Impact now parries all high, mid and low attacks, including throws. Only special Break Attacks will go through Guard Impacts (and also the Reversal Edge). This once again makes it easier for newcomers and novice players to get a leg in the game when fighting against better players.

Critical Edge super moves have also been revamped since we last saw them in Soul Calibur V. Now they are performed with a single input to make them much easier to use. In addition, the Soul Charge mechanic has been revamped to essentially power up your character and make them much stronger for a limited amount of time. All of this adds up to a game that’s very easy to get into, but still difficult to master.

Visuals and Performance

Soul Calibur was once considered one of the best looking fighting games on the market. While it’s difficult to say that about Soul Calibur VI, at the very least the game super smoothly on the PC, and offers 4K visuals for those with the right hardware. From a PC standpoint, if you can run Tekken 7 on your PC, there’s a very good chance you can run Soul Calibur as well. In fact, many people have reported the ability to run SC6 very well on PCs that are far from high end.

Online is about on par with what you’d find in Tekken 7. Matches with anyone nearby run fairly smooth, but even matches against people halfway across the country ran pretty well. Players using wireless connections are still an unavoidable issue, but overall the netcode and matchmaking are equal to what we’ve seen from most other Bandai Namco fighting games. It’s more than enough to offer an enjoyable and moderately competitive experience.

Game of the Week

Soul Calibur VI is the latest entry in the series, and it offers a lot from a gameplay and content standpoint. With individual story modes for each character, plus a general story mode that covers up to Soul Calibur III, and a separate story mode for your Create-a-Soul warriors that mimics many RPG elements, there’s a lot to like here. It’s definitely a big improvement over Soul Calibur V, and with DLC characters and Create-a-Soul parts coming, the game will only grow more from here.

If you’re having difficulty getting into the new systems, be sure to check out the Reversal Edge guide and controls article in our Soul Calibur VI game hub!