Tech Reviews & Gadgets

Soulframe suffers from identity confusion and it hinders its growth

When you ask Morrigan her name at the beginning of Dragon Age: Origins, she retorts “It’s a pretty name, but it’s useless.” That’s a line that has stayed with me for a long time. What does the name mean? For some, it’s a status; for some, it’s a status. For others, it’s a prison—a reminder that they are not a prison. In video games, it’s often make or break: if your game doesn’t sound cool, people won’t want to buy it. Naming a game is as much an expression of passion as it is a branding exercise, and as someone whose gamer codename is “Morri,” it’s not a task I envy. Upcoming RPG from Digital Extremes soul frame Its identity is confusing, and it all goes back to—you guessed it—its name. After a few hours of pre-alpha testing with Preludes, I can say that this title is simply not suitable for gaming, and I fear it will suffer because of it.

Soulframe is the brainchild of Warframe Digital Extremes and it comes with a variety of features. Its core gameplay loop is similar to action games like Black Myth Wukong, but its massive open world and newly introduced player center feel more like something from World of Warcraft and other MMORPGs. Multiplayer appears to function similarly to Warframe, with these social hubs mirroring the Ninja games’ legacy with bustling metropolises like Orgrimmar or Stormwind.

It’s hard to pin down exactly what Soulframe is. Having played a lot of Prelude, I’d say it’s aesthetically gorgeous and has incredible world-building, but it feels like a collection of disparate parts that don’t quite fit together yet. Preludes is of course a pre-alpha release, so some of this is to be expected, but while individual gameplay elements are solid, Soulframe’s overall identity remains vague.

Let’s start with the “soul” part of its name. I’ve asked Digital Extremes CEO Steve Sinclair about this before, and while he noted that the team “draws a lot of inspiration” from games like Elden Ring, the “soul” in the name ” comes from the idea of ​​a heightened focus on narrative tapping into “the souls of our ancestors.” The team has since said it understands why players might be confused.

After playing through Soulframe’s opening sequence and associated boss fight, it’s certainly much more forgiving than Dark Souls or Elden Ring. Dungeons feel more open, and while encounters aren’t a breeze, they’re by no means brutal. The battle between Lady Deora and Torment Stag, for example, has the gravitas of a FromSoft encounter but lacks the life-or-death intensity you’d expect from a Margit-esque opener. Calling it soul-like would create false expectations, even though “soul” is right in the name. Switching to “Spiritframe” is hardly the answer, but at least it spans ancestor focus and sidesteps a direct FromSoft comparison.

An image of an armored warrior backstabbing a guard with spectral plants growing around them

Then comes the “Framework” part. It’s no secret that Digital Extremes likes to have a throughline in everything they do – for example, Dark Sector evolved into Warframe, which borrowed the “Tenno” part of the Hayden Tenno’s name. Rightly or wrongly, Warframe’s Duviri Paradox spin-off has often been labeled as a test bed for Soulframe, and its aesthetics and melee-centric combat are certainly similar to what we’ve seen in its sister RPG.

However, Warframe as a unit is known for being fast-paced and frenetic – its slogan is “Ninja Free Play”. Soulframe is the opposite: combat is slow and ponderous, and the primary weapons are heavy polearms, swords, and shields rather than katana swords and guns. From the name, I expected Soulframe to offer a mashup of methodical Souls combat with the speed and ferocity I loved in Warframe, but pacing-wise it feels a lot like the earlier Dark Souls games.

Likewise, Soulframe isn’t just a Warframe spin-off like Duviri; It’s a new adventure doing completely new things in a new universe. While Warframe retains the essence of Hayden Tenno, perhaps it’s time to embrace the idea of ​​creating something completely different – something less obviously connected, but subtly paying homage to its predecessor in its mechanics and community-focused approach something. Given Digital Extremes’ pedigree, I wanted to see what their future would look like and worried that holding on to the past might be a hindrance.

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But let’s not get this twisted: I want Soulframe to be a good game. Aesthetically, it’s absolutely perfect, blending the human-centered fantasy of The Lord of the Rings with otherworldly sci-fi themes. Its combat is crunchy and satisfying, and the battles that torture Stag are undoubtedly some of the best I’ve ever played in a video game, brought to life by a magnificent and moving soundtrack.

I worry that Soulframe’s name hints at a deeper problem. Die-hard Souls fans will be put off by this action game, while those looking for a fast-paced, mission-focused experience like Warframe will be disappointed. It’s a shame they’ll never get to experience that great battle, or the sense of wonder that erupts from the enchanted workshop’s nocturnal pools of sparkling water.

I go back to the “what’s in a name” question, and for Soulframe this is an example of identity confusion. The idea of ​​Digital Extremes is powerful in isolation, but if I’m still having trouble figuring out what the game is even after a few hours of playing it, I can’t imagine how the wider potential player base must feel. I hope that when the wider Soulframe releases sometime next year, people will give it the chance it deserves.

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