The very first thing Lost Soul Aside tells me, before I even start the game, is to "Press R2 at the right moment to perform a Burst Pursuit and deal additional damage to enemies". Hell, yes. I'm a big fan of character action games, and though at this point I don't understand what any of that means, I appreciate the upfront dedication to the love of the game – twitchy combos above all else. While Lost Soul Aside struggles to put its best foot forward, once you get your hands on a wide range of weapons and moves it becomes fun to hack and slash through. But it takes too long to get there.
It means I can almost forgive when wonky, awkwardly animated cutscenes can make it "unintentionally one of the funniest games of the year", such as when an evil imperial guard punts a child through a wooden crate in its opening moments. The problem comes from a clash when its presentation, aping the Final Fantasy style from its visuals to its narrative set-up, get in the way of its best combat moments – spending far too long forcing you to slog through an incredibly slow opening before trusting you with its tools… which it then locks behind massive skill trees.
