The seventh generation of game consoles ushered in HD graphics, widescreen support for the vast majority of titles, online connectivity, and more, but when it came to the Nintendo Wii, players were instead introduced to the world of motion controls.
But what if the Nintendo Wii could do VR games? The answer would be Soul Covenant. Released earlier this month, Thirdverse released Soul Covenant to little fanfare on PSVR2, the Meta store, and PC. Touting itself as a story-driven VR JRPG, I was intrigued by the premise, as it is rare to find any RPGs, let alone a JRPG made with VR audiences in mind.
Sadly, Soul Covenant feels like a game from the early 2000s, with its repetitive gameplay loop, waggle controls, and nonsensical story with more edge than high school kids of the same era that the game seemingly targets. Soul Covenant’s convoluted story revolves around a world that has been taken over by an evil AI overlord, with humanity relegated to fight using the desiccated bones of your fallen alleys, fashioned into swords, axes and other melee-centric weapons.
“Sadly, Soul Covenant feels like a game from the early 2000s, with its repetitive gameplay loop, waggle controls, and nonsensical story…”
Instead of any semblance of an interesting or engaging story, Soul Covenant vomits its word-salad expository sequences via dull and flat cinema-style slideshows that feel like they belong on a mobile device and not a $30-$40 game. Worse yet, most of the characters in Soul Covenant are introduced as deceased comrades, which the player can turn into weapons. This sounds like an exciting concept on paper, but in practice, it gives little to no time to care about anyone, making Soul Covenant’s story as thrilling as its uninspired and dated gameplay.
Gameplay in Soul Covenant consists of uninteresting arena-based levels that often get reused to the point of nauseam. These include waves of enemies, boss encounters and other uninspired objectives such as protecting a beacon or holding out until time runs out.
If there is anything good I can say about Soul Covenant, it would be its enemy designs. These designs contort and fuse porcelain doll-looking creatures into unsettling amalgams of metal and machine, somewhat reminiscent of the angelic monsters found in the Bayonetta series. Another small glimmer of polish in an otherwise banal experience is Soul Covenants’ Japanese dub, which features many characters that convey a good deal of emotion even through the often stilted and static delivery of its flat presentation.
“Unfortunately, actually playing Soul Covenant feels like playing a discount bin shovelware Wii game, complete with repetitive waggle controls.”
Attacking in Soul Covenant, by default, is controlled by the right touch plus controller. In contrast, your left hand controls your demonic arm. This can be used to absorb energy, eventually cumulating in a powerful beam attack, which can be executed by placing your right hand over your left arm and pressing the trigger. Outside of your beam and basic melee attack, you can access a shield that can be deployed using your left hand. Finally, all weapons in Soul Covenant have a two-handed mode, which requires bringing both hands together, transforming your base weapon into a larger two-handed equivalent or, in some instances, dual-wielded weapons that utilize both hands.
Unfortunately, actually playing Soul Covenant feels like playing a discount bin shovelware Wii game, complete with repetitive waggle controls. Regardless of what weapons you pick, most enemies can be vanquished by simply flailing your arms like a grandmother addicted to Wii Sports.
There are cool concepts and even fun ideas, like charging your arm and using a beam finishing move, coupled with interesting weapon and enemy designs and some solid voice work that pepper the otherwise bland world of Soul Covenant. Still, ultimately, they’re not enough to save a game that feels like it belongs in the past.
