Lost Soul Aside, an action-adventure RPG developed by Ultizero Games with support from Sony, officially launched on August 29, 2025, for PC and PlayStation 5. After more than a decade in development and multiple delays—including a three-month postponement from an originally planned May release—the game arrived to a decidedly mixed reception among players and critics.
The title, which began as a solo project inspired by Final Fantasy 15 before evolving into a full studio endeavor, promised stylish combat, rich visuals, and a captivating story focusing on battling dimensional invaders and saving a sister. However, early player reviews on platforms like Steam highlight several issues undermining the launch experience.
Common complaints include poor audio mixing and English dubbing, a bland narrative, an unconventional checkpoint system, and various performance hiccups. Notably, many players reported stuttering and glitching during the prologue cutscenes, which are pre-rendered 4K, 30fps videos causing playback interruptions on some hardware configurations.
In response to the feedback, Ultizero Games issued a statement acknowledging the problems. The team confirmed they are "actively working on optimizations" to smooth these cutscenes and overall gameplay performance. "Future updates will address this to deliver a smoother gameplay experience," the developer assured, while also apologizing for the inconveniences faced by the community so far.
Despite the technical setbacks, many players praised the game's visual fidelity and combat mechanics, though some felt aspects like movement animation and camera control detracted from the overall polish. The divided reception is reflected in the game's Mixed rating on Steam shortly after launch.
This scenario is not uncommon in the modern gaming industry, especially for ambitious indie projects with extended development cycles that transition from solo work to team-based production. The challenges of optimizing for multiple platforms and meeting player expectations—particularly concerning seamless performance and narrative quality—remain significant hurdles.
As the game community awaits forthcoming patches, the available demo on both PC and PS5 offers a glimpse into Lost Soul Aside’s combat arena and story segments, aiming to engage players despite the initial rough edges.
Lost Soul Aside’s current situation highlights ongoing conversations about the pressures faced by game developers in delivering polished experiences while navigating complex development histories. With promised fixes on the horizon, Ultimate Games seeks to restore player confidence and fully realize the vision behind this long-anticipated title.
