Fractured Soul

Genre: Action-Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

Fractured Soul is an Action-Platformer released on the Nintendo 3DS in 2012 and ported to PC in 2014. This game has players controlling a character who is moving through two worlds at once, one on the top screen, and one on the bottom screen. As such, players must multitask, ward off threats on both screens while taking advantage of platforms both screens provide.

This game seems to have a very similar premise to the game Chronos Twins. However, while Chronos Twin’s protagonist exists in both worlds at once, Fractured Soul’s protagonist only exists in one, and is only affected by the enemies and obstacles in one at a time, and must switch back and forth. This method of doing things is a bit more common – we’ve seen it elsewhere in games like Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams and arguably Ikaruga.

But I digress. Fractured Twins uses this gameplay split between the two screens as a way of challenging players’ coordination, particularly with the game’s platforming, though enemies are an element here too. The platforming feels a bit lacking to me – your character’s jump is pretty pathetic, and while he has a double-jump, I can’t help but feel like that’s just helping to cover for how weak individual jumps are

The presentation here is okay, using 3D visuals that are nothing impressive, but look decent enough. The sound is a different issue, with the game’s forgettable synthesized music disappearing into the background behind your character’s terrible-sounding garbled grunts and screams.

Given the comparison I made to Chronos Twins earlier, I suppose the question should be asked, which of the two do I like more? Well, on the one hand, Chronos Twins has a much more interesting take on the game’s central premise, a better (but less technically-impressive) presentation, and better core Platforming mechanics. Fractured Soul, on the other hand, makes better use of its central premise, has better level design, and doesn’t suffer quite so much from the slow pacing and bullet sponge enemies that Chronos Twins has. The one thing that I find really tips the balance here is price – at $12, Fractured Soul is more than twice the price of Chronos Twins.

That’s not to say that Fractured Soul is by any means bad. This is a pretty solid Action-Platformer with a sound premise and some good level design. While I’d probably say Chronos Twin is the game i prefer slightly more, I think both games are well worth getting, especially if you’re a fan of the genre.

tl;dr – Fractured Soul is an Action-Platformer where players must fight enemies and be aware of platforms on two worlds as they move their character back and forth on both screens. This game has a solid premise that it uses well, and while it’s not the most original game out there, it’s a solid Action-Platformer that’s well worth getting for anyone who enjoys the genre.

Grade: B

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