Hello,
I would like to share some additional feedback that was missing from my previous message, as well as feedback related to combat.
Please note in advance that this is simply the impression of a single player. 🙂
#System feedback and combat system feedback.
weak parcel
• Visibility issues in Soul Mode
The visibility of animals, flowers, and tree stumps in Soul Mode feels sufficient. However, some objects are very difficult to see.
For example, when an Avakot is nearby, try activating Soul Mode with Q — it becomes clear that its visibility is quite poor.
There are also field quests where you must obtain a scroll after defeating an enemy. In situations where I was being chased, fighting multiple enemies, and defeated the enemy carrying the scroll during the chaos, it was extremely difficult to find where the scroll had dropped once combat ended.
In certain situations like these, Soul Mode’s visibility does not function well. I would appreciate it if this could be reviewed and adjusted.
• Long-distance movement issues
Soulframe requires a great deal of traversal over long distances. During these moments, players must continuously hold Shift + W for extended periods of time — sometimes several minutes. This causes noticeable strain and pain in my left hand.
I am aware that there is a Shift toggle option, but enabling it makes precise control during combat difficult, since Shift is also used for dodging.
Would it be possible to add an option such as a dedicated auto-run key for forward movement?
• Issues with Totem bonus nodes
When playing music for animals to obtain Totems, bonus nodes sometimes appear. However, attempting to hit these bonus nodes often results in dissonant sounds, which feels unpleasant rather than rewarding.
Personally, I feel this system could benefit from some improvement.
• Combat-related feedback
Currently, Soulframe encourages players to favor ranged combat and strategies that eliminate as many enemies as possible at once. While this is partly due to players naturally choosing the safest and easiest approach, I believe this behavior stems largely from underlying issues in the combat system itself. The problems outlined below interact with one another and reinforce this tendency.
To be honest, it is difficult to clearly describe what kind of combat identity Soulframe is aiming for at the moment. It is unclear what kind of fun the developers want players to experience through combat.
Is the focus meant to be precise defensive play — blocking and dodging enemy attacks?
Is it about overwhelming enemies with power?
Or something in between?
• Enemy aggression
Enemy aggression is extremely high. When two or more enemy groups aggro at once, melee combat becomes almost impossible, forcing players to retreat step by step and defeat enemies one at a time.
This situation occurs very frequently. Even enemies that are hostile toward each other will immediately abandon their fight and rush toward the player if the player enters their detection range — even from a considerable distance.
As a result, enemies feel less like creatures with distinct patterns and more like fully automated machines designed solely to kill the player.
• Problems with attack patterns
This issue applies to both normal enemies and bosses.
Action games rely on a fundamental agreement between player and enemy — a kind of test or puzzle. Enemies present challenges, and players overcome them by learning and responding to attack patterns. This is true for both hack-and-slash games and Souls-like games; only the methods differ.
▫ In Soulframe, however, enemy attack patterns are often very difficult to respond to.
Enemies seamlessly mix blockable normal attacks with unblockable heavy attacks, often using extremely fast motions. Some light-looking attacks are given heavy-attack properties, which makes reactions feel unfair. What is the design intention behind assigning heavy attack properties to what appear to be light pokes or harassment attacks?
▫ Bosses that continuously summon minions (such as Etheldred the Weaver or Mendicant King) make it nearly impossible to focus on the boss itself. Even if the player clears the minions, they are immediately resummoned. At the same time, the minions are not weak enough to ignore.
This forces players to prioritize builds that can either kill the boss as quickly as possible while ignoring mechanics, or rapidly clear both the boss and minions simultaneously.
▫ Melee weapon attack ranges are generally too short and feel overly heavy. Because melee combat requires staying extremely close to enemies, players must constantly disengage, dodge, and re-approach, which becomes exhausting. Attacks also frequently miss due to short range.
▫ Enemy hit detection feels extremely unforgiving. If the player is knocked down and an attack hits again while standing up, there is no way to avoid it. There are no invincibility frames during the get-up animation, nor any option to roll or reposition while getting up.
Additionally, for shockwave-type attacks, the visual effect radius does not always match the actual hitbox.
▫Melee attack motions, animations, and hit detection feel unsatisfying for both players and enemies. While I understand the intent to make animations feel realistic, realism does not always translate into enjoyable gameplay. Many attack animations feel awkwardly slow, overly long, or unnatural, which in turn makes actions like parrying more difficult than they should be.
Thank you for taking the time to read this feedback.
I appreciate the effort being put into Soulframe and hope this input can be helpful in improving the game.