PlayStation publishes all manner of games, some of which end up as undisputed classics while others falter at the final hurdle and end up bargain bin disappointments. In an earlier console generation, a mixed or poorly received final product would be destined to remain forgotten or be perpetually ridiculed for eternity. However, nowadays, in our glorious era of post-launch patches and transformative 2.0 updates, even the very worst titles have a chance at redemption. Of course, there are situations in which some studios opt not to go down this route, either due to financial limitations or a desire to simply move on to the next project. Yet, for those who do choose to patch out the flaws and bugs and manage to do so successfully, an endless cavalcade of praise and potential new sales awaits.
Videos by ComicBook.com
PlayStation is not exempt from this perpetual cycle of rushed releases and post-launch patches, as even some of the best PS5 games releasing today are riddled with a slew of flaws when they first come out. One such game was so poorly received at launch that it became the resident punching bag for the gaming community, with endless clips of laughably bad gameplay and comical voice acting posted online for public ridicule. However, this PlayStation-produced title has received numerous transformative patches that have largely fixed the overall experience and the myriad of problems players delighted in pointing out all those months ago. Lost Soul Aside, the game in question, may actually be worth playing now, but the fear is that not enough people will care to make it matter.
Lost Soul Aside Has Had A Rocky Few Months
I’ll be the first to admit that Lost Soul Aside’s rocky launch colored my perception of it quite significantly, to the point where it went from being a game I had a passing interest in to one that entertained me only by delivering more unintentionally humorous cutscenes. It is easy to jump to conclusions based on the tide of negativity that smothers the internet, especially when the out-of-context clips being passed around are so compellingly hilarious. That being said, while I didn’t pay the game’s costly price to make my own judgment, it isn’t as if Lost Soul Aside escaped legitimate criticism beyond the mockery of the occasional cutscene.
The game was largely praised for its staggeringly beautiful visuals and frenetic combat, but its story, acting, cutscene direction, and technical performance were all largely brought into question. Lost Soul Aside was relegated to being yet another forgotten linear single-player ARPG, deemed only worthwhile at a deep discount as a result of the aforementioned impressive art direction and the wholesome story behind its development. Naturally, its developer, Ultizero Games, had little interest in letting its passion project’s legacy be rendered obsolete, so it began producing patches to iron out the game’s biggest and most immediate problems.
It is a cycle we’ve seen all too often, and I’m not here to sing its praises. I would rather games were developed in collaboration with players, either by being more transparent with gameplay and offering short demos to test mechanics long before launch, or through some form of Early Access. However, there’s little I can do about the process now, especially not in some partially unrelated article about a failed PlayStation project, so, instead, I’ll praise the developer for its commitment to a game that has far more to offer than I was certainly first led to believe. The patches have done Lost Soul Aside a bevy of favors, especially in the cutscene and animation department. While I don’t believe it is a game that players were too harsh on at launch, I do think that its redemption arc is one worth paying attention to, especially as, should it fail, we may not get more projects like it in the future.
I Hope Lost Soul Aside’s Redemption Arc Pays Off
A redemption arc in gaming isn’t exclusively done out of passion and a desire to see a project reach its fullest potential. Of course, that is and will always be an element of it, but largely, developers attempt to address glaring problems and implement vast swathes of player feedback in an attempt to ensure the long-term success of both a title and the studio itself. It is a financial gamble, and not one taken lightly. Patching a game isn’t free, either to a small extent or to a larger one, such as in the case of Lost Soul Aside or the recent Crimson Desert; so, a developer has to carefully calculate whether it is worth the time and investment, or whether the negative reputation gained from a rocky launch can be largely forgiven with the advent of a future title.
In Lost Soul Aside’s case, these patches are necessary to both restore the goodwill Ultizero Games had gained during the buildup to its debut title’s release and, perhaps more importantly, showcase that PlayStation’s China Hero Project was a success and a worthwhile endeavour. Sony only got behind Lost Soul Aside as it qualified for its China Hero Project, one of several initiatives to help support developers from countries across the world. It’s a costly investment, but an utterly essential one, as the diversification of voices in video game development is incredibly important for the sustainability of the art form and to better represent the ways in which it has impacted cultures worldwide. If we stick with just Western developed games or those out of Japan, we’ll only ever get the same types of experiences, and frankly, I’m tired of seeing the same white guy protagonist we’ve been getting for decades.
Now, I’m not stating with any certainty that Lost Soul Aside’s success necessarily impacts the viability of the China Hero Project or any of its successors. However, it was the most high-profile title to come from the initiative and served as its poster child for quite some time. Its redemption arc is inherently tied to the value of the China Hero Project, at least from an outsider’s perspective, whether it likes it or not. Lost Soul Aside being called a disappointment or a flop reflects poorly on the investment Sony poured into it, and that’s a legitimate shame. I would hate to see PlayStation abandon its efforts to support smaller studios across the world based solely on the failings of one of its most high-profile titles.
Of course, PlayStation has garnered a favorable reputation for investing in indie projects, largely under the stewardship of Shuhei Yoshida, so I can’t imagine it pulling funding immediately. However, it is a business first and foremost, and, as a result, will always evaluate how much revenue such projects are bringing in relative to their costs and cull anything bleeding money should it become a problem. Perhaps, at the very least, Lost Soul Aside can serve as an all-important lesson to PlayStation to ensure that future projects don’t suffer from the same launch woes, and indeed are given more time and resources to finish any last-minute polishing. After all, in the eternally relevant words of Valve co-founder, Gabe Newell, “Late is just for a little while, suck is forever.”
Do you think you’ll check out Lost Soul Aside now that it has been updated? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Courtesy of Sony Pictures Animation / McDonald's -
Courtesy of Sony Pictures Animation / McDonalds -
Courtesy of TOHO animation
