SoulQuest

SoulBlade Studio LLC and developer TomasJPereyra created SoulQuest, published by indie.io for PC on Steam. It launched on May 1, 2026 as a 2D hack-and-slash action-adventure inspired by Celtic mythology and classic character action games. You play as Alys, a grieving widow who challenges the goddess Morrigan herself to reclaim her husband’s stolen soul, carving a path through divine servants and champions in a fast-paced, combo-driven campaign.

About the Game

SoulQuest takes place in a myth-inspired fantasy world rooted in Celtic and Arthurian-style legends. Alys refuses to accept her husband’s death and sets out to confront Morrigan, the goddess of death, in a personal vendetta that pits a single mortal against the gods. The story unfolds through cutscenes, in-level dialogue, and visits to the home of Abaniss, a wizard mentor who trains Alys as a god-slayer and serves as your hub between missions. Reviews describe the narrative as earnest and character-focused, emphasising themes of love, grief, and defiance against fate.

Story and Setting

The core premise is simple and direct: the gods take Alys’s husband, and she decides to take him back. Morrigan becomes both the narrative and mechanical end goal, with each level pushing you closer to a final confrontation. Along the way Alys confronts divine servants, champions, and manifestations of the gods’ power in a series of boss encounters designed as set-piece battles. The world itself combines mythic architecture and supernatural landscapes, giving levels a distinct “legendary tale” atmosphere rather than a grounded historical setting. As a result, SoulQuest uses its mythological framing to justify both its larger-than-life bosses and Alys’s rapidly escalating power.

Hub and Characters

Between missions you return to the home of Abaniss, a Merlin-like wizard who anchors the story and functions as your primary supporting character. His home is your hub: you spend souls to unlock new abilities, review story progress, and adjust difficulty. Alys and Abaniss’s relationship gives most of the game’s quieter story moments their weight, with Abaniss acting as both teacher and worried observer of Alys’s increasingly dangerous quest. Additional side characters appear as you progress, offering brief glimpses into how the divine conflict affects the wider world. The overall tone stays focused on Alys’s personal journey rather than sprawling world-building.

Combat and Gameplay

Combo-Driven Hack-and-Slash

Freeform Melee Combos with Magic and Ultimates: SoulQuest centres on a flexible combo system built around melee strings, magical abilities, and powerful ultimate attacks. You chain light and heavy blows, weave in special moves, and finish with ultimates that clear groups or chunk down tougher elites. The game tracks your performance in real time and grades you at the end of each level, rewarding you for keeping combos going, avoiding damage, and varying your attacks rather than relying on a single move.
Souls as Currency for Upgrades: Enemies drop souls that you spend at Abaniss’s hub to unlock new combos, magic options, and ultimates. Souls function as both progression and soft pressure, because you only bank them permanently by reaching portals that act as checkpoints. Dying before you hit a portal means losing some of your unbanked souls, encouraging you to play aggressively but carefully as you push for the next safe zone.

Enemies and Boss Fights

Swarms, Elites, and Multi-Phase Bosses: Combat encounters mix large crowds of weaker foes, harder elite enemies that punish sloppy play, and bosses that unfold over multiple phases. Bosses often reveal new moves or “aces up their sleeves” mid-fight, forcing you to adapt your patterns and positioning on the fly. Regular enemies exist to pressure your positioning and test your ability to maintain combos, while elites and bosses demand more precise timing and ability use.
Emphasis on Aggression and Avoidance: The combat rhythm encourages you to stay on the offensive while using movement, dashes, and vertical positioning to avoid retaliation. There is no heavy focus on shields or turtling; instead, success comes from learning enemy patterns, maintaining pressure, and using your growing move set to control space. As you unlock more abilities, fights become about choosing the right tools for each mix of enemies rather than simply mashing a single attack button.

Movement, Levels, and Progression

Platforming and Mobility

Acrobatic Movement with Environmental Use: Levels combine short platforming sections with combat arenas, using Alys’s mobility to keep the pace high. She can slide along walls, wall-run, jump between vertical surfaces, and use her abilities to reposition quickly in three dimensions. This movement toolkit lets you flank enemies, reach hidden areas, and turn otherwise dangerous arenas into spaces you can control.
Secrets and Optional Paths: Stages include side paths, optional rooms, and hidden pickups for players willing to experiment with traversal. Early reviews note that the bulk of the level design still follows a clear forward route, with secrets acting as small branches rather than fully open zones. However, exploring these offshoots can reward you with extra souls or collectibles that ease later battles.

Difficulty and Checkpoints

Adjustable Difficulty from the Hub: SoulQuest offers multiple difficulty settings that you can change at Abaniss’s home between missions. This lets you lower the challenge if a particular boss or level proves too punishing, or raise it later if you want more resistance from enemies. Being able to adjust on the fly makes the game more accessible to players who enjoy the story and atmosphere but do not always seek high-intensity combat.
Portal Checkpoints That Bank Souls: Portals scattered through levels serve as both checkpoints and extraction points back to the hub. Reaching a portal banks your collected souls and gives you the option to return to Abaniss to spend them on upgrades before attempting the next segment. Dying sends you back to the last activated portal, emphasising careful pacing and encouraging you to treat each stretch between portals as a self-contained challenge run.

Visuals, Audio, and Tone

Art Style and Presentation

Stylised 2D Action with Mythic Flair: SoulQuest uses a 2D side-scrolling presentation with detailed character sprites and colourful, myth-inspired environments. Boss designs lean into exaggerated godlike forms, reinforcing the feeling that Alys is fighting beings far beyond mortal scale. The art direction aims to keep the action readable while still delivering a distinct identity rooted in Celtic and legendary motifs.
Cinematic Cutscenes and Character Animation: Key story moments are delivered through brief cutscenes framed like mythic vignettes, often focusing tightly on Alys and Morrigan. Combat animations emphasise weighty strikes and magical effects, with ultimates in particular framed as spectacle moments. This combination lets the game sell the idea of a personal war against the gods without requiring massive 3D set pieces.

Music and Atmosphere

Emotional, Myth-Infused Soundtrack: The soundtrack mixes melancholic themes tied to grief and loss with more aggressive tracks for boss fights and intense combat sections. Music shifts dynamically between quieter exploration and heated battle, supporting the pacing of each level. The overall tone reinforces the idea of a tragic hero fighting against an ordained fate.
Voice Work Anchored by Alys: Alys’s performance carries much of the game’s emotional weight, with her determination and vulnerability coming through in both dialogue and combat barks. Supporting characters, including Abaniss and various divine entities, add flavour and context without overwhelming Alys’s central narrative arc.

Games Like This

Similar Game	Key Difference	Best For
Hades	Also a myth-inspired action game about defying the gods, but built as a top-down roguelite with repeated runs and heavy emphasis on build variety across attempts. SoulQuest is a more linear 2D campaign with fixed levels rather than randomized dungeons.	Players who want a replay-heavy roguelite structure with deep build systems and strong character writing instead of a primarily linear story-driven hack-and-slash.
Blasphemous	Shares a dark religious-mythic tone and 2D action focus, but leans more into Metroidvania exploration, punishing Souls-like combat, and non-linear world design. SoulQuest is more straightforward in level structure and focuses more on combo style than on Souls-like stamina management.	Players who want a harder, more exploration-driven 2D action game with a highly interconnected world and a stronger emphasis on punishing, methodical combat.
Gris	Another side-scrolling game about grief and emotional healing, but centred on light platforming and environmental puzzles rather than combo-heavy combat. SoulQuest uses grief as fuel for violent, skill-based battles against gods instead of quiet, contemplative traversal.	Players who prefer an artistic, low-stress emotional journey with minimal combat and a focus on visuals and music over action systems.

Game Details

Developer: SoulBlade Studio LLC, TomasJPereyra
Publisher: indie.io
Engine: GameMaker
Platforms: PC (Steam); Windows
Release Date: May 1, 2026
Genre: Action, Adventure, Hack-and-Slash, 2D
Player Mode: Single-player
Steam User Rating: Positive (around 88% positive at launch)
Core Features: Combo-focused combat, myth-inspired story, adjustable difficulty, hub-based progression, portal checkpoints
Controller Support: Full controller support on PC

System Requirements

SoulQuest has modest hardware requirements suitable for most modern PCs. The minimum specification targets 1080p at 60 FPS on an entry-level discrete GPU, with a very small storage footprint.