Jump to content

RESTLESS SOUL Review


Recommended Posts

2829093_RestlessSoullogo.jpeg.391f04cd427dc535854d7d3d118d6c2f.jpegYou might assume a comedy game set in the afterlife would be some kind of morbid, black comedy, but RESTLESS SOUL has enough puns and wordplay to make a dad blush. Developed by one-man studio Fuz Games and published by Graffiti Games, this ghostly game has you running (or floating) all across the afterlife in the hopes of finding a way to return to the living world. Although the gameplay is somewhat minimal, the charm of its simple graphics and joke-a-minute writing makes RESTLESS SOUL a spirited adventure.
 
I don't think it's an exaggeration to say this game is packed with jokes—just about every bit of dialogue has some kind of pun, wordplay, or gag involved, including plenty of 4th wall breaking jokes that poke fun at video games or the game's art style. There aren't enough rimshots in the world to accompany every punchline you encounter in this game. It's goofy, it's charming, and it makes every interaction with an NPC a delight. Maybe not every joke lands—does any comedy have a 100% hit rate?—but if you enjoy a good pun you'll be grinning while playing RESTLESS SOUL. And interwoven with the humor are occasional bits of an adventure story as you collect the keys necessary to open the path back to the living world. It's a perfectly fine narrative with a heartwarming conclusion, but the humor is the real star of the show.
 
1768625790_RestlessSouldeath.thumb.png.9d0520720ea4a150bef5e60d330c3ad8.png
 
The gameplay is a pretty interesting mishmash of ideas. The flow of the game follows a steady formula: you enter a new town, chat with the locals to enjoy some jokes, then enter a tower where you'll fight off enemies, solve puzzles, and take down a boss. The combat is like a bullet-hell shooter (though not nearly as intense as other bullet-hell games), with the added challenge of being at a three-quarters perspective with 2D characters. All you can do is shoot, move, or dodge with a short-range dash, so there's not a lot to learn here. Most combat encounters are pretty easy as well, though if you need some help you can enable God Mode to adjust the difficulty. On rare occasions the game switches things up, like throwing you into a first-person perspective for a shooting gallery challenge. Ultimately though the combat stays pretty simple, and it would've been nice to see some more complex ideas thrown into the mix to spice things up and to make combat more than a minor speed bump over the course of your adventure. As it is, the combat is pretty insubstantial.
 
RESTLESS SOUL also features a number of minigames, which do help shake up the gameplay formula every so often. The minigames and puzzles are never terribly difficult either, especially if you've ever played an adventure game like Zelda, but it's good to have a little bit of variety, even if it's not going to really test your skills much. There are also a few side quests throughout the game—nothing that will strain your exploration skills, but they offer valuable rewards that increase your combat power, so they're worth pursuing. It's also good to just have another reason to explore this uniquely monochromatic environment and see everything the game has to offer.
 
470734694_RestlessSoulgif.gif.56934a057aff682e04f5a14bd885b5b6.gif
 
The simplicity of the graphics is really what makes it so eye-catching (and you'd better believe there are a few jokes that play into the visual design). It's basic but also charming, and even with such a limited style there's a decent amount of variety to the environments, enough to make the trip from one town to the next believable. The soundtrack is in the same boat: simple, but pleasant.
 
This also isn't a very long game by any means. Rushing through the game (and depriving yourself of all of the funny dialogue) would only take a few hours, and even completing all side quests and in-game achievements is only going to last you maybe six hours or so. To be fair though, it's a good length to ensure that the humor doesn't grow too stale, and without more complex gameplay mechanics there's not much else that could have drawn out the game's length anyway.
 
595900786_RestlessSoulboss.thumb.png.fb8fbf9dcd22ebf8d27e3f00a6d131bb.png
 
RESTLESS SOUL is a charming little game that shows that maybe death is a laughing matter after all. It's a goofy adventure that doesn't take itself too seriously and instead packs in as much humor as it possibly can, with relatively basic but enjoyable gameplay elements in between. The jokes work though, so it's not a bad formula, and its short length makes it a breezy, amusing adventure worth the time.
 
Rating: 7 out of 10 Souls
 
Review copy provided by publisher
 
RESTLESS SOUL is available now on the Switch eShop for $14.99.
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...