The formula of a great horror game is already documented by now. A sound narrative containing a supernatural or powerful being hellbent on trying to obtain an impossible power like immortality, great designs of monster-like abominations, and sparkle of great action-horror setpieces for good measure. On paper, Stray Souls has all of these elements, but on closer inspection, it does not mean it equals what it aspires to be.

Developed by Jukai Studio and published by Versus Evil, Stray Souls initially made waves with its demo on Steam last year and gruesome debut trailer before release. A mystery in a small town, a cult, and horrible monsters all were ready to cause a splash, especially being published so closely to the beloved holiday of many, Halloween. And yet, things do not pan out the way you expect as you go along.

The beginning of Stray Souls is strong, though. The main character, Daniel, has just been gifted his grandmother’s house, whom he had never met. He is an orphan, in fact. If you were naturally suspicious of being given a house just shy of your 18th birthday, you wouldn't be wrong—the slow-burning nature of the first few moments set in the atmosphere quite well. The sound of the house creaking at every moment as you explore it adds an unnerving tension to the first moment you take control. It is clear there is something wrong in this place.

Daniel controls very clumsily but is in line with his character as he strikes as having a very fidgety nature, and in a haunted house, he would be excused for such behavior. You start talking with a woman on a dating app on your PC, and she mysteriously tells you that people are going in and out of the house as if from a cult. This is when things get interesting as the power goes out, and you have to fix it. It seems like the ghost of your grandmother is still home and actively wants to scare you.

As the ghost of Daniel's grandmother keeps haunting him, you must search around the house for clues to aid you in solving the puzzles to solve the mystery within the house. None of the puzzles are particularly complex, but the fact that a creepy ghost shows up at your every corner certainly raises the tension. The slow nature of the main character's movement just lends itself to the eerie vibe.

Once you leave the house and move on to Chapter 2, this is where the game’s mysterious identity starts falling apart. You are given a golden gun by the woman you talked to earlier, who turns out to be your sister. She has been following in your footsteps ever since you were separated. The first moment you step into the woods, a menacing atmosphere steps in. A sepulchral silence permeates the environment. But the game abruptly changes gears from a survival horror to an action horror game, to its detriment.

As there are no difficulty settings, this can be a daunting proposition, but Stray Souls supplies you with enough bullets and health items to be ready for each enemy encounter. When all else fails, in most cases, it is possible to flee your way around the enemies and move on to the next sequence. Thankfully, for all its faults, its Souls-inspired combat is not too frustrating. It's not much of anything. But it could have been with tighter controls.

The distances in the woods area are a bit too far between landmarks, and running is not too quick, so it makes it feel like a real trek to the woods. There is a slight difference between eeriness and boredom, and Stray Souls walks that line finely. With no clear indication as to where Daniel can hike, go under, or proceed, you could be left scratching your head when the game does not give you a slight nudge as to where to go next. After several of these instances, it becomes annoying to the point of throwing the towel and letting the game win, and sadly, not because of the scary elements.

Eventually, you will find yourself in boss fights against ferocious enemies reminiscent of the Soulslike genre. While infinitely more forgiving than them, they provide a welcome challenge and mark a decidedly different beat to strut to. Dodging with precision, learning your enemies' moves and attacks, and furiously emptying your gun cartridge will be necessary to come out successful in these exhilarating encounters.

Bosses are well designed with a few heavy-hitting attacks that use your dodging ability to the best. Thankfully, after each level, your life points and ammo are fully replenished, which does come in handy after tough encounters and barely coming out alive in your last fight. The optimal experience to play Stray Souls is in a pitch-black room and with headphones on to ensure maximum immersion and be effectively impacted by the jumpscares.

The more you progress, the more Daniel's psyche takes a toll by witnessing the horrors he suddenly faces with bravery. His voice trembling even further thanks to him discovering a conspiracy much grander than he thought conceivable; it's hard not to feel for the young character and the nightmarish situation he finds himself in.

The voice acting is serviceable, but there seems to be a noticeable issue with equalization, as when some characters talk, it can be either too loud or too low and distracting to the experience. The shrieking of the monsters, on the other hand, is always unsettling and well-established.

A deep problem that Stray Souls has is that its mysticism is immediately dissipated as soon as you enter the second chapter. What had a strong supernatural horror start devolves into a run-and-gun third-person shooter with imprecise controls and bugs that sometimes don't even let you aim properly to shoot your enemies. It is not that suddenly becoming a survival horror game is inherently bad, but the tension was so excellently handled in those first moments that all-out action did not seem to be on the table, and it makes you wonder how differently it would have been had they gone that route.

Stray Souls sports rough animations but good-looking graphics, as they were announced to be running on Unreal Engine 5. Some environments do look great in several chapters. A heavy fog once you arrive at a cemetery calls back and nails the vibe of other games in the genre. A certain late-game stage looks particularly striking with its recreation of a storm and particle effects. The windy area and stormy skies give the desired impression of a world-ending cataclysm just right.

Scattered throughout the levels, varied documents that enrich the lore of Stray Souls abound. The town of Aspen Falls, disappearances through the years, rumors of secretive organizations, and more elevate the straightforward storyline. The more you explore and read these mysterious news cutouts, the clearer the conspiracy and how high it becomes.

The basis of much of Stray Souls’ progress relies on being confronted by straightforward puzzles. By exploring each level, from the abandoned police station, the barren town of Aspen Falls, or the eerie forest, the goal of the puzzles is to find an obscure message like “your answer lies on a hill where the leaves are rustling” in a field with plenty of hills while avoiding the ever-increasing number of enemies.

It is not that any of the puzzles are difficult to solve, but the levels could be clearer, and you can find yourself running around aimlessly, trying to find the right answer to keep going. With a little help from a guidance arrow, a slight comment by your companion, or a blatant hint should you need it, Stray Souls would benefit from saving itself from these moments. That said, it is clear there is no intention to guide you in this game's design philosophy, so you need to be on board with these decisions to grasp the experience fully.

Jumpscares abound in Stray Souls, and they come in many different flavors as you progress through the story. You could be walking in the woods, a cutscene can take a sinister turn, or just simply for the sake of it, the game knows exactly what it wants to be and tries hard to be like its fellow games in the genre. Not much in the way of enemy variety starts showing how monotonous it is halfway through the game. A playthrough can last between 4 to 8 hours, depending on your mileage, but the wave after wave of enemies, especially in the latter part of the game, can become somewhat repetitive.

Enemy encounters become more frequent the further you explore Stray Souls. Nail-biting sequences when the game does not give you the option to make you have to fight for your life with your trusty golden gun against the abominations affected by the darkness. As the animation for picking up ammo is quite slow and cannot be sped up, this can be tedious as you are bound to finish your bullets against the endless hordes of enemies and will have to pick up more to eliminate them all, making these dreaded sequences less than desirable to play.

Good ideas that don't fully come together define Stray Souls. Yes, there is a somewhat original narrative to follow, but they are hard to grasp by the end. The rich documents you come across in the different chapters should be available to access on the main menu or pause button to review and not just when you find them on each level; there is no Chapter Select option for anybody who missed the several trophies that are on offer.

An earnest project marred by technical difficulties and less-than-stellar story beats, Stray Souls does not achieve what it initially aims to do. Although there are three different endings, the several documents you find sprinkled across each chapter alluding to something bigger than what the characters witness never really pan out or give you a satisfactory answer to any of the questions it posits, leaving a very unfulfilling ending by the time the credits roll.

Ultimately, Stray Souls is a constant reminder that game development is tough to tackle, and what hopes to scare on the wrong hands may end up being terribly dull. It is a failed attempt at a great horror game that, with a little more polish and time in the oven, would have truly shined. As it stands, it's just a below-average experience with a few good jumpscares.

Luis Aviles (@AndresPlays93)
Editor, NoobFeed