Review By Leemo
In 1977 the gaming world was shaken by a new style of game, one that changed the core ideology of how future games would be made. It was, of course, the side scroller.
Previously, all games had a static screen on which the player moved the cursor/object around the map. However, the side scroller introduced a new element where the screen would move around the player.
Forty-two years and many, many different side scrollers later we arrive at Sol Seraph. Created by little known developer ACE team and published by SEGA, my hopes were high as I thought that this title would bring something new to a tried, tested and repeatedly perfected the genre, and in a way it did.
Sol Seraph is a side scroller by rights but features a unique crossover with another game mode. This mode is tower defence. From an early stage, you regularly switch between both genres, but this isn’t necessarily a good thing…
In Sol Seraph the mighty Gods have abandoned us, however, the minor gods still remain. Jealous of the love the old gods gifted the humans, the remaining gods decided to punish humanity. They created storms and endless times of drought. All but a few believed they could still be saved, still had hope.
Hearing the plight of the few, Helios (born from both god and man) takes on the responsibility of saving his people. You will find yourself on a large map filled with different enemies and locations.
Your objective is to defeat the darkness in a few different stages then use tower defence to complete the area. Throughout this time, you will find upgrades to your health and mp.
As you progress through the campaign you will unlock new towers in which to smite your foes, ranging from the simple archer tower to the devastatingly powerful magic tower.
The music is good and the atmosphere is okay, but in my opinion, the gameplay is a little lacking. I like to feel accomplished when I finish an area and sure you’ll receive an upgrade or two but it’s a reward so minor that it’s almost meaningless.
In Sol Seraph I notice a lack of variety in how you can complete a location and that would be fine if it offered something else instead.
If you look at some of the greats like Metroid, Sonic and even Streets of Rage, comparing them to Sol Seraph will give you a nostalgic feeling for old school gaming which is much more enticing.
In my opinion (and only my opinion) this is not a game for the ages, on a discard to keep for life scale, Sol Seraph sits comfortably in the “meh” to the average area. Whilst it’s not a bad game per say, I find that it’s lacking content that would otherwise make it “good”.
Overall I give Sol Seraph a 5/10.
The graphics are nice to look at, the gameplay runs smoothly, and the background music is good. It’s not terrible but it’s not a bestseller either.
You can pick Sol Seraph up on Steam, Xbox and PlayStation for £11.99.
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