I have a love-hate relationship with Soulslike games. Well, more hate than love.
I’ve played almost all of FromSoftware’s Souls games, from Demon’s Souls to Elden Ring, but have bounced off them hard. Outside of those games, I occasionally find one I enjoy on the indie scene, like Another Crab’s Treasure, but even then, those both had downsides that prevented me from saying I’ve ever truly loved a Soulslike. That’s finally changing with Void Sols, a self-prescribed “minimalist Soulslike.”
We’re entering a minimalist moment for some well-trodden video game genres. Earlier this year, SoulGame Studios’ Minishoot’ Adventures combined twin-stick shooters with The Legend of Zelda’s formula to create something special. Now, Finite Reflection Studios and Modern Wolf have done the same, but with the Soulslike genre. By removing a lot of the noise that can surround Souslikes, boiling down the genre to its basics, and including some helpful gameplay-modifying options, Void Sols has become one of my favorite Soulslike games.
Going minimalist
Void Sols begins with me breaking out of their prison cell. I fight my way out of that and then through the surrounding forest, village, mountain, mine, and more. Combat is stamina-based, so methodically dodging enemy attacks before striking with a flurry of my own is critical to staying alive. I obtain “Sols” after killing enemies but drop them when I die. I’ll lose them forever if I die before getting them back and redeeming them for a level-up at a Light Spark, Void Sols’ version of a campfire.
If you’ve played a Soulslike before, that will all sound incredibly familiar to you. The twist with Void Sols is that there’s barely any story or lore, the player and enemy are simple geometric shapes, and the whole thing is played from a top-down perspective like Asteroids. As long as I make sure the triangle I’m playing as isn’t hit by enemy attacks in between strikes of my own, I’m golden. This pivot toward minimalism and some other design choices removed much of the fluff and overstimulation that typically makes me not want to play Souslikes.
Simply put, I’m not very good at combat in most Soulslike games. I prefer action to be faster, so I play series like Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, or Yakuza a lot more. That’s probably why Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is my favorite FromSoftware game. Seeing combat from a new perspective and worrying less about the surrounding environment, a frustrating camera, or oddly telegraphed attacks makes Void Sols much more enjoyable for me than your typical Soulslikes. While games that look like it typically function like shoot-’em-ups, Void Sols‘ melee combat is surprisingly approachable thanks to its clear animations and simplistic controls.
Void Sols understands what works the best in Souslikes, namely how interconnected the world can feel and how rewarding slowly exploring can be. It replicates those elements as well as it can in its minimalist style. Each area feels like a maze weaving in and out of itself; strong sound design and visual flourishes give different areas a distinct identity, and there are lots of helpful items to find and pick up for those who explore.
Enemies test my skills in different ways, while bosses are significantly tougher challenges that require me to find and “solve” their weaknesses. As for leveling up and customizing my character, Void Sols keeps things simple with four primary stats. I have the ability to set up loadouts for different playstyles; I used the basic sword and scythe the most.
On top of that, there are difficulty options that let me customize how much damage I deal and receive, which help in particularly troubling spots. I’m all for accessibility options in Soulslikes, so I’m glad that Finite Reflection Studios is as well. As an outsider, it often feels like Soulslikes can get caught up in themselves, overcomplicating things to pay homage to FromSoftware or designing a certain way because that’s how Dark Souls and Elden Ring did it.
By going the minimalist route, Void Sols retains what makes Soulslikes great while cutting out a lot of the overwhelming junk that typically comes with that subgenre. Void Sols is significantly more engaging for me as a result. If you’re in the same Soulslike boat as me or just curious about how a minimalist one works in action, I’d highly recommend checking Void Sols out.
Void Sols is available now on PC, and there’s a free demo to try out as well.
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