Soulframe just had its first developer showcase. Livestreamed July 20 during Warframe’s Tennocon 2024, Soulframe Preludes holds promise for the future. Soulframe places importance on themes of ancestry and family trees, and it leans into the slower, souls-lite genre. This is a major shift from Soulframe’s sister game, Warframe, which takes on a fast-paced MMO vibe. One thing is for certain: Soulframe is Ghibli-inspired, so expect a rolling fantasy landscape filled with mythical animals and magic around every corner. Keep reading to know when and where early access begins for this huge up-and-coming fantasy game!
Players unhappy with gameplay mechanics
Soulframe Preludes begins with your character, an Envoy, washing ashore onto the isle of Midrath. Unlike Warframe, there is no concrete mission system. This forces players to explore and interact with the world around them as they unlock new characters, collect crafting resources, and fight high-priority bosses. Puzzles also play a part in discovery, as this is how you will find many secret locations scattered around the map. Exploration is heavily aided by dungeon crawling, as it was revealed that, when exiting a dungeon, you are placed randomly on the map. Access to your hub will be available anywhere on the map to smooth out potentially long travel times. Self-revival will also be available.
Due to Soulframe being incredibly early access, many changes are still planned. Tweaks to the combat system are in order due to many onlookers pointing out a lack of fluidity. It is important to remember that Soulframe has been in development for only two and a half years. This is very little when considering how ambitious the project is. Digital Extremes has always committed to listening to their community and implementing player feedback into their games, so it is safe to say that Soulframe will continue striding for greatness as time goes on. At the current rate of development, many tweaks, changes, and updates should be expected at next year’s Tennocon.
Family trees allow players to connect
In contrast to the souls-lite, rugged gameplay shown, Soulframe’s themes are much cozier than the game lets on. Much of the game so far focuses on family and the importance of ancestry. Gamers included in the Soulframe preludes have also noted a considerable optimistic feel to the game. Players will construct their NPC family trees and be able to join other players’ ancestries. Hope and happiness play major roles in your character’s development as you seek to redeem your past faults. That isn’t to say there won’t be suspense and horror, though; Soulframe Preludes isn’t all happiness and rainbows.
As stated, redemption is a major theme in this upcoming release. Steve Sinclair, the CEO of Digital Extremes and creative director of Soulframe, explained, “…The world’s kind of a cynical place…and I think for me personally, [Soulframe] is kind of like, ‘What if there was a place where everyone gets a second chance and there was a redemption arc for everyone?’” However, opting for a more corrupt path is also available. Freedom of choice in open-world games is a proven recipe for success (see Baldur’s Gate and Red Dead Redemption), but we will have to wait for further updates to discover how our reputation affects the world around us.
Soulframe Preludes releasing later this year
Aside from the gameplay and overarching themes of the game, some other tidbits of information were revealed during this devstream. Digital Extremes’ musical department has always produced top-quality soundtracks, and Soulframe’s soundtrack will be no different. George Spanos, the lead audio director for Soulframe, mentioned that no synthesizers are used to enhance the earthy, fantasy feeling. Character customization will also have a unique twist, as you will pick your base features (skin color, hair color, etc) by customizing your mother. Of course, you will have access to unique outfits and accessories for your character.
The first batch of early access was released to a select few PC players in December 2023, and since then, 2000 invites have been sent out every week to gamers who have signed up for the program. As fall approaches, more invites will continue to be sent out on a first-come-first-serve basis, so be sure to sign up for the Soulframe Preludes here! If not, that’s okay, because Soulframe Preludes will be released to everyone in Fall 2024. Similar to Warframe, Soulframe will initially be released on PC only. Console ports are confirmed once development is closer to full release.
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