3Souls

Genre: Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

3Souls is a Platformer released on Wii U in 2016. This game was clearly designed with the Wii U in mind, giving players multiple ways to use the Wii U gamepad to interact with the world within the game. In theory, this is a great thing, making this a game that could only work on the Wii U. However, you should note that I said nothing about those Wii U features making the game better…

Players are introduced to the world of 3Souls as if they are an outside observer of that world looking in, which is a tad strange because they still directly control their character within the game. However, in addition to this direct control, they also use various functions of the Wii U gamepad to interact with that world, using the touchscreen to hear their character’s thoughts, using gyroscopic motion controls to swivel around a security camera, even using the microphone to blow into air vents the characters interact with. In a way, this is a clever way of having the player interact with the game.

In another way, it feels forced, ruins the game’s pacing, and makes the entire experience a tedious drag. The Platforming within the game is fairly standard stuff, nothing special, but players are frequently blocked by obstacles they need the gamepad’s unique interaction to get past. This is rarely anything that will require special deduction by the player. Rather, you merely need to tap your character to see what they tell you to do, and do it.

However, every element of this process is more frustrating than it needs to be. Need to blow into the microphone to move forward? Expect to be doing it over and over and over again until your mouth hurts, and you’ll need to keep your eye on the TV screen while you do it so you can move your character at the same time. Need to check the Wii U’s second screen for info to solve a puzzle? Expect that info to disappear the moment you move your character to do it. Need to move the second screen’s position to reorient a camera? Expect to have to do it every time you double-check that camera. Even the more mundane elements of the game are needlessly frustrating. Have a series of tricky jumps with one-hit deaths? Expect every third death to send you back to the beginning of the section so you have to work your way back.

At the very least I can say that this game has some nice voice acting, and a subdued soundtrack that… isn’t great but definitely lends the game a mood. However, the game’s mix of ugly hand-drawn visuals and low-quality pixel art 2D visuals isn’t doing the game any favors.

In the end, I’m sorry to say that playing 3Souls is akin to getting a monkey’s paw wish. This is a game that clearly is designed with the Wii U in mind, making full use of all those features, but it almost feels like it was designed maliciously, making use of those features in a way that’s designed to frustrate, annoy, and aggravate players. If you’re looking for a game to justify your feelings that the Wii U console is a gimmick without a reason to exist, 3Souls will definitely make you feel justified in that worldview, but you’d be much better off just skipping it entirely. If you think the Wii U sucks, it’s not like you need more reasons to think that.

tl;dr – 3Souls is a Platformer that has players interacting with characters using many of the unique features of the Wii U gamepad. However, the way the game uses these features, and its overall game design, are so terrible that the game seems like it’s internationally designed to be a frustrating and joyless experience. Perhaps games like 3Souls are emblematic of what the Wii U represents, but I don’t think this is how that platform should be remembered, and for your own sake I don’t think this is a game you should inflict upon yourself just to see the nadir of what “the Wii U experience” has to offer.

Grade: D

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