We have lastly received an prolonged take a look at Soulframe, the upcoming fantasy motion RPG from Warframe builders Digital Extremes. This weekend’s TennoCon noticed a brief gameplay highlight trailer, above, and a thirty-minute prolonged reveal of gameplay and character choices, under. In that we received an image of a fantasy world about participant Envoy characters reclaiming the pure world of magical ancestors from a controlling, corrupting pressure.
This primary look confirmed a a lot slower-paced sport than Warframe, clearly taking hints from the extra purposeful—generally even sluggish—fight of third-person fantasy motion RPGs like Elden Ring. There’s little of the 100% octane, straight into your veins, wildly frenetic fight of Warframe to be seen.
Introduced final yr, we’ve not heard an excessive amount of about Soulframe since then, when it seemed loads like a cross of Warframe and Princess Mononoke. This new look actually dials in on a extra medieval-inspired fantasy aesthetic that is deeply occupied with nature and the pure world—whereas nonetheless retaining the extra occult, unusual fantasy vitality that Digital Extremes is best recognized for.
“It’s a long-running sport, it’s going to be free-to-play and all of these issues you possibly can anticipate from a Digital Extremes sport, however the pacing is sort of inverted. The place Warframe is quick and frenetic, Soulframe goes to be sluggish and pensive,” mentioned Steve Sinclair, former inventive director on Warframe who left that submit to be lead on Soulframe.
The trailers exhibit sun-dappled forests and hazy distances interspersed with extra surreal fantasy sights. Just like the participant’s house hub, for instance, which lives on an limitless silver watery floor the place they will acquire their ancestor spirits right into a kind of extra-corporeal city. In a classy twist, the participant merely falls backward via the watery ground to return to the true world. It is all nonetheless very understated in comparison with Warframe, way more grounded and materials over the smooth metals and LED-lit corridors of Digital Extremes’ largest hit.
That is most notable departure is within the UI, which is certainly taking cues from illuminated manuscripts in its fonts and colour palette. For all that, DE is obvious that it will be an open-ish world above with a big number of procedural ranges and dungeons that make Warframe an MMO-lite sport construction. It is nonetheless a bit simplified, at the least, with three core stats, or virtues, of Braveness, Spirit, and Grace.
Given its title there’s additionally the “body” connection, the place you signal magical pacts with the Ancestors to realize their energy to battle the invading Ode forces. These’ll be your swappable skillsets to go together with your swappable weapons and the like.
In my opinion, I did not have large expectations of Soulframe. This presentation modified that. Whereas I am as all the time fairly cautious of a free-to-play mannequin’s disrespect to your money and time, the world and gameplay type introduced right here is likely to be sufficient to get me correctly invested in spite of everything. You could find out extra and join the sport launch on Soulframe’s web site. Soulframe is at present scheduled to launch in late 2024.
