14 DAY TRIAL // 
Daniel is stumbling through the woods, pursued by some jumping creatures that are very interested in tearing the flesh from his bones. Their bigger masters, with tongues hanging out from their midsections, are far behind, presumably no longer chasing our hero. The problem is that his parka is slick with blood and there’s no more ammo in the gun has tries to use to defend himself.
Thankfully, he comes to a fork in the road where, inexplicably, someone has placed a medicine cabinet. I get Daniel to dodge his attackers two more times, avoiding any extra damage, and then get the meds, which instantly make him better. I choose to go towards the lake, and I lose my attackers as I sprint down the path. My character might have an empty weapon, but he refuses to interact with any of the places that might hold some bullets.
I continue to see weird things in the woods, and I seem not to get any closer to the cemetery that’s my next objective. I do locate a weird statue that triggers a flashback and a phone conversation with my sister. Some dark family secrets get aired out and the connection between us grows. But I still don’t have a clear idea of where the cemetery is or how to make sure I am armed before I get there.
Stray Souls is developed by Jukai Studio and published by Versus Evil. I played it on the PC using Steam. The game is also on the PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series X and S, and older consoles from Microsoft and Sony. The title aims to mix horror, action, and puzzles.
Gamers take on the role of Daniel, a young man who has just inherited a house in Aspen Falls from his grandmother. He knows nothing about her because he was adopted but he quickly comes to understand that she was involved with the occult. At the same time, her presence starts to haunt him and plenty of other creepy things start to happen around him. There’s just one person who’s willing to talk to him about all of it, initially only via text message. It’s revealed that it’s his long-lost sister.
Once our protagonist discovers all the secrets of his inherited house, he joins forces with her and tries to discover what’s going on. The game is filled with horror tropes but executes them fairly well narratively, as long as players are willing to overlook their familiarity. At certain points, Daniel has to make choices that will affect the story, but don’t expect a massive branching narrative. There’s plenty of writing for gamers to experience, including extensive conversations with the sister, some of which can trigger emotion but most of which are boring.
When it comes to gameplay, Stray Souls wants to offer variety but never manages to make any of its mechanics engaging. At first, players are stuck in grandma’s house, exploring and solving puzzles. Daniel is very slow and moves awkwardly, especially when stairs are involved. The puzzles aren’t hard, but they are annoying. Grandma pops up in ghost form or as a poltergeist to scare our hero, which is interesting and slightly scary exactly once.
As the world opens up, the main character gets a sprint option, which was much needed, as well as a very efficient dodge. This move can keep him out of harm’s way even when a lot of enemies swarm at the same time, which is good. Daniel is also given a gun to deal with the monsters he encounters.
Bullets are limited and it’s often hard to get reloads, even though there are places that seem designed for this. Daniel simply says that he cannot interact with them and it’s time to run or get chewed out by the beasts. The game continues to deliver jump scares that rarely trigger a reaction.
It’s unclear whether this is a choice or a bug. The game also features boss fights, which are hard but otherwise don’t deviate from the basic template seen in other similar titles. Stray Souls often feels like a collection of ideas that others implemented in more interesting ways.
Not every video game needs to be impressively innovative. And I understand that the horror survival label creates certain expectations. But it’s weird to play through the first chapter of Stray Souls and constantly think that the slow movement of the protagonist exists only to pad the playing time.
Stray Souls wisely limits the spaces players can explore to make them look decent. Our protagonist shuffles around in almost non-human ways, especially when he has to interact with objects using his fine motor skills. There’s one reflection that does not make sense and the entire world is drained of color. Once the action moves outside, the weird world and the limits of the presentation become clearer.
The sound design isn’t much better. The game is voice-acted, with actors who try to do the best they can with the limited material they are given. The heavy reliance on audio cues to create scary moments doesn’t help, especially given the tame nature of the scares. The soundtrack is decent to good, underlining the moments that are supposed to be important or emotional. It was created by Akira Yamaoka, who has worked on Silent Hill, and indie composer Pete Wicher.
The Good
- Combat can be mostly avoided
- Some decent puzzle design
- Grandma jump scares
The Bad
- Trope-filled story
- Limited horror
- Uninspired gameplay
Conclusion
And players can’t ignore the story to focus on the gameplay. The puzzles do not impress and there’s no reason to like the combat or exploration aspects. Stray Souls will make for an interesting Halloween game for anyone who has already played the hits and wants more of the genre. But the title simply doesn’t offer enough to keep players engaged.
Review key provided by the publisher.
