A bsent for more than half a decade, SoulCalibur 6 seeks to leave its mark on history once more, retelling the tale of souls and swords that propelled it into the limelight back in the '90s.

Kilik in the name of

Combat is deep and satisfying; Libra of Soul is a great story mode; Plenty of characters to enjoy; Art style in cutscenes is beautiful

Text and dialogue in story modes is lengthy; Voice acting can be hammy; Difficulty peaks can hamper progress

It's hard to pinpoint exactly why, but Soul Calibur has always been a fighting game appreciated by the casual crowd. Perhaps that's due to the fact that it's easy to get things done because it only has three attack buttons and one to block.

Fighting game franchises have been making somewhat of a resurgence in the past little while, with games such as Tekken 7, Injustice 2, and more recently Dragon Ball FighterZ coming into the forefront. In addition to these, Street Fighter V continues to be popular and titles such as Super Smash Bros.

Interesting narrative; Libra of Soul mode; Simply fun

Minor slowdowns; Could use more characters

Fighting games have matured dramatically over the last ten years, and staple series have had to do a lot to catch up. Fighting fans no longer are content with just a decent roster and an arcade mode.

Fluid graphics and constant framerate; Technical combat that rewards strategy over button mashing; Amazing single-player experience with two different story modes; Extensive create-a-character feature

Some graphical issues with clipping in create-a-character; Tags

Despite some minor issues, the soul of is so strong that they don't do much to bring down what is one of the best entries in the series. The new Reversal Edge and Soul Charge mechanics add new layers of strategy and mind games while the one-two punch of Libra of Soul and Soul Chronicle will provide...

Soul Calibur VI has the heart and soul of what makes a great fighter great. However, Reversal Edge is a mixed bag, and some presentation elements lack visual investment. Regardless, Soul Calibur VI is the complete package, accommodating to newcomers and veterans alike.

When it comes to its bread-and-butter franchises, Bandai Namco generally operates on a principle of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." There's nothing inherently wrong with that approach, but the Japanese video game development company and publisher does have a rather conspicuous habit of bringing...

a return to form that's not without its flaws

Soulcalibur VI is billed as a reboot, but smart improvements to combat and a lengthy (if bloated) single-player push the series forward.