The Soul Stone War Reviews

Good enough

If I hadn't been past the refund window when I started playing, I definitely would have asked for a refund. The story failed to hook me from the start, and I only stuck with it to get my money's worth. The MC is constantly portrayed as weak and in need of protection, which would be fine if consistent, but they can somehow kill armed bandits in the very first chapter and wield both weapons and magic with no training. It seems the game can't decide if they're helpless or capable—or rather, it insists they're helpless and hammers it in, yet lets them be randomly competent at times. You can choose the MC's age (from 18 to early 30s), which is neat in theory, but meaningless in practice as they act childishly regardless, and other characters treat them like a kid (despite being attracted to them, which is a whole other can of worms). The game forces a default MC personality on you, with long stretches of passive reading that don't even take your personality stats into account. On my second playthrough, I shifted my roleplay to fit the character the game seemed to expect, which helped, and I did notice a few scene variations that were mildly rewarding. Still, having to bend your roleplay to suit the game rather than the other way around is poor design. The pacing is terrible: the whole plot unfolds in about a week, with major events (like acquiring ultra rare artifacts) rushed through with no buildup, tension, or payoff. Character development suffers too, with companions becoming loyal friends immediately, and while the narration sort of lampshades this, it only highlights the lazy writing. Even romance, while the most fleshed-out part of the game, suffers from the same breakneck pacing that jumps to love after barely a week. Worldbuilding is shallow: gods, artifacts, and fantasy races are mentioned but never really explored, and your MC's own magical abilities are never explained. On top of that, the writing is weak and full of awkward, failed humor (I can't overstate how grating the constant, sarcastic "thank you very much!" became after the tenth time it showed up). I managed to pull some enjoyment out of the experience by adjusting expectations and leaning into the romance, but ultimately, this was a disappointment I wouldn't recommend.