Soul Locus

Game still in EA. No update in over a year. Developer has not been seen on discussion boards. Game appears abandoned. Cannot recommend.

Key supplied by developer for review. [h1]======================================[/h1] [h1][b]Soul Locus[/b][/h1] Read on for the full review! [h1]======================================[/h1] [h1]TL;DR:[/h1] I definitely recommend it to fans of the genre. It is cute, addictive, and kid friendly! There's just enough depth, and the genre mashup is a great experience and I can't wait to see where it goes! [h1]======================================[/h1] [h1][b]Pros[/b][/h1] + Graphics: Absolutely adorable, charming, and detailed. + Sound: Does its job, nice music! + Gameplay: Everybody loves watching hordes drop! + Kid friendly! [h1][b]Cons[/b][/h1] - Tutorial a bit short and perhaps slightly confusing near the end - Attack sounds may overwhelm your earholes. - Graphics can be a bit blurry or pixelated at 1080p. [h1][b]Neutral[/b][/h1] +/- No resolution option. [h1]======================================[/h1] Story time! The first tower defense game I ever played was probably that desk defender game where you had to stop papercraft enemies from getting across the screen. If it wasn't, that was the first real one that had effort put in. I was instantly charmed, and it was a first step in me developing a healthy interest in PC gaming aside from things I saw on TV or that were recommended by friends. End story time! Fast forward to the present and I am playing Soul Locus, a game where Magic: The Gathering (or other TCGs[Trading Card Games]) meets Tower Defense(hereby referred to as TD)! I have not yet seen a TD game do this, so I am very excited. In Soul Locus you are a Luminary protecting Order(your friendly neighborhood god,) from Chaos(your not-so-friendly neighborhood bully.) You do this with the help of your Guardians (your manifested personality.) These guardians can take many shapes, have many abilities, and their own types with strengths and weaknesses. You play them at the cost of focus. Makes sense, right? The tutorial is pretty okay, it explains what it needs to, and quickly has you running through levels proper, but all the same it seems slightly sparse in it's current state. I actually got confused for a second when it suddenly stopped giving me direction after giving me a very specific instruction to then just try playing the level anyway and realizing that's what you're supposed to do. So how does it play, you want to know? Well it's pretty simple. You strategically place your guardians, and strategically level them up. You can pick from range, damage, and speed. If you make a mistake, don't worry, they can be refunded back to you. Aside from keeping an eye on things and leveling them up appropriately, it's mostly about watching the beatdown ensue, and that's never a bad thing in this genre! There are focus crystals you can pick up to speed up the focus gathering process, essentially enemy soul absorption, and in the modern world of idle games, it's a familiar and welcome addition to TD. This may sound a bit tried and true, maybe even boring to you, but I insist that it is not! You will often have to level up your Guardians very quickly but also carefully. You also have to manage evolution, as well, and getting the hang of placement not only takes a while, but can often change pretty wildly from map to map! Things stay fresh, in other words. With the recent addition of crafting, you can make your own Guardians, and it's very well done. You can make items that let you single out abilities, or you can pour 3 items in the mix and get a random Guardian. Great for if you're new, feeling lucky, or just aren't quite sure what you want next. It's very exciting, really, finding out just what's out there and then bringing it into battle to be amazed at how good some of these Guardians are! The graphics are simple, charming, and do their job, and getting around the UI is easy! They can be a bit blurry or pixelated at modern resolutions, though. The plus side to all this is, this is a very very kid friendly game. It isn't overly verbose, but it is a veritable cuteness overload, with big text and friendly colors! So even if you don't like it, consider your children! The sound is acceptable. The music, good, even, but I had trouble hearing anything else over the fireballs even when turned down. Some of the sound and art assets could use a little polish or a tune up. I personally had a lot of fun running through the levels, watching my Guardians grow with me, finding new ones, and am excited about the prospect of discovering more (could there even be some rare godly ones that are hard to create or find the recipe for? I can only hope if not currently, then soon there will be!) The devs seem to be working on Soul Locus at a good pace, making healthy additions and adding levels to keep you coming back, too! This is the kind of game that no matter how much time you get out of it, if you're a fan of TCGs, TD, or both especially, you'll be glad you put that amount of time into it! I can safely recommend it for everyone who likes TD games. [h1]======================================[/h1] [i]If you liked this review or want to see more recommended games, be sure to follow our curator group: [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/Original_Curators_Group#curation]Follow Original Curator Group[/url][/i]