After an almost mythical development cycle spanning an impressive 11 years, Lost Soul Aside, the action-packed title from Ultizero Games, has finally made its debut on PlayStation 5 and PC. What began as a solo passion project inspired by the likes of Final Fantasy XV, eventually blossomed into a full-fledged studio endeavor with Sony`s backing. However, the digital red carpet had barely been rolled out when the game`s launch was met with a rather swift “Mixed” rating on Steam, signaling that this long-awaited journey might have hit a few unexpected potholes right at the finish line.
The Initial Feedback: A Symphony of Minor Discord
Player sentiment, while acknowledging the game`s potential, quickly converged on a series of persistent issues. Beyond the subjective critiques of a “bland story” and an “odd checkpoint system”—elements often debated within game communities—more concrete technical complaints began to surface. These included:
- Poor Audio Mixing: A common immersion-breaker, where sound levels can detract significantly from the experience.
- English Dubbing Issues: Often a challenge for non-native voice actors and localization teams, impacting narrative delivery.
- General Performance Hiccups: Broad mentions of “annoying performance issues in certain places” pointed to a lack of consistent optimization across the game.
The Cutscene Conundrum: A Technical Stumble
Among the performance complaints, one specific technical detail emerged as a significant point of contention: stuttering during pre-rendered cutscenes in the prologue. The developers clarified that these sequences are presented as 4K, 30-frames-per-second videos. While high resolution sounds impressive on paper, this specific implementation has led to noticeable playback issues for some players.
Technical Note: Pre-rendering cutscenes can be an effective way to deliver cinematic quality without taxing the real-time rendering engine. However, when these video files are poorly optimized for streaming, or if there`s a significant framerate mismatch between the pre-rendered content (30fps) and the target gameplay framerate (often 60fps or higher), the transition can be jarring, leading to noticeable “stuttering” or “hitching” as the system struggles to synchronize or smoothly play the embedded media.
Ultizero Games` Swift Response: Addressing the Digital Aches
To their credit, Ultizero Games, via the official Lost Soul Aside X (formerly Twitter) account, wasted no time in acknowledging at least one of these critical issues. They directly addressed the pre-rendered cutscene stutter, offering an apology to their patient player base. The team stated their commitment to “actively working on optimizations” and assured that “future updates will address this to deliver a smoother gameplay experience.” This immediate transparency and promise of a fix are crucial in an era where post-launch support can make or break a game`s long-term reputation.
The Road Ahead: Patience and Patches
The journey for Lost Soul Aside, it seems, hasn`t ended with its launch. The 11-year development cycle, marked by delays and the growth from a solo vision into a collaborative effort, now transitions into a new phase: post-launch refinement. Developers are under immense pressure to deliver polished experiences from day one, and while the ambition behind this Final Fantasy-inspired action game is clear, the initial execution has left room for improvement.
For prospective players, a demo remains available on both PS5 and PC, offering a glimpse into the game`s narrative, combat mechanics, and a challenging boss-rush mode. This allows players to experience a portion of the game firsthand and gauge its current state before committing.
Ultimately, the narrative of Lost Soul Aside is now a twofold one: the epic tale within the game itself, and the unfolding story of its development team striving to perfect their creation. The launch may have been a little less than perfectly smooth, but Ultizero Games` rapid acknowledgment and commitment to “optimizations” suggest that they are ready to fight for their game`s place in the competitive landscape. Only time, and a series of well-executed patches, will tell if these initial stumbles can be fully overcome, allowing the game to truly find its soul.
Callum Darby