3Souls Episode 1: Nelesa Review

3Souls Episode 1: Nelesa

Release: July 28, 2016
Publisher: Red Column
Developer: Red Column
Genre: Action, Adventure, Genres, Other, Platformer, WiiU Categories
PEGI: 10+
Comments:

 

Comment

I’m always disappointed when a Wii U game doesn’t use the gamepad much. We’ve seen a lot of indie games and even some Nintendo games, that only use Off-TV play and nothing else. When a game comes along that has unique and fun gameplay that uses the gamepad, such as Affordable Space Adventures, I’m always happy and hoping that we’ll see even more games like it. When I heard about 3Souls Episode 1: Nelesa, a game that uses the gamepad a lot, I just knew I wanted to review it. Is 3Souls any good? How does it make use of the gamepad? Read on to find out!

3Souls has a very interesting and mysterious story. Most of that story can be found via voice that comes out of your gamepad. The main character will talk to you throughout the adventure and you’ll also find backstory here and there that’ll make things even more mysterious. I like this game’s story and its one of the things that kept me playing the game. The other thing that kept me playing the game was the game’s wonderful use of the Wii U gamepad!

Affordable Space Adventures had the best use of the Wii U gamepad. Until now that is. While Affordable Space Adventures used many of the gamepad’s features, 3Souls Episode 1 uses almost all of them. The gamepad’s camera, touch screen, gyro controls, microphone, and buttons are all put to use in this game. The game also has an excellent second screen experience. In fact, the only gamepad feature that’s not used here is Off-TV play. That would have been impossible, though, because of how the tv and the gamepad screen each feature unique experiences that make up the whole of the game.

3Soul’s gamepad use is amazing. All of the controls work really well. One minor trouble I had was getting the gamepad’s camera to register an item because there wasn’t enough light. Wait? Register an item? What am I talking about? I don’t want to spoil the puzzle but I’ll just say that you will need the help of some real world items to solve some in-game puzzles and you’ll need plenty of light to do it (but not too much. its definitly tricky). 3Souls has a lot of unique puzzles that use the gamepad in different ways. The game will continually surprise you with how you use the gamepad. The game doesn’t explain the gamepad controls very well though and the game’s “manual” doesn’t help at all. You’ll have to figure out how to solve these puzzles yourself and that can sometimes be frustrating. 3Souls can be a very hard game, but not because its controls are bad. In fact, the controls are very good.

The TV screen experience in 3Souls has you jumping around platformer style and the controls here are excellent. You can’t use the gamepad’s analog stick, but the D-pad works fine. And as I mentioned before, the gamepad controls are very good too. The gyro controls work perfect and everything from the microphone to the touch screen is excellent. Just make sure you have plenty of lighting for the camera puzzles. 3Souls is a really impressive game control wise. That said, I can’t say that its graphics wow me, though they are not bad graphics either.

While 3Souls is a very impressive game because of its controls, its graphics could have been even better. 3Souls won’t give Affordable Space Adventures a run for its money with its graphics. Even so, 3Souls is not a bad looking game and there are some aspects of the game that are a bit artistic looking. I think its gamepad graphics are pretty simple looking too, but its a very user friendly interface and thats nice and definitly what was needed. 3Souls graphics are definitly not a deal breaker here. They are not the greatest graphics, but they are not the worst either.

That said, the game does have a really good musical score. One of the best things about 3Souls is that is uses the sound on the gamepad and on the TV. The music on the tv is good, but there are some musical surprises on the gamepad. I don’t want to spoil them, but make sure that you touch the face on the gamepad multiple times whenever you can! You don’t want to miss out on these easter eggs. I also thought the game’s sound effects were pretty good too. Though, the part of the sound that stands out the most is the voice acting. I love the voice acting in 3Souls; the voice acting is just perfect. And while the game as a whole isn’t perfect, it is a really good game and you shouldn’t pass it by.

3Souls Episode 1: Nelesa is a really good game. There is no other game on the Wii U that uses the gamepad as much as 3Souls. Not only that, but it uses the gamepad really well. All of the puzzles are unique and interesting. I do wish the puzzle’s controls were explained better via the manual or in game, but once you learn how to do the puzzles, you’ll have a bit more fun. 3Souls can be frustrating at times though. This is not an easy game. And 3Souls isn’t the best looking game on the Wii U either! But 3Souls gameplay, story, and soundtrack make it a game well worth playing! Oh and this is only episode 1 of 3Souls. I can’t wait to see what episode 2 has in store for us!

Thanks to Red Column for providing a review copy of 3Souls Episode 1: Nelesa. The game is now available on the Wii U eshop.

Positives

• Excellent use of the Gamepad
• Very good story.
• Great voice acting
• Unique game

Negatives

• Graphics could be better
• Controls Could Be Explained Better

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