There’s a particular thrill in watching dozens or even hundreds of enemies evaporate in a wave of particle effects, and Soulstone Survivors, developed and published by Game Smithing Limited, taps into that exact fantasy. It joins the rapidly expanding “survivor-like” subgenre of action roguelites (that is still heavily inspired by Vampire Survivors) but adds a high-gloss, full-3D coat of paint and deeper build customization to set itself apart. On PlayStation 5, the game’s horde-clearing spectacle feels smooth and endlessly addictive, even if its presentation and long-term progression can struggle to keep up with its action-packed ambitions.
You play as a Void Hunter – one of several unlockable characters – tasked with taking down hordes of creatures while chasing down towering bosses known as the Lords of the Void. Narrative elements are light and largely background dressing, but the game makes up for this with a sheer focus on gameplay. There’s a vague sense of lore about the Void and the order of hunters, but it’s really just there to justify why you’re disintegrating thousands of enemies per run and not much more than that.
Combat in Soulstone Survivors is its main draw, and it’s impressively fluid and dynamic. Every run begins with a few basic abilities, but very quickly spirals into chaotic, screen-filling mayhem as you unlock more skills and passive traits. With over 350 possible skills and a multitude of synergies, each run can feel radically different. One moment you’re setting off lightning explosions and stacking poison clouds, and the next you’re a walking flamethrower with spinning blades and summoning beams. The build variety is impressive and encourages experimentation, though the sheer volume of overlapping effects can make the screen hard to read in the middle of a high-level encounter.
Boss fights add tension to each run, forcing you to dodge telegraphed attacks while keeping your build momentum going. While they aren’t especially complex encounters, they do break up the waves of cannon fodder nicely. The same goes for map variety: environments range from fiery wastelands to icy plateaus, but aside from minor layout differences and visual themes, they don’t dramatically change how you play. It’s the skill combinations and upgrades – especially once curses are introduced – that bring variety and challenge to repeat runs.
The control scheme on PS5 is responsive and intuitive, letting you dash, aim, and reposition easily despite the fast-paced chaos. While it’s clear the game was initially designed with a mouse and keyboard in mind, the console version avoids the clunky feel that sometimes plagues twin-stick ports. Menu navigation is clean, although navigating the many layers of unlocks and progression menus could be more streamlined – especially for newcomers facing an intimidating amount of post-run options and currency types.
Graphically, Soulstone Survivors opts for a stylized 3D look, which helps it stand out among the many pixel-art games flooding the genre. Enemy designs are easy to distinguish (at least until particle overload kicks in), and the spell effects – while bordering on excessive – look appropriately devastating. That said, the environments can feel static, and a few textures and models fall flat under scrutiny. Audio design is functional but unremarkable, with repetitive sound cues and a soundtrack that fades into the background without making much of a mark.
What really gives Soulstone Survivors staying power is its progression system. Between weapon crafting, character-specific unlocks, multiple skill trees, and difficulty modifiers in the form of curses, there’s always a reason to start another run. That loop – clear a map, unlock a new skill, test a new build, repeat – is highly effective, though some may find the grind a bit too front-loaded before the most interesting build combinations become viable. Despite this, the game’s flexibility makes it one of the more rewarding roguelites for players who enjoy tinkering with mechanics and theorycrafting over time.
In the end, Soulstone Survivors offers exactly what its title suggests: a relentless, satisfying power fantasy wrapped in a sea of unlocks and glowing explosions. It doesn’t reinvent the genre, and its presentation doesn’t quite match the finesse of its mechanical design, but its core gameplay is so addicting that it hardly matters. On PlayStation 5, it’s a standout addition to the survivor-like genre, especially for those who want a bit more crunch and control in their chaos through the progression system.
Score: 8.1/10
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