TennoCon 2023: Soulframe's 30-Minute Gameplay Demo Showcases Its Haunting And Achingly Beautiful World

27.08.2023 - 09:31 / mmorpg.com / Steve Sinclair

Announced at last year's TennoCon, Digital Extremes' next game, Soulframe, saw a nearly 30-minute demo at TennoCon 2023. The upcoming RPG showcases some incredible grimdark fantasy vibes in its hauntingly beautiful world.

Soulframe is a more deliberate, slower, pensive experience compared to Digital Extreme's Warframe. Where Warframe is the fantasy of being a space ninja, dispatching hordes of enemies with ease, Soulframe is slower, with combat that takes inspiration from games like Elden Ring and Ghost of Tsushima.

The nearly 30-minute demo today highlighted this fact and pulled the veil back on the world and lore of the upcoming co-op RPG. The island of Midrath is dark yet hauntingly beautiful. During the demo, Digital Extremes showcased a gorgeous forest that looked almost like it was fighting back against the influences of industry in the world around it. As Soulframe's Steve Sinclair said on stage, it's a response to the «anxious» and «angry» world we find ourselves in today.

Despite this, while it definitely evokes some grimdark vibes, it's got cozy elements to it as well. The affable Avakot, a sproutling that points the Envoy the way towards the magick Stag that Ode has Tormented our Envoy is looking for. He's a funny, charismatic vibe that contrasts the darker world around him.

Taking on the role of the Envoy, players are able to travel between the physical and the soul world. Traveling to the Plane of Souls, players can go to the Nightfold Tent, which acts as a hub to change classes, equip new items and weapons, and even converse with the ancestors you've uncovered in your travels. 

Envoys themselves have had their souls taken from them, and so throughout Soulframe Enovys will be reconnecting with the souls of their Ancestors. Over time, the Nightfold Tent will become a village of the Envoy's ancestors, building connections with them over the course of their time in the world.

The Ode has taken the memories, culture, and history from the people of Alca, so creating this bond with the ancestors, it's part of healing that wound.

Soulframe is also a three-stat RPG, with their Virtues helping to dictate the your style in the RPG. Leaning into Courage, Grace and Spirit can help to build up your stregnth, magic and stealth capabilities. This, in tandem with your ancestors, helps to define your skills and playstyle in the RPG. 

The demo also showcased some co-op gameplay, with the two Envoys working together to explore the island, tackle enemies, and solve puzzles. However, despite there being co-op, Soulframe is playable solo as well.

Originally, it was announced as an MMORPG in 2022, it's starting to look more like a co-op action RPG hybrid. It'll be interesting to follow this as more development progress