Altered Soul has already more than doubled its funding goal on Kickstarter, and after playing its first demo, I can totally understand why.
Altered Soul is a Metroidvania that mixes acrobatic action platforming with some RPG progression, all wrapped up in a gorgeous cyberpunk art style that has layers of tiny details hidden in the background just waiting to be absorbed. I could talk more about how it looks, but I’ll leave the trailer below so you can check it out for yourself.
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What makes Altered Alma stand out a little more than its other similar contemporaries is that it also takes inspiration from Mass Effect, specifically Mass Effect 2’s crew management and romance. Basically, you’re in charge of a large spaceship with an ever-growing group that you can befriend and eventually romance if you want. Oh, and the story comes from Still Wakes the Deep’s Emma Beeby, along with Dead Space and Resident Evil Village writer Antony Johnston, which should bode well for Altered Alma’s grim world.
Altered Soul’s Kickstarter has already more than doubled its initial funding goal of $40,000 and has surpassed multiple stretch goals to add a boss rush mode, a new area, and Hollow Knight singer Amelia Jones as a guest performer; the next stretch goal promises to add a hard mode by the time the game arrives on PC, Xbox, PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch next year.
If you want to try out the game before committing to anything, there's a free demo currently available on Steam that walks you through getting started. I thought it was a fairly competent action-platformer, at least until I got my hands on the awesome Quantum Blade that teleports you to wherever you throw it. It's a cool tool that adds a lot of speed to combat and potential for puzzle bits.
Why not take a look at the The 25 best Metroidvanias While we wait?