Soul Axiom (Hands-On) (PC) Preview

With the Mysteri Foundation being a thing of the past, a new company by the name of Winter Corp. has taken over as the leading Digital Soul Provider, with its most recent product utilising SoulSync technology where users can access their memories freely for enjoyment and loved ones can relive treasured moments in the life of the deceased.

Right from the moment the game starts, a cut-scene shows the main character falling through a thunder-filled sky, with several flashbacks appearing before their eyes. After an abrupt crash-landing, the protagonist awakens on the deck of a ship. Upon exploring the ship, everything feels a lot like Master Reboot, from the visual style, right down to the eerie music that plays in the background.

Things soon take a turn for the worse when a strange winged creature attacks the ship and the player ends up stranded on a beach; this is where the journey to find out who the mysterious protagonist is begins.

In a similar fashion to Master Reboot, gamers must visit several memories that have been uploaded to the Elysia server, solving puzzles along the way. The first memory takes place in a jungle and features the most interesting set of puzzle the game has to offer so far: See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil. Yes, due to a key theme of the jungle being primates, Wales Interactive has managed to throw in this clever puzzle sequence, referencing the three wise monkeys.

Cymbal monkeys also replace the role of the rubber ducks in Master Reboot as PEMOs (Personal Memory Objects). When interacted with, documents related to that memory will be displayed, which can be read through to gather up even more information about the backstory.

As progress is made, a number of different powers will be obtained, which can be used to make objects appear/disappear, move/pause certain things, and also destroy any obstacles in the way. The introduction of these powers also adds variety to the conundrums, which is certainly a good thing!

Overall, Soul Axiom seems to be shaping up to be even better than its predecessor, with only a few technical issues in certain memories right now, such as drops in frame-rate. It must be noted though, that this is still in early access and the final version should run a lot smoother.