A more streamlined entry with a new generation of characters. Technically refined gameplay but loses some of the series' charm. Strong for competitive play despite notable narrative shortcomings.
Your verdict
Category
Fighting2 players16+
Description
3D fighting by Project Soul, V entry of Soulcalibur franchise seventeen years later. Published by Namco Bandai, released in January 2012 in Europe, North America and Japan. Patroklos Alexandra son of Sophitia hunting his possessed sister Pyrrha seventeen years after Soulcalibur IV, over twenty-eight playable fighters including aged Mitsurugi, Nightmare and Ezio Auditore guest, 3D fighting gameplay with Critical Edge system for ultimate techniques and Brave Edge for extended combos, over eight modes including Story Mode, Arcade, Quick Battle and enriched Character Creation, ranked online multiplayer mode for up to two players and local split-screen, over a hundred deep avatar customizations, English and Japanese voice-over.
Soulcalibur V review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
2/5
Story
★★★★★
"Classic"
A seventeen-year jump renews the cast: the children of the old guard, Patroklos and Pyrrha foremost, impose a darker, sharper style. The art direction modernises armour and faces, and above all opens a character creation of rare depth, where the player assembles his own fighter piece by piece. The saga of the sword passes to a harsher generation.
The music breaks with the series' orchestral tradition. Where the entries told the legend with a wealth of choirs and strings, this one veers toward a more biting electronic rock, insistent rhythms and synthetic textures. This turn, which divided the faithful, trades epic storytelling in music for a modern, direct energy, as close as possible to the speed of the duels.
