Titan Souls review round-up

There’s another game out this week that doesn’t rhyme with Moral Wombat or Hand Deft Daughter. And that game is Titan Souls baby! While it may not boast buckets of blood or a trio of homicidal lead characters, the game still has plenty of charm. Here’s what the critics have to say so far about it.

PC Gamer – 87/100

One singular great idea is the foundation for a smart and occasionally thrilling action puzzler.

Videogamer – 80/100

Titan Souls is one of the most interesting titles I’ve played this year. For a game built entirely on boss encounters, these had to be top quality and they are. It’s refreshing to be given all your skills from the start and then have huge demands placed on you to become highly skilled, using your knowledge to defeat a selection of wonderfully designed enemies. Had the adventure not felt so slight, the small team at Acid Nerve would have had an indie classic on its hands. For me it falls just short, but remains a unique and memorable experience.

IGN – 8/10

Titan Souls’ sparse world and lore is merely the delivery device for its creative fights that hinge on your perception and skillful mastery of its simple, yet fluid and responsive controls. Though the experience is short, it’s potent, as weathering every titan’s impossibly lethal storm and finding that one true strike is an excellent and intoxicating retelling of David versus Goliath each time. And should you survive the punishing menagerie of monsters, having mastered each bout, Titan Souls raises the stakes and the difficulty, daring you to shoot to kill and do it better.

Destructoid – 8/10

Death or victory come quickly because, for the most part, the titans are designed to leave you few opportunities to win. Running around and staying alive isn’t an impressive feat because you’re no closer to winning. The moments of opportunity are designed to put you in harms way — surely killing you should you miss the shot — doubling down on an intense thrill. The quickness with which these things kill you leaves you always feeling unsafe. That you often have to stare down these charging killers, like drawing an arrow against an oncoming train with a baseball-sized weak point, is exhilarating.

GameSpot – 7/10

Don’t let the soothing songs lull you, however: stress is always just a minute away, and once you have internalized Titan Souls’ lessons, so is relief. In time, those lessons become exhausting; you keep studying the exam, yet fail it over and over again until, suddenly, you pass with little fanfare, and a new class begins. Luckily, before work comes joy, and in the few hours that Titan Souls maintains your interest, you prove that you–and the diminutive hero that you play–can change the world with incredible patience, and a single arrow.

Polygon – 6.5/10

There’s a kind of satisfaction to be had in beating Titan Souls‘ meat grinder, but I only found a feeling of triumph at those points where it stepped away from its die-hard tendencies. In a game that usually kills so quickly, Acid Nerve finds its best moments when its willing to spare the rod, even if it’s just for a few minutes.

The game is out this week on PC, Mac, Linux, PS4 and PS Vita.

Last Updated: April 14, 2015