Soul Gambler Cover

Soul Gambler (PC)

This review was originally written on 08/13/2018.

Technical Information

Developer: Tlön Studios
Publisher: Gamestorming
Release Date: Aug 1, 2013

Soul Gambler is a retelling of the tale of Faust (by Goethe). The story is about a young man who sold his soul to Mephistopheles.
This is a very interesting point and click that tells a story as if you were inside a comic book. Right at the beginning, you can assign skill points to your character, which will influence the outcome of your choices.

The protagonist from Soul Gambler looking at a woman dressed like she’s 20 years younger. A choice moment where you can control what Faust says. A choice moment where you control what the Soul Gambler protagonist says. A beautiful woman in a hospital room telling Faust he doesn’t need to die like that. Faust listening to an old woman telling him she can see his future. A screen showing health, manipulation, intelligence, and charisma points.

Final Thoughts – Analyzing the game as a whole

Graphics and UI

I really liked the comic book style. The art, though simple, is well-done. The coloring is very flat, which at first glance gives an impression of extreme simplicity. I think the first impression would have been stronger if the art were a bit more detailed.
The character expressions are another point that could have been more polished. However, since there are many scene changes, it makes up for the feeling of recycled assets.

Both the UI and HUD are very straightforward and easy to understand.

Soundtrack and Sound Effects

The music sets the suspenseful and mystical mood of the game well. However, the sound effects left something to be desired. Adding sounds for characters during moments of surprise or decision-making would have brought more immersion and empathy. It wouldn’t necessarily need full voice acting for key plot points, but simple expressions like “aah!” (surprise), “hmm” (thinking), or “humpf!” (indignation) would have made a big difference.

Gameplay

To advance the dialogue and choose an action, just click. It’s simple and extremely functional. There are three save slots if you want to start a new game with different choices. It’s just the right amount for a story of this length.

You don’t need to have read the original tale to understand the story. Briefly, you make a pact with an unknown being (a demon? or maybe the Devil himself?) and gain powers to fulfill your desires. However, for every wish granted, a percentage of your soul is taken in exchange. This heavily influences what you want to do versus what you should do. Some choices were quite tough for me because of the worry about how they might negatively affect the story’s progress.

The characters are charismatic and show their personalities well through dialogue.

Replayability and Game Retention

I see this game on sale on Steam all the time. At the time of this review, it was very cheap. Looking at it objectively, for the quality and price, it’s totally worth it! But I didn’t find the replay value to be that great.
The story is interesting and kept me hooked, but it’s short, you can beat it in under 2 hours. Personally, I didn’t feel very motivated to try other choices or endings because most paths are quite linear, which took away some of the surprise factor.

Tags

Related Posts