Rating
SolSeraph
Retro-inspired tower defense and action platformer SolSeraph reinvents the classics! As the guardian of humanity, civilization is in your hands. Build your cities and set up defensive structures to protect them from the constant threat of monsters, then descend into their lairs with sword and spells to eliminate them for good. Explore floating isl...
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SolSeraph Reviews
Professional reviews from gaming critics
The totality of SolSeraph is a pleasant ride that recalls ActRaiser to a fault. While the platforming and tower defense strategy might have their maladies, they still fuse together to make an interesting and engaging game. It’s refreshing to see someone take a stab at such a winning concept, even if they stumble a bit on the way to the finish line.
If you're looking to play something like ActRaiser, you might be able to wrangle some fun out SolSeraph. But, as a counterpoint, I would probably suggest just going and playing ActRaiser again. It's still really great.
SolSeraph is a faithful homage to ActRaiser, one of the Super Nintendo’s best games, but it doesn’t shine quite as brightly as the classic it pays tribute to. The side-scrolling sections admirably recreate the feeling of playing a 16-bit action game, but the levels themselves are a mixed bag. Some have real stakes, others feel strangely abbreviated. And the city-building, while intuitive and fun, throws strategy out the window entirely. As a result, SolSeraph is shallow, but fun, nostalgia snack food.
I appreciate Ace Team’s attempt here, I really do. It’s kind of amazing that this game exists in 2019 under Sega. It’s not as original as the team’s past projects, but SolSeraph has a lot to like if you’re looking for a modern take on an absolute gem of the 16-bit era. Part of me wonders how outlandish these creators could’ve gotten with a bigger budget and scope, but as a tribute, this still hits the spot.
Before I start this review, I’d like to talk about ActRaiser. Released in 1991 for the Super Nintendo, this game was an odd mix between an action platformer and a city-building simulator. It was basically Castlevania meets Sim City, in very broad terms. ActRaiser allowed you to control a god that would indirectly help out the population of an island, either via his angel emissary or by briefly bringing a warrior’s statute to life in order to destroy enemies. It wasn’t exactly a financia...
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In SolSeraph, you are a god. You build cities from nothing, command the elements, and fight off invaders. When the time comes to strike at an evil lair directly, you inhabit a corporeal champion who jumps and slashes through monsters until the threat is eliminated. Then you move on to the next area, taking a new nascent civilization under your divine wing.
SolSeraph is a spiritual successor to SNES classic ActRaiser. Sadly, it doesn't quite reach the lofty heights set by its predecessor.
I can’t recommend SolSeraph on the whole because that would be silly of me. Its issues are obvious and pretty problematic. But there will be some players out there that will possibly like it; those who have a fondness for games from yesteryear, that don’t mind a bit of janky platforming and basic tower defence. SolSeraph is a bad game, but there’s just something about it. It’s unlike anything else currently available, and if you have the patience for it you might find it strangely enjoyable like I sometimes did, but also occasionally mightily frustrating.
Our SolSeraph review follows the journey of Helios as he attempts to rid the world of young evil gods. Can this retro inspired game live up to the classics?
If anything, it feels like the game was rushed to market. SolSeraph was announced just two weeks before its release date, and much of the game itself feels like it needed more time spent on it. Modernizing such an intriguing game as ActRaiser is a noble idea, but SolSeraph really isn’t the revival fans are looking for.