Addictive battles and a hard-boiled worldview will get you hooked!　Play Review of "SOULVARS," a Deck-Building RPG with Beautiful Dot Graphics

A sci-fi hard-boiled story drawn with dots!　It is sure to be a buzzkill for those who love novels!

SOULVARS" is a title with the genre name of "Soul Deck-Build RPG. The word "deckbuilding" conjures up images of card games, but how is this fused with RPGs, and what exactly is "soul" ......?

The first thing that catches the eye is the graphics. The dot graphics are extremely beautiful and of high quality!　The dot graphics, reminiscent of retro games but with a cyber atmosphere, animate smoothly and delight the player's eyes.

First, let me introduce the storyline of the game.

The story takes place in a world where even souls can be converted into data. However, the price for this is the sudden appearance of "dominators," or deformities that threaten the lives of the people.

In such a world, soulbearers, who are born with another soul, the alt-soul, and have a strong resistance to dominators, were fighting against the deformities day and night. The main character, Yakumo, is one of the DDO (Deed), a private organization commissioned to eliminate this evil. ...... is the story of this work. The unique story with a sci-fi and hard-boiled atmosphere will appeal to those who like light novels and late-night anime. It will probably stick with those who like light novels and late-night anime.

An unintentionally addictive fun! A fusion of a card game and an RPG, the battles in which players fight by selecting cards in their hands are hot!

The basic flow of this title is to explore dungeons, clear battles with enemies and bosses, and collect equipment to strengthen your character. This is the flow of a so-called orthodox RPG, but one major difference is that there is no concept of character levels. In this title, equipment called "gear" is the key to strengthening the character.

Now let me introduce the battle system, which is the main part of this work.

The battles in this work are very unique. The player has a hand of cards called "soul bits," from which he or she chooses an action to perform each turn. Since soul bits are tied to the gear you have equipped, choosing what to equip is an element of "deck building" in a card game.

So, it is not as if you can overwhelm the enemy with a large number of cards from the start of the battle. In order to select soul bits, you need AP (Action Power), and the AP at the beginning of the battle is only 1, which means that you can only select one soul bit. However, by satisfying various conditions, such as exploiting an enemy's weak point or playing guard, the AP for the next turn can be increased. This allows players to enjoy strategic battles in which they must always look ahead and choose their actions.

When the AP is 2 or more, the player can choose a specific combination of soul bits to unleash a technique called "Arts" that he has already mastered. For example, in the case of the Yakumo, selecting two flame soul bits activates the "Heat Chain," a fire-based psychic attack, and selecting two sword soul bits activates the "Cross Edge," a non-attribute-based slash attack. You can take your time and enjoy the thought that plagues you each turn, such as whether to save your hand to activate an art or to consume your hand to increase your AP for the next turn, .......

Furthermore, numerous strategies are provided in this title's battles, such as "Burst," which allows players to aim for increased damage while canceling the enemy's next action, and "Alternation," which allows players to transform to escape a tight spot when their HP falls below a certain level. It is a bit complicated to learn them all at once, but by using these elements properly, you can gain an advantage in battle, so you will want to learn them carefully as you become familiar with the battles.

There are also many challenging elements!　Let's sit back, relax, and play through the game!

There are many elements in this title that make the game challenging.

The maximum number of party members you can have in this game is three. In other words, to put it in terms of decks, you can build up to three decks. In a typical card game, there is usually only one deck used in battle, but in this game, you can build up to three decks, allowing you to devise a very wide range of strategies. The author believes that this volume can be counted as a kind of challenging element.

The vastness of the map to explore is another challenging element. The map in this title is structured as a series of small rooms connected by passageways, but there are not only enemies and bosses, but also items and NPCs to talk to, providing a wealth of exploration elements. In some cases, the NPCs will even accept subquests from you, making the game very rewarding to play.

Another feature of this title is the abundance of equipment, some of which have "enhancement slots". In the image of a hole in the equipment, you can enhance it by inserting an item called a "module. This element of customizing one's own unique equipment can be said to be a sufficiently large volume of challenging elements.

SOULVARS" is packed with unique game experiences that can only be experienced here!

So, we have introduced "SOULVARS" to you.

SOULVARS" has a unique battle system in which players fight enemies with decks built with equipment, a hard-boiled storyline, and tasteful dot graphics. We strongly recommend this title to those who want to enjoy strategic battles and a new gaming experience that cannot be found anywhere else.