I'm Loving Lost Soul Aside's Story for All the Wrong Reasons

There’s been a lot of ambiguity about Lost Soul Aside so far, due in large part to Sony and UltiZeroGames’ questionable decision to withhold pre-release review copies from the press and influencers. As such, a lot of prospective buyers may be unsure about whether they should purchase UltiZeroGames’ debut, so here’s my rough take: in some ways, Lost Soul Aside is a genuinely great action game, and fans of the genre will probably find a lot to like in it.

But at the same time, it’s not a “good” game. It’s janky, awkward, and lacking polish in many areas, especially its narrative. The game’s plot is derivative and convoluted, its characters are bland to the point of comedy, character designs are dated and unfashionable, and the dialogue… well, the dialogue is completely insane at times. All of these elements combine to make Lost Soul Aside a wildly ineffective narrative experience, which is why I’m baffled by how much fun I’m having with it.

Lost Soul Aside’s Story Is Bad, and I Love It

Lost Soul Aside Skips Past Cringe and Crashes Into Hilarity

In the world of film, there are countless examples of “so bad it’s good” movies: The Room, Birdemic, and Sharknado are just a few of the most notable examples of such a phenomenon. These works have made an indelible cultural impact, spawning copycats, biting commentaries, merchandise, documentaries, and fan communities, but they don’t exactly have an equivalent in the gaming world.

I present Lost Soul Aside as a candidate for the “so bad it’s good” gaming category, as baffling writing coupled with poorly executed English voice acting makes it unintentionally brilliant. Take Lost Soul Aside‘s protagonist Kaser, for instance: he is stoic to the point of absurdity, reacting to reality-reshaping supernatural events with the enthusiasm of someone discovering a new restaurant in their town. He is only ever mildly invested at any given time, and not in a suave, Bayonetta-esque way. Ironically, this makes him fun, to me at least.

Then there’s the voice acting, whose awkwardness seems to stem less from the voice talent themselves and more from a combination of bad direction and silly dialog. Much of what characters say to each other is meaningless exposition, spoken in an unnatural, almost fourth-wall-breaking manner, but the characters’ emotions never seem to match the content of their speech. They sound either disinterested in concepts that should be more evocative, or overly impassioned about mundane, highly technical details.

All of this unintentional comedy is elevated by Lost Soul Aside‘s janky character animation, which makes cutscenes resemble a conglomeration of dolls acting out some trivial melodrama. Characters like Louisa behave inexplicably, and their glassy, lifeless eyes only heighten the sense of uncanniness they evoke. It can be genuinely entertaining to see these strange, alien interactions unfold. It’s certainly more engaging than actually following the story seriously.

Lost Soul Aside‘s narrative is presented with naked earnestness, which is perhaps why it comes across as endearingly comedic, whereas something like Forspoken‘s self-aware dialogue just seems cringy.

Lost Soul Aside’s Gameplay Saves the Day

The more I play Lost Soul Aside, the more I find myself enjoying its combat sandbox. It’s frenetic, fast-paced, and stylish, and unique mechanics like sword customization inject it with much-needed novelty. This may be why I am able to find some enjoyment, however ironic it may be, in Lost Soul Aside‘s story: these strange cutscenes and character interactions punctuate moments of genuine brilliance, hitting me when my fondness for the game is at its peak. One thing’s for sure, for all its faults, Lost Soul Aside is not lacking in passion, and that makes it hard not to love, despite its problems.