Soul Axiom Rebooted Review (Nintendo Switch)

Review code used, with many thanks to Wales Interactive!

This first-person adventure puzzler utterly messed with my head, but in an oddly good way?

Story

Soul Axiom’s story is odd, and twisted, and honestly a bit too convoluted for me to really understand. You start the game free-falling towards what looks like a skyship only to be literally dropped into the tutorial level, which has absolutely no hints as to what on Earth is going on. A few puzzles and a Wild West vibed level later, you find yourself on a train where finally someone tells you where you are.

Soul Axiom Rebooted, Ladiesgamers.com — *Cleanest train station I’ve ever seen…*

This is Elysia, a digital space where souls are uploaded to after death. You still have no idea who you are, or why you’re the person running around this oddly haunting space interfering with everything, but at least you have a name for it now. As you move through the various levels you’ll come across little monkey toys, called PMO’s, that are the digital representation of ‘external messages’. These are designed to add more information to the story, especially when combined with the cut-scenes you’ll encounter on completing a level, but unfortunately, I found it nigh impossible to follow.

It’s a shame because the world of Elysia is interesting and made me want to know more, but the story provided was just too disjointed to ever reach that ‘Aha!’ moment.

Gameplay

I love the mechanics of this game. I’m just going to put that out there straight away. As you continue through the early levels you’ll acquire three hand powers, which become your main way of interacting with the world. You’ve got the blue power, which allows you to phase objects in or out of the digital space, the green power, which moves and pauses objects so you can put something to where you want it, and the yellow power which shoots either a small or big blast at something.

The places to use the various powers are highlighted in the matching colour and serve as hints for how to solve the puzzles you’re faced with. These puzzles can be obviously simple or fiendishly sneaky and difficult depending on which level you’re in; for example one puzzle was simply moving the dinosaur’s bones into place, while another was to move a tower then use another object to stop it where you want it so you can then shoot the thing that’s halfway up the tower.

The mechanics work well for the game, and I was really impressed with some of the puzzle designs as they made you think completely outside of the box, but sometimes the game just became frustrating when trying to figure out what you needed to do next as there are no hints, anywhere.

Graphics and Sound

The scenes in Soul Axiom are beautifully designed. With the exception of one specific level they’re quite pretty, in vibrant tones and relatively simple graphics, but that adds to the haunting effect of Elysia in a brilliant way. My favourite level has to be the jungle, with the ancient structures and encroaching greenery giving the entire level a real Indiana Jones feel. I didn’t notice any performance or graphics issues when playing either which was nice. My only graphical gripe is the faces – I feel like they could have been so much better.

The sound in this game is oddly anxiety-inducing. I can’t put my finger on the exact cause, but the atmosphere generated ramped my anxiety up to the max every time I played which made it very hard for me to focus on the enjoyment of the simple soundtrack – it took a lot of geeing myself up to open the game every time, which unfortunately detracted from the experience for me. The differing sound design for each level really makes the various environments come to life, though unfortunately the voice acting was very much a let-down with its less-than-ideal quality.

Difficulty

Soul Axiom is a really good puzzler; there’s such a variety of challenges and hidden secrets that it really keeps you on your toes, but sometimes things were a little too hidden and I just got annoyed trying to complete a level. I did always feel a sense of satisfaction when I reached an end-of-level cutscene, but sometimes it was more of a ‘Thank goodness that’s over’ than a ‘Yes I did it!’.

Conclusion

I both loved and hated this game; the variety of puzzles and beautiful environments always had me excited to play, but the anxiety-inducing music and too-obscure story made it very difficult for me to hit that Go button. However, for anyone looking for a mind-bending challenge with excellent value, I definitely recommend picking it up and immersing yourself in this post-death digital world.

Final Verdict: I Like It