Slash Fiction

Play a lizard and duel a horse in the bizarre and wonderful Soulcalibur VI.

- Tom Senior

The samurai Mitsurugi launches into a vertical combo, sweeping his katana above his head and down again. He has several versions of this attack with varying ranges and speed, and it’s easy to dodge. In other fighting games these windows of vulnerability are fleeting moments, but in Soulcalibur they are long enough to savour. A deft step left with Geralt exposes the samurai completely, and I punish Mitsurugi with a quick combo to his side.

Soulcalibur VI creates satisfying battles with a simple set of commands. You have a horizontal attack, a vertical attack, a kick and a block. Special moves ask you to press two buttons at once along with a direction or two, and aside from a super attack and power-up move on the right bumper, that’s more or less it. You can string together combos of three or four blows, but it’s more important to know when to block, when to dodge and when to strike.

It’s the fighters’ weapons that create real tactical variety. Maxi’s nunchaku dance feels different to Talim’s tonfa beatdown style, and range management is key when you’re facing Kilik’s bo staff or Nightmare’s greatsword. 18 of the 21 characters have appeared in previous Soulcalibur games, and their movesets are familiar. New fighters include Geralt from the