Dark Souls Mobile Game Slashy Souls Released

[Conrad Zimmerman]

Dark Souls Mobile Game Slashy Souls Released

Something to tide you over for a bit

Bandai Namco, in partnership with GameStop, has released a new mobile game based on Dark Souls, as the publisher gears up to launch Dark Souls III in April. Available on iOS and Android devices, Slashy Souls is an autorunner that places a similar demand on accuracy and timing as the series which inspired it.

In Slashy Souls, players command a knight on the run from an encroaching dark fog, avoiding traps and fighting with monsters. Tapping the screen has the knight perform an attack. Swipes cause them to jump or roll in the direction of the swipe, allowing one to leap over obstacles or dodge attacks.

And, like the rest of the Souls games, it's rather difficult at the outset, with a visual language that needs to be learned and no pity for those who aren't prepared. Truth be told, it's been kicking my butt most of the morning. But, as with other titles in the series, I find it just as challenging to not blame myself for losing. The controls are responsive and accurate, I'm just terrible at it.

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Maybe you'll have better luck than I. You can grab Slashy Souls for yourself from App Store [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bandainamcoent.android.slashysouls], where it's available now as a free download.

Permalink

 

[DemomanHusband]

Man, at first I thought this was a fangame of some sort, but it really is Bamco. They named it 'Slashy Souls' and farmed it out to the world of autorunners.

I don't know whether to decry the whoring of the brand or to laugh hysterically. I mean, c'mon. Slashy Souls?

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Man, at first I thought this was a fangame of some sort, but it really is Bamco. They named it 'Slashy Souls' and farmed it out to the world of autorunners.

I don't know whether to decry the whoring of the brand or to laugh hysterically. I mean, c'mon. Slashy Souls?

At least its something original made for Mobile instead of say shoe-horning Dark Souls 1 itself into Mobile Phones.

This is how you make a mobile addition to a established game "looking at Deus Ex the Fall"

 

[Aerosteam]

This game looks too hardcore for me, I think I'll stick to Dark Souls.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Hm...I wonder if it ties into the Souls universe at all story-wise. Someone tell Vaati to go make a video so I can find out.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

This game is too hardcore for my phone apparently. Well screw you, android...being one decimal place too archaic to handle this. Didn't even give me a chance!

 

[bluegate]

Another item to throw on the mobile trash pile, this time from a respected published even, well I'll be damned, never thought I'd see the day.

 

[DemomanHusband]

Man, at first I thought this was a fangame of some sort, but it really is Bamco. They named it 'Slashy Souls' and farmed it out to the world of autorunners.

I don't know whether to decry the whoring of the brand or to laugh hysterically. I mean, c'mon. Slashy Souls?

At least its something original made for Mobile instead of say shoe-horning Dark Souls 1 itself into Mobile Phones.

This is how you make a mobile addition to a established game "looking at Deus Ex the Fall"

Honestly, I think I respect the ambition of The Fall over the low-key effort of Slashy Souls. Now, I don't respect how godawful The Fall was, but I prefer to see games that try to take mobile platforms out of the realm of turbo-casual entertainment.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Man, at first I thought this was a fangame of some sort, but it really is Bamco. They named it 'Slashy Souls' and farmed it out to the world of autorunners.

I don't know whether to decry the whoring of the brand or to laugh hysterically. I mean, c'mon. Slashy Souls?

At least its something original made for Mobile instead of say shoe-horning Dark Souls 1 itself into Mobile Phones.

This is how you make a mobile addition to a established game "looking at Deus Ex the Fall"

Honestly, I think I respect the ambition of The Fall over the low-key effort of Slashy Souls. Now, I don't respect how godawful The Fall was, but I prefer to see games that try to take mobile platforms out of the realm of turbo-casual entertainment.

IMO that is an impossibility. Totalbiscuit commented on why Core Games just can't work on Mobile.

And people who hooks controllers onto their Mobile Device just defeats the point of a Mobile Device.

I would not mind a mobile device if it was like the underrated Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xperia_Play

That was a great idea that is sadly not followed up on.

 

[Dead Metal]

Man, at first I thought this was a fangame of some sort, but it really is Bamco. They named it 'Slashy Souls' and farmed it out to the world of autorunners.

I don't know whether to decry the whoring of the brand or to laugh hysterically. I mean, c'mon. Slashy Souls?

At least its something original made for Mobile instead of say shoe-horning Dark Souls 1 itself into Mobile Phones.

This is how you make a mobile addition to a established game "looking at Deus Ex the Fall"

Honestly, I think I respect the ambition of The Fall over the low-key effort of Slashy Souls. Now, I don't respect how godawful The Fall was, but I prefer to see games that try to take mobile platforms out of the realm of turbo-casual entertainment.

IMO that is an impossibility. Totalbiscuit commented on why Core Games just can't work on Mobile.

And people who hooks controllers onto their Mobile Device just defeats the point of a Mobile Device.

I would not mind a mobile device if it was like the underrated Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xperia_Play

That was a great idea that is sadly not followed up on.

Not impossible at all, I've played plenty of mobile games and have emulated older titles. They can make an experience that's pretty much identical to old 90s games without resorting to making it a shitty endless runner. Touchscreen controlls do take a bit getting used to, but they work without having to resort to controllers.
Sure Super Metroid was a bit more difficult due to the touchscreen, but it still worked.
There are also developers who craft games for mobile with deeper gameplay than endless runners.
Just because the Fall attempted it and failed at it years ago does not make it impossible.

 

[Setch Dreskar]

Hm...I wonder if it ties into the Souls universe at all story-wise. Someone tell Vaati to go make a video so I can find out.

No they stated it has nothing to do with the Souls universe at all, just an inspiration game completely separated from it.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

"This app is incompatible with all of your devices."
How is this game not compatible with my Xperia Z1?
Sure, it's not the news shiny toy, but god damn it plays pretty much everything on the store without any problems.

 

[Dead Metal]

"This app is incompatible with all of your devices."
How is this game not compatible with my Xperia Z1?
Sure, it's not the news shiny toy, but god damn it plays pretty much everything on the store without any problems.

So this post made me wonder and I went to check it out, I get the same message
And my current devices are Sony Xperia Tablet Z3 compact, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 .... the hell?
Does this require Nvidia Tegra SOCs?

lol WTF

 

[Jandau]

It looks pretty bad, I won't lie and i'm a huge Dark Souls fan.

Also why are the Great Lords (Like Gravelord Nito for example) a recycled enemy in the graveyard? He's the First of the Dead, and there's only one of him. Seeing multiple in this pixel game is just a huge red flag for me, along with the fact it's named Slashy Souls.

No thank you.

That's before we get to the part where the main character is wearing the Faraam set from DS2 and fighting enemies from DS1...

 

[sorsa]

This is insulting to the dignity of the franchise and I want it.

 

[CaitSeith]

Interesting, I'll give it a try. But I'm going with low expectations. It's free after all.

 

[sageoftruth]

A super-hard Dark Souls-esque action game that's controlled by touches and swipes? Apple's going to make a fortune replacing all the broken iPhones and iPads.

 

[StatusNil]

Is it just me, or does that whole line of "NO INSTRUCTIONS, JUST DEATH" hype seem to rather miss the point of the Souls games? And I'm not just talking about this cash-in thing, but the real games as well. You get this whole "LOL bro, it's so hard u gunna die all the time!" from the publisher itself.

To me, that's not the draw. The point is that you're walking into something without excessive handholding, so you can experience the feelings of mystery and danger for yourself. Like it was an ADVENTURE or something. Sure, that may translate into getting killed a lot, but that's merely incidental to the experience.

 

[CaitSeith]

Man, at first I thought this was a fangame of some sort, but it really is Bamco. They named it 'Slashy Souls' and farmed it out to the world of autorunners.

I don't know whether to decry the whoring of the brand or to laugh hysterically. I mean, c'mon. Slashy Souls?

At least its something original made for Mobile instead of say shoe-horning Dark Souls 1 itself into Mobile Phones.

This is how you make a mobile addition to a established game "looking at Deus Ex the Fall"

Honestly, I think I respect the ambition of The Fall over the low-key effort of Slashy Souls. Now, I don't respect how godawful The Fall was, but I prefer to see games that try to take mobile platforms out of the realm of turbo-casual entertainment.

IMO that is an impossibility. Totalbiscuit commented on why Core Games just can't work on Mobile.

And people who hooks controllers onto their Mobile Device just defeats the point of a Mobile Device.

I would not mind a mobile device if it was like the underrated Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xperia_Play

That was a great idea that is sadly not followed up on.

TBs wasn't speaking about Core Games not working on Mobile; but about Core Games in Mobile not having an audience. The fact that Core Games console (and PC games) designed to use console controllers (and keyboard + mouse) usually don't translate well in mobile devices, dissuades the consumers. But eventually someone will figure out how to make mobile Core Gaming. Just because it hasn't been done yet doesn't mean that it's impossible.

 

[CaitSeith]

Is it just me, or does that whole line of "NO INSTRUCTIONS, JUST DEATH" hype seem to rather miss the point of the Souls games? And I'm not just talking about this cash-in thing, but the real games as well. You get this whole "LOL bro, it's so hard u gunna die all the time!" from the publisher itself.

To me, that's not the draw. The point is that you're walking into something without excessive handholding, so you can experience the feelings of mystery and danger for yourself. Like it was an ADVENTURE or something. Sure, that may translate into getting killed a lot, but that's merely incidental to the experience.

Well, that's marketing 101. Make it sound like something that immediately makes it stand out from the rest of the games.

Spoiler: Like the cover for this space shooter...

Although it's not always a good idea...