On July 28, ChinaJoy2023, held in Shanghai, China, officially opened its doors. Some of us from Gamicsoft also happened to be in Shanghai for a trip and took the opportunity to embark on a pilgrimage to one of China's most prominent gaming exhibitions, which we had never attended before. However, today, we won't be discussing our impressions of the exhibition. Instead, we want to share our hands-on experience with the long-anticipated game Lost Soul Aside.

First and foremost, the hands-on demo of Lost Soul Aside showcased at ChinaJoy2023 is exactly the same as the one that was showcased two years ago. The only difference this time is that we can finally see the game's UI, which has undergone significant changes compared to five years ago. In the demo, players can not only engage in combat with some minions along the way but also face off against three different bosses. The first boss is a human character named Victor, while the other two bosses are monsters.

Let's not discuss the attack patterns of each boss, as experiencing it firsthand is more fun. Instead, let's talk about the combat system that everyone is most concerned about. Based on the previous gameplay demo and introductions, many of you may have seen shades of Devil May Cry in the game. After experiencing it ourselves, we also found some similarities, but it's not entirely the same. Compared to the Devil May Cry series, Lost Soul Aside is much easier, to put it simply. Players can easily perform very flashy combos (hardcore players might be a bit disappointed?).

The main attacks consist of □ for light attacks and △ for heavy attacks. Unlike Devil May Cry, where we had to remember the button sequences for each move, in Lost Soul Aside, it's almost unnecessary. You just need to keep pressing □ and occasionally use the △ button to unleash powerful and flashy combos. Moreover, when you attack the enemy until "□ + ×" appears above their head, pressing it will trigger unique skills for different weapons. The whole scene looks incredibly cool, but it might also make some players feel a bit ... dizzy.

Furthermore, players can switch weapons at any time to perform different attacks. During the hands-on demo, only the longsword and the greatsword were available for use, but it appears that a total of four weapons can be equipped based on the interface. Moreover, Lost Soul Aside also features a combat grading system. Players can accumulate grades by successfully attacking enemies, starting from D > C > B > A > S. When the grade is maxed out, players can unleash a powerful burst of energy. Apart from these basic combat mechanics, the protagonist also has three different skills (L2 + buttons) that can be unleashed, including self-buffs and attacking moves.

Although the current hands-on demo is not the final version, we must say that it is already an impressive action-adventure game. Especially for players who are not familiar with action games, Lost Soul Aside might serve as an entry-level game, providing a simple and enjoyable experience right from the start. As for the impact and sensation of the combat, we're not sure if it's just our subjective feeling, but compared to the gameplay demo from two years ago, it feels like there has been significant progress.

Overall, Lost Soul Aside is definitely worth looking forward to, and we hope the developers will announce the release date and provide more game details soon!