It’s been a long time coming but it’s finally here! Soul Calibur VI has arrived, and with its new arrival it brings forth new additions to the beloved series, such as a brand new story mode, a mission mode, and a plethora of customization options via its character creation mode. Of course, those who are highly competitive will be happy to know that the online mode is a part of the illustrious package, and fans of the series can look forward to duking it out against other players worldwide. We’ll go more into detail about each mode along with the online portion of the title but for now, we can truly say that Soul Calibur VI delivers on its promise to provide an enormous amount of content for both the casual and hardcore audience.

As stated earlier, Soul Calibur VI is jam-packed with a plethora of content. Thanks to a fresh story mode known as Soul Chronicle, players can dive into the world of each character and get to know their history before all of their fates meet. The next mode is known as Libra of Soul, a mission mode where players can create their own character and take them on an adventure through a unique RPG inspired adventure, where they’ll take on opponents, gather items, collect weapons, and more. Libra of Soul in our opinion is perhaps the most satisfying out of the two, since you’re essentially cruising through the game with a character of your own, getting to know each Soul Calibur figure through a unique storyline, but also being taught the gameplay mechanics as you progress. It’s a fantastic mode for players who are brand new to the series because it not only creates a wonderful immersive experience on a casual level, but once you’ve come to terms with how the game works then you can truly enjoy Soul Calibur at its best. We’ll cover all of this in more detail in each section but for now, expect a lot of excellent content that will keep you coming back for more every time.

One of the more defining features of Soul Calibur VI is its visual appeal, as the game received a huge cosmetic makeover from that of Soul Calibur V. Characters move and feel more animated, and the stage design is breathtaking in every possible way. Even the subtle things, like facial expressions or your clothing being completely destroyed after receiving a fatal blow, have been vastly revamped to give the game a more realistic feel. The UI is very simple and clean, which is great because the main focal point are the battles themselves, and we wouldn’t want to have a bunch of unnecessary things filling up the screen.

The menu screen has also taken a more minimalistic approach, which makes navigating much easier and less cumbersome when trying to find specific things. Soul Calibur V certainly had a very nice menu screen, but we felt that the game catered a lot more to the hardcore audience rather than to shine its light on the casual side of things. Soul Calibur VI truly feels like a game where Bandai Namco wanted to aim its sights not just on the passionate Soul Calibur fans, but to also invite newcomers to the franchise with open arms and avoid any intimidation.

This should come as no surprise but Soul Calibur VI continues to deliver that thrilling experience with its impactful soundtrack, along with the incredible announcer that always provides his poetic and sensual commentary before the match begins. Weapons in the game sound just like their real counterparts, which again add to the realism and overall experience as you play.

Soul Calibur VI introduces the Soul Chronicle Mode, a story mode which allows you to choose from the cast of characters within the game, and experience their timeline just before their fates are entwined. This of course is a great mode for players who perhaps are new to the series because it provides you with a great amount of backstory, while also introducing game mechanics which help you to better understand how to play. It’s a long story that we feel anyone should pick up and play, whether you’re a seasoned veteran or not. We’ll leave this part up to you to discover since we don’t want to spoil anything for those coming into the series for the first time, but rest assured Soul Chronicle Mode is well worth it.

Libra of Soul, as we stated earlier, is perhaps the most intriguing aspect and addition to Soul Calibur VI. It introduces the character creation mode and a plethora of other options, but it also acts as somewhat of a mission mode where you take your customized character and embark on a unique adventure, taking on the role of an awakened soul who needs to overcome the darkness within before it’s too late. Decisions you make throughout the adventure will directly affect your attitude but also the direction of the story, which makes playing all the more satisfying. It’s an awesome mode because much like Soul Chronicle Mode, players are able to become accustomed to the game mechanics but even more so, become more accustomed to how each weapon works within the game. For example, let’s say that you’ve become bored of your starting weapon, you can opt to change it at any time throughout the adventure, which is awesome since you can really understand the strengths and weaknesses of each weapon.

This becomes even more insightful when you finally decide on choosing a main character to play with via the multiplayer mode, since now you’ll have a better grasp of just how each weapon performs and whether or not it suits your playstyle. Since there are a large handful of characters within the game, it can be daunting at times to really pick a main, but with Libra of Soul allowing you to explore the game on a deeper level things feel less intimidating. This mode really feels like it takes inspiration from RPG titles: each battle you take part in provides you with experience points, gold that you can use to purchase weapons and items, and much more. It’s a complete package that really encourages not only creativity in its character customization, but it encourages you to dive deep and learn the game from the bottom up while having fun doing so. Part of this mode also allows you to explore different parts of the map where you can discover more missions and plenty of surprises along the way! If you ever want to just take a break from fighting you can also hire mercenaries to do the dirty work, with of course a price that is.

Soul Calibur VI learned a lot from its past predecessors and implemented new options for players to take advantage of via the Character Creation mode. You now have a larger selection of starting races to choose from and from there, you can really go in on your character to create something that reflects your personal aesthetic. While not as deep as say that of Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Soul Calibur VI is deep enough that you can create a character that feels totally unique, and no one else will ever have a character like yours. Not only that but you can also take your character and fight with them online, which is a huge plus! We encourage you to really jump into this mode and take advantage of all the great options that are available. For starters, you can change things like height, weight, eye color, clothing, weapons, accessories, facial structure, attack stance, and more.

This review was mainly targeted towards that of the casual gamer since we believe that a vast portion of the audience buying this game are of that demographic. We of course are hardcore fighting game enthusiasts, but for the sake of not alienating anyone, it’s better to focus on the whole picture rather than fighting game jargon that may not translate well with everyone. In closing, Soul Calibur VI is the quintessential weapon-based fighting game title that boasts a ton of improvements from its predecessor, and really gives players a more robust experience in every single area of the game.

Whether you’re just playing single player or competing online for ranking points, Soul Calibur VI has just about everything for everyone and does so brilliantly. While some of our online matches were a bit laggy at times, the overall waiting queue to play has improved dramatically, which means that players will be able to jump into matches more frequently, thus amping up the replay value significantly. With a plethora of online and offline content ready at your disposal, along with the option of purchasing a season pass for future content, Soul Calibur VI is one fighting game that you’ll not want to sleep on this season.

We hope that our review of Soul Calibur VI was insightful, and provided you with a quick perspective on how the game performs, along with its game modes. There’s definitely a lot to sift through so we encourage you to go out and buy this game, support Bandai Namco for creating such a beautiful fighting game, and let us know your thoughts in the comments below! Be sure to follow us on Twitch to see us playing with Raphael and his fencing technique online!

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