Just six months after releasing Soulcaster, MagicalTimeBean are back on the Indie Marketplace with a sequel. Soulcaster II is a cross between a tower defence game and an RPG.
You play the game as an old, frail wizard, travelling through various levels and environments. Using orbs you summon the souls of archers, alchemists and warriors to do your fighting for you. Each soul has a different role. The archer has very high damage per second, yet is vulnerable to attack. The warrior is great to use as a shield as he can take high amounts of hits, but has low damage output. Finally the alchemist is useful for attacking a large number of neighbouring enemies at once, but also causes damage to allies. It’s a system that works brilliantly, and is very simple to use as each soul has an individual button on the controller. Though you can mix and match the soul types you summon, you are limited overall by the amount of orbs you are carrying. This means you have to think carefully where you place each soul, and take an effective tactical approach.
The game has no tutorial, but it’s too simple to need one. As well as the combat described above, the player also receives potions which are automatically used to revive the wizard on death. You can find scrolls throughout the levels which cause a devastating area-of-effect attack, very handy for when you become surrounded. You can also pay money to upgrade the attack, defence and speed stats of the souls you summon, which becomes essential as you progress through the game and encounter more difficult waves of enemies.
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Soulcaster II uses great 8-bit visuals which gives the game the retro feel that the developers were obviously aiming for. The soundtrack is also fantastic, with several rock scores being offered through the levels of the game. The game uses passwords to load game saves. This is a very retro technique, and although it is handy for skipping or replaying parts of the game (if you know the password), it is a very out-dated method.
The game features some attempt at a story, but due to boring narrative and a lack of tension, it is hard to follow. In fact, the game would probably benefit from not having a story. It doesn’t really need one to follow the gameplay, or keep the game entertaining.
Overall, Soulcaster II is a great Indie title and well worth the 240 :MSPoints: price tag. For retro gamers it is a must-buy, and is an original take on the tower defence genre. Though the story has more to be desired, the soundtrack is fantastic, and gameplay will keep you entertained for several hours.
Final Score – 8/10
You can read more about Soulcaster II and download the trial or full version of the game on the Xbox Marketplace.
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