Kristala Is Extra Than A Soulslike With Cats – PAX East 2024

Posted On Mar 27, 2024 By admin With Comments Off

Soulslike games are all the rage today. FromSoftware popularized the action-RPG genre with games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring. Other games like Nioh have seen success as well.

Kristala will enter Early Access this May and aims to follow in those footsteps. Thanks to fluid combat, acrobatic platforming, and satisfying stealth, it hits all the right notes early in development.

Oh, and you play as a cat, too. Did we mention that?

Kristala Features The Best of the Soulslike Genre

Every FromSoftware game has a defining feature that helps make them stand out. Dark Souls features methodical combat that rewards patience and fortitude. Bloodborne plays far more visceral and savage, focusing more on combat. Sekiro takes things one step further, introducing a stagger meter that can daze enemies and open them up for a counterattack. Elden Ring features the best of Dark Souls combat but in a more open-world environment.

Kristala borrows elements from all these games, incorporating the stagger meter, methodical combat, and fast-paced action. It knows what works for its setting and themes and what doesn’t, refusing to force square pegs into round holes just because that’s what its influences have done before.

Kristala PAX — Image Credit: Astral Clocktower Studios.

The resultant gameplay experience feels fresh and fluid for the Soulslike genre. It’s also thematically on point with being a cat. The game consists of more than dodging and parrying enemies. Players have to incorporate stealth tactics while also thinking like a cat. One point in the demo features the player walking towards a group of enemies. Their path patterns are staggered, so it’s impossible to approach them without being detected. So what’s a cat to do? Climb onto the roof, perform an aerial takedown, and nimbly roll out of harm’s way before dealing with the remaining enemies.

Platforming goes beyond this; sometimes, players will be tasked with wall jumping, navigating tight ropes, and displaying cat-like reflexes. Don’t worry, though. Immediately after this encounter was the type of challenging opponent you’d expect from these games.

Kristala’s Kickstarter Is Allowing The Team To Aim For Lofty Goals

Kristala PAX East Image Credit: Astral Clocktower Studios.

While the PAX East demo focuses on the “traditional” fighter-type class, Kristala will offer players more than one way to play. Developer Astral Clocktower Studios teases the ability to mix up to 16 spells simultaneously, allowing for various play styles. Action RPGs flourish when they allow gamers to play their way, and Kristala looks to continue that tradition.

The game’s Kickstarter campaign also allows the team to shoot for impressive features that help round out the experience. Beyond character customization, Kickstarter highlights include support for New Game Plus, a Boss Rush Mode, a crafting system, and more. Thanks to the community support, Kristala looks to be a well-rounded experience as it heads into Early Access.

Yet, while impressive, the development process still has its speed bumps. The team has switched from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5, causing hiccups. The PAX East demo has some issues with frame rate stability, but the game is still early in development. These issues shouldn’t surprise anyone and should be resolved as time goes on.

If Kristala can stick the landing, it will be a worthy entry in the Soulslike genre. Its ability to offer a new way to play an action RPG while paying homage to other similar titles has it firmly on our radar.

The full PAX East show floor demo will drop on Steam in a few weeks. We also can’t wait to get our hands on the game’s Early Access release.

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