I hate horror games. I really do. Usually the horror is unfounded and almost nothing in the game makes me want to play it. That’s not to say a lot of effort isn’t put into their concepti0n or development, but my specific gripe is that they usually spook me out of playing. I’m not the type of person that enjoys getting scared. Horror movies never worked on me but obviously a surprising image here and there could have me spooked. It’s not about the graphical nature of the content, but rather its presentation and timing.

Soul, the XBOX Live Indie Games effort from Kydos Studio, is a “horror” game that follows through with the aforementioned presentation and timing. The experience starts from a down-in-the-dumps hopeless feeling and eventually uplifts as you make your way to heaven. Chances are though, heaven won’t be that easy to get to as the first time I played the game, it took me about an hour and 9 minutes (dying…over and over again). You should get this game, I’ll tell you that even before I start the review. But here’s what you can expect from Soul:

Gameplay

Soul‘s gameplay isn’t confusing. What you are required to do through each stage is get your soul from point A to point B without being gobbled up by monsters or colliding with your surroundings. In the big picture, you make your way from where you lay all the way to heaven. This task requires an astute mastery of controls on the player’s part, however. You’ll only be using the left analog stick on your 360 controller, but the stages you’ll have to pass through have extremely sensitive surroundings. Once you hit a wall or get eaten by a monster, you must restart from the beginning of the level. Soul certainly proves to be unforgiving and challenging by way of this mechanic, but it also becomes frustrating and annoying. For example, imagine you make your way through the most difficult level yet and just as you’re about to make your final turn, you hit a wall and die. Way to go, jackass, time to start from the beginning of that level and work your way back up (or down) that ladder.

That leads me to my biggest concern with the gameplay: there are no saves or checkpoints. I don’t remember the exact number of stages, but I’d assume Soul had ten (or so) total. Each level is magnificently different than the last, offering new challenges and obstacles to overcome. But it’s extremely bothersome to have to die constantly with no aid. Checkpoints don’t exist even in the longest levels and in case you need to leave in the middle of your game, you can’t save and come back to that specific playthrough later. Each playthrough serves as a different soul so if you don’t finish, the soul automatically goes to hell. This felt like an easy way out of deciding what to do. In certain respects, it’s mechanics like these that add to the intrigue in challenge of a game but can also prove a huge turnoff for those unwilling to cooperate.

Style

Games that look like Soul are the reason I love doing this. The art style is so subtle but powerful. For an indie worth only 80 Microsoft Points ($1), it looks even better than some of those 400 Microsoft Point ($5) titles around. Kydos designed damn near each level with such creative specificity that at times I would take a break and pay attention to every detail in the level. There’s the cheap scare that comes around every now and then but I felt that added to the suspense of the game. It’s what makes Soul a “horror” title in the first place.

Story

The story is basic but quirky enough to accept. Get your little soul up to heaven so as to avoid eternal damnation in hell. Having each playthrough represent a different soul helps keep that fantasy going.

Everything Else

The final detail that makes soul as great as it is: the sounds. Kydos took care in ensuring that the sounds made you understand the suspense and urgency in your actions. They creep you out and make you antsy. At only 80 Microsoft Points ($1), Soul is the first XBLIG must-buy (for me, at least) of 2010.

[DIYgamer.com obtained a free copy of this game for review purposes. This in no way affected the outcome of the review.]