Soulslinger: Envoy of Death review

I’m a huge fan of Boomer shooters. The basic design, aggressive action, and OTT audio were amazing. Therefore, when this arena-based approach was combined with modern rogue-like mechanics, I couldn’t resist. Soulslinger: Envoy of Death has been in Early Access for eternity, and I couldn’t wait for it to hit the 1.0 stage. Thankfully, this has happened on Xbox, and I dived in immediately to tackle its weird Wild West ways.

Elder Games developed this first-person, single-player endeavour. It has a fun, interesting, and rich central plot, and a handful of essential NPCs. Moreover, in typical genre fashion, there are permanent and temporary upgrades, a whole host of bosses, and plenty of monsters to slay with your pistol, shotgun, and elemental abilities. In short, there are plenty of avenues to explore.

Soulslinger: Envoy of Death does exactly what it says on the tin.

Unsurprisingly, Soulslinger: Envoy of Death is all about a soul who has been rescued by death and is now his envoy. It is your responsibility to save the souls who are being ripped apart in Limbo. This is easier said than done, as the Cartel has moved into town and wishes to use the souls for their plans. However, they didn’t plan on such a brutish hero who can respawn. Consequently, no matter how much they kill the gruff protagonist, he keeps coming back for more.

The plot is assisted by some fine NPCs. The relationships between the hero and these characters are stretched at times, but this makes it interesting to watch. Alongside this, some unusual spirits are not ready to pass across. These entities highlight the hero’s softer side while adding depth to the plot.

Take to the arena.

Unlike other FPS titles, Soulslinger: Envoy of Death focuses purely on arena-based combat. Each location has a unique twist with its own band of hideous monsters to overcome. However, this doesn’t prevent things from having a repetitive edge. No matter how much the game tries, the gameplay loop quickly becomes all too familiar. This isn’t an issue if you are tackling this casually, but the nature of the genre means that you’re likely to experience Deja Vu.

As you proceed through the action, you must select a path to take. Each arena rewards you with a set resource or elemental ability. Subsequently, you must weigh up whether it is better to collect resources to permanently upgrade the hero, or to improve your temporary strength and aim for a match-winning run. Either way, the choices are sometimes taken out of your hands.

Huge bosses.

The grunts come in all shapes and sizes. This was pleasant, but Soulslinger: Envoy of Death should have had a larger roster of villains to destroy. Maybe I’m being greedy, or maybe I’ve spent too long in the dark arenas, but things were a little too cut and paste for my liking.

Unfortunately, the same complaint applies to the bosses. Despite their unique skins, many of the combat styles and problems to overcome were the same. This was unfortunate as the developer missed a trick. Luckily, there are a couple of tougher paths to take if you wish to test your skills. I won’t spoil this for you, but the hardcore element of this FPS was fantastic.

Soulslinger: Envoy of Death suffers from performance issues.

No modern game should stutter and stop. Anything below 30 FPS is considered poor and an abject failure. Sadly, Soulslinger: Envoy of Death suffers horribly with slow loading times and occasional 20 FPS sluggish performance problems. This is utterly sickening and appalling for a modern game. I’d imagine this will be patched out at some point, but at the moment, it is janky to say the least.

The audio is a brilliant blend of aggression, gruff voiceover work, and ear-splitting sound effects. Each monster sounds awful with their screams and cruel weaponry. The Wild West theme twists and flows as heavy, chaotic tracks take over. In a nutshell, it’s a treat for your senses.

The controls are a little loose, and aiming your pistol or shotgun was very easy. I’m not the best at this genre, but I could hit every moving target even though it appeared that my crosshair was miles off. This was strange and something that needs to be addressed. Unfortunately, the combination of repetitive action, poor performance metrics, and unusual aiming mechanics will reduce the replay value and longevity.

Soulslinger: Envoy of Death is good, but it could be better.

The latter half of my review feels quite negative, but I enjoyed Soulslinger: Envoy of Death. The core concept is solid, and I love the story and the characters. Furthermore, the audio is excellent, and there is considerable potential. However, I cannot ignore the negatives. Thankfully, each of these development points can be ironed out, and when this happens, it will be an incredible arena-based shooter. Accordingly, I recommend buying it and playing it with an open mind!