6 Souls may seem like the name of another Souls like game, but it is not fortunately. It is a retro style action platformer where you play as Jack and his trusty dog companion Butch as they explore a castle.
Gameplay wise, you mostly play as Jack in a traditional platformer sense as you traverse through the side scrolling levels, with the added twist to avoid or destroy enemies, to find collectibles and keys to progress to the next room. When you come to a small opening too small to fit through, then you can take control of your dog Butch to explore beyond the opening. Both characters feel very different from each other in there abilities, so switching between them is a nice change of pace. At the end of each series of levels, you fight a boss. These fights are more difficult and tense, adding depth to the overall gameplay.
The story starts with you exploring the castle. After the first boss battle, you find a mysterious item that happens to be an imprisoned soul. So now the story shifts toward finding and releasing the remaining 6 souls.
The graphics are a nice and crisp retro bit style. It works well with the feel and length of the game. While the color pallet is a little bland, taking place in a castle after all, it is well contrasted, making it easy to see. This artstyle, setting, and gameplay invoke nostalgia for the older Castlevania games, albeit streamlined without as much RPG aspects.
Overall, 6 Souls was a nice few hours to relive a little bit of nostalgia. I would recommend it to fans of the genre and those wanting to experience that nostalgia. Being published by Ratalaika, the Xbox achievements are easy as well, if that is the kind of game you are looking for.
I received an Xbox review code for 6 Souls from a PR agency with the expectation for an article of some kind. I played the game for several hours on a Series X. I am mostly blind, so some things I have trouble with may not affect your experience with the game. 6 Souls is available now on several platforms.
