Soulcalibur VI E3 2018 Preview

It has been far too long since the last Soulcalibur and with E3 2018 I was really excited to finally get hands-on time with the latest entry. This was in a small Bandai Namco setup with a Playstation 4 Pro being plugged in and a fight stick as the control option. A neat touch, but something I wasn't prepared for. The game was limited as this was just to get a taste of the action, I could choose from a fairly large roster of fighters and then just battle. This was fine as that's all I wanted to do, just to see Soulcalibur VI in action and it's great.

It feels just like the classic versions of the game with a cleaner world and more dynamic combat. The hits felt impactful and the roster was fun. I was especially happy to try out Geralt of Rivia being a big fan of the character from The Witcher, he's an excellent choice for the roster. It even made more sense once I started playing as his iconic stances transfer over as does his abilities to produce bits of magical essence against opponents. Geralt worked well in the game and it was just great to see this guest appearance, hopefully there are others to follow towards the final release of the game.
Soulcalibur VI Geralt Screenshot
Luckily the station wasn't too busy when I jumped on so I actually played a few matches of the game with differing characters. I tried out Ivy as she's just about the same as before and others such as Sophitia and Xianghua. They all handle well in a traditional sense while being updated for the latest generation. It really keeps that classic style and look, which I appreciate. There will also be elements of armor that can be collected which breaks during combat, it's quite neat and a new layer.

It's basically a build upon the returning weapon collection that can factor into how battles are fought. I wasn't able to get any details about the story or modes, but was told to expect a similar style and return to form for many options. I really enjoyed the small bit of Soulcalibur VI that I was able to play and cannot wait for the full experience when it arrives on October 19, 2018. I really do hope each console has its own guest star, that was always a fun surprise.

Read our Soulcalibur II Revisited
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Gamerheadquarters Reviewer Jason Stettner