Soul Calibur IV - Hands on

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First impressions? Well, we're not really sure yet...

Having said that, the parry system is as sharp as ever and this time leaves your opponent on the floor, rather than staggered. At first this seems like a good thing, but you then realise that the fall doesn’t damage your opponent and the fact they’re on the ground makes it near-impossible to start a combo on them, especially as their recover is near-instant.

It’s still gorgeous to behold, however, and the quality of the character models is superb. We love the ornamental appearance of Siegfried’s sword, all shining silver and bloom lighting. Oh yes, that’s another thing – this is ‘next gen’ Soul Calibur, so bloom lighting is rampant throughout. Of course we can’t cast judgement until we’ve played the final game properly, but we’re a bit disappointed by this. Soul Calibur should be about pirates, galleons, swords, treasure chambers and great warriors. Not about Yoda, bloom lighting and button mashing.

Justin Towell
Justin Towell
Freelance Writer

Justin was a GamesRadar+ staffer for 10 years but is now a freelance writer, musician and videographer. He's big on retro, Sega and racing games (especially retro Sega racing games) and currently also writes for Play Magazine, Traxion.gg, PC Gamer and TopTenReviews, as well as running his own YouTube channel. Having learned to love all platforms equally after Sega left the hardware industry (sniff), his favourite games include Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Zelda BotW, Sea of Thieves, Sega Rally Championship and Treasure Island Dizzy.