Lost Soul Aside

Lost Soul Aside is a single-player action-adventure role-playing game. The player controls the protagonist Kaser, who is aided by his companion Arena, a character capable of transforming into weapons and other elements used in battles and throughout the journey. He can also unleash Arena powers, which are abilities that may have offensive and other effects. The game follows a linear structure interspersed with a few open areas. The character Liana functions as the manual save system and hub for the player at specific points in the game. Within the story, she frequently encounters Kaser throughout the journey and documents his adventures for her novel. The game includes the Surge of Voidrax, a challenge mode that features a hundred waves of enemies. == Synopsis ==

Kaser and his younger sister Louisa were orphaned during the war between the Empire of Celestria and the Kingdom of Frosthold. They eventually joined GLIMMER, a resistance group led by Selene, against the Empire's tyranny. During a festival in Primarius, the capital of the Empire, GLIMMER launches an operation to inspire the populace to rise up. However, the mission is disrupted by the arrival of the Voidrax, mysterious invaders from beyond dimensions, who devastate the capital and seize the souls from its inhabitants. Amid the destruction, Kaser falls into a vast underground laboratory and encounters Lord Arena, a dragon-like Voidrax, imprisoned within. Kaser merges with Arena's essence and is thus imbued with its power. They both escape to the surface. Vesper of the Holy Order drags Louisa into the onslaught in a bid to save himself, so her soul is captured by the invaders. Determined to save Louisa and the rest of humanity, Kaser and his companions embark on a perilous quest. Kaser, Arena, and Gethya travel to Mount Salvation in search of answers. Kaser and Arena fight the four Lords and release them from corrupted Voidrax energy. Their path leads them to Queen Seleria, who guards the seal imprisoning the Voidrax, including their leader Aramon, who once attempted to conquer the world and seize its Life Nexus. In an effort to break the seal, Aramon corrupts Voidrax energy to obtain control over others and commands the Voidrax to amass souls into five soul crystal fragments scattered across alternate dimensions to increase his power. In order to help Kaser and Arena gather the fragments, Seleria reveals the entrance to the Chronocore Dimension, where the duo retrieves a fragment, and discloses a few places to find other alternate dimensions. In Primarius, Emperor HighCastle empowers Victor and Vesper of the Holy Order with corrupted Voidrax energy and orders them to hunt down the resistance. Throughout the quest, Kaser and Arena retrieve the soul crystal fragments from multiple alternate dimensions. Kaser, Arena, and Gethya go to the Skycrest Badlands, while the Holy Order and Imperial Army pursue them. Kaser and Arena fight and kill the Voidrax that took Louisa's soul. They fight the Buckhorn Spirit-Dragon and release it from corrupted Voidrax energy. In return, the creature uses its power to open the way to the Aeroflux Dimension for them. The Empire unexpectedly releases all captured resistance members and civilians. HighCastle offers the Empire and Holy Order's assistance in GLIMMER's battle against the Voidrax threat. Nonetheless, Kaser and his companions remain wary of his motives. Kaser, Arena, and Gethya visit Mistwood. Kaser and Arena fight Master Neverwind and his disciples, including Zana, and release them from corrupted Voidrax energy. The master tells the duo that the Lethonix Dimension can be accessed through Seleria's ancestral shrine. Zana knows the way and leads them there. In Primarius, Vesper terrorizes and abuses the people of the slums, while Victor and Selene try to stop him. HighCastle kills Vesper and asserts his control. Kaser, Arena, and Zana continue to Frosthold. On the way, Zana shares that the King of Frosthold is her father and might be able to help. Kaser proves his worth in combat against Chief General Drogo, so the general expends Voidrax energy and thereby sacrifices his life to lower the storm-wall guarding the realm. The group discovers that the king is overtaken by corrupted Voidrax energy, but Kaser and Arena fight him and release him from the energy. The duo heads to the entrance of the Entropis Dimension, which is collapsing due to Voidrax energy depletion caused by the king. Finally, in Primarius, HighCastle brings Kaser and Arena to the entrance of the Dragon Ruin Dimension, a place that has entirely collapsed. He extorts the fragments by threatening to execute citizens and uses them to transform himself into a powerful being. Nevertheless, he is slain in combat by Kaser, Arena, Zana, and Victor. Kaser, possessing all the soul crystal fragments, prepares for the ultimate confrontation with Aramon. Seleria and the four Lords sacrifice themselves to bestow their power upon Kaser. Aramon reveals that he had manipulated Emperor HighCastle and the King of Frosthold into extracting Voidrax energy from the alternate dimensions, thereby weakening the seal. In a cosmic battle, Kaser and Arena destroy Aramon. At the Life Nexus, Kaser and his companions release the captured souls from the soul crystal. Kaser reunites with Louisa. The Empire pursues equality for its people and restores relations with Frosthold. Arena leaves for parts unknown. == Development ==

Lost Soul Aside is a game developed by Ultizero Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Ultizero Games is a studio based in Shanghai, China. The game was originally conceived as a solo project by Yang Bing, but it evolved into a team effort over the years. By 2022, the studio's staff comprised about 40 people, mostly development members. At the time, he was a graduate student at Dongguk University in South Korea. After the game's initial reveal in a promotional video uploaded to Yang's YouTube channel in July 2016, Sony took notice and reached out him, as the company was interested in discussing the project and exploring a potential collaboration. According to Yang, during a particularly challenging phase of development, Sony proposed a deeper level of cooperation that established its publishing role and helped the project get back on track. Yang attributed the game's long development cycle largely to early inexperience and the time required to build a capable team. He explained that it led to the idea that the Sony team might be able to help creators like Yang achieve their dreams if they provided various know-how and support. The addition of these characters marked a shift from the 2016 trailer, which had a sense of loneliness in its scenes. In terms of action, Yang was inspired by Japanese titles such as Bayonetta, Ninja Gaiden, and Devil May Cry. == Release ==

Lost Soul Aside was released for PC (Windows) and PlayStation 5 on 29 August 2025. Lost Soul Aside was first revealed in a promotional video uploaded to Yang Bing's YouTube channel on 30 July 2016. During a press conference in March 2017, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that the game had joined its China Hero Project. During a press conference in November 2022, the company announced that it would serve as the game's global publisher. The game was initially confirmed as a timed exclusive for PlayStation 4 in October 2016, but a PlayStation 5 version was confirmed in April 2021 and a PC version was confirmed in July 2023. Media outlets suggested that the PlayStation 4 version may have been canceled, as the most recent statement did not list PlayStation 4 among the supported platforms. During the PlayStation China 10th Anniversary Party in December 2024, Ultizero Games released a trailer revealing that Lost Soul Aside would be released on PlayStation 5 and PC in 2025. During the State of Play in February 2025, the studio released a trailer announcing the game's release date as 30 May 2025. In April 2025, the studio stated that the game was delayed to 29 August 2025. For the launch, Lost Soul Aside received a Standard Edition and a Digital Deluxe Edition for its digital versions. Kaser's initial reveal outfit (The Origin) and a few other items were bonus incentives for pre-ordering. This includes a voucher to redeem the pre-order bonus content comprising Kaser's initial reveal outfit (The Origin) and a few other items. == Reception ==

Lost Soul Aside received "mixed or average" reviews on PC and PlayStation 5 from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. == Notes ==