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I'll admit that I've never played the first Soulcalibur. My first game I played in the series was the second game, and I have not played any of the sequels since. It's not because of my lack of interest in the series, but I never was a big fan of fighting game. Games like Tekken, Mortal Kombat, and Street Fighter never interested me because I was not willing to put in the time to learn how to play them. Super Smash Bros. is the exception, but that's another story.
Soulcalibur, on the other hand, has a special place in my heart. What makes Soulcalibur different compared to other fighting games is that it is weapon based combat. You have characters that fight with swords, axes, finger blades, chain swords, and even staffs. Personally, I'm more of a fan of weapon based combat compared to hand-to-hand combat in video games because there are no games that come to mind that have a weapon-based system in terms of swords quite as refined as Soulcalibur.
Much like any game in this genre, do not expect any kind of realistic swordplay. As a matter of fact, expect some over-the-top, fluid Japanese action. Everything from the animations to the art style screams Japanese culture. However, Soulcalibur is known for having these different types of Western and Eastern cultures mashing together as if they are all one culture. You have characters that are equipped with classic Japanese weaponry and others that are equipped with complete anime style weaponry. It may come off as somebody just throwing together different time periods, but it just works here because of the presentation.
By presentation, I mean that the game makes it clear that there are fighters from various types of cultures coming together. However, how exactly does this relate to the gameplay itself?
Since different types of cultures come into play, the types of weapons being used differ and different weapons mean different playstyles. You have characters that are best suited for close-quarters combat, long-range, medium-range, or a mix. Sure, this can be said for a lot of fighting games, but for Soulcalibur you don't really need to have a whole lot of skill to get used to character's playstyles and movement patterns. You can jump on any characters and quickly learn how they function after a match or two. However, if you really want to get good with any character then you do have to put in the time to learn.
If you've played any Soulcalibur game in the past, then the gameplay hasn't changed much for better or worse. However, the introduction of the reversal edge mechanic has made things a lot more interesting to say the least. In case you don't know what reversal edge is, think of it as "rock, paper, scissors".
Before I talk about the multiplayer portion of the game, I want to talk about the single player aspect of Soulcalibur 6. It's not exactly great. There are two different story modes: Soul Chronicle and Libra of Souls. Soul Chronicle lets you play as most of the characters in the game and experience their own stories based around their quest for Soul Edge. Libra of Souls is more of an RPG where the story centers around your created character.
To be honest, neither of these modes are game sellers. Although I appreciate the effort that has been put into the story modes, both of them feel like a chore to play. Personally, I played Soul Chronicle to experience the story of Geralt of Rivia. I think that his story should be experienced especially by Witcher fans.
Okay, now let's talk about the multiplayer.
The multiplayer is so much fun. This is going to be the mode that you are going to spend the most time on. I know that put in over 9 days of gameplay into Soulcalibur 6. Updates are given regularly in order to make tweaks to the characters available in the game in order to spice the game up. Although I can't speak for the PC or PS4 playerbase, there are enough people to play against in the Xbox One version of the game.
However, the community can be toxic. Considering the fact that this is a fighting game we're talking about, toxicity should be expected. I can't go a day without somebody telling me to go kill myself or even teabagging me. Personally, it doesn't bother me that much, but I want to tell people who are jumping into this game as beginners to not get discourged from these scumbags. This is such a fun game that shouldn't be ruined by the small amount of players that want to ruin the experience to other people.
This is a game that should be played by both casual and hardcore fighting game fans. If it ever goes on sale, I highly recommend picking this game up.
Till Next Time!!
