6souls (PC) review "The pug life chose him..."

6souls doesn't spin a deep yarn rife with commentary. You play an adventurer named Jack and his trusty pug Butch, on a quest to check out an old castle in the middle of a forest. The characters they meet and the main antagonist are ordinary variety, as one would expect from a 2D platformer that apes older games. I mean, let's face it: how many platformers from the mid '80s to the early '90s featured a complex cast and a complicated villain? Not many, and that's fine. Its tale isn't the focal point. That honor goes to its stage design...

I suspect you know how platformers these days function compared to the ones of yore. Nowadays, it's all infinite lives and snazzy obstacles courses where one wrong move turns you into flying red chunks. Yes, this one is cut from the same mold as Super Meat Boy, though it doesn't entirely imitate it. For one thing, there's combat. Jack swings a sword early on, then gains a bow during his journey. Butch doesn't have the martial mastery of his friend, mainly due to his lack of opposable thumbs and short, four-legged stature.

Battle isn't really tricky, nor is it a main highlight. You occasionally encounter a goblin, skeleton, slime, or giant spider, then give it a good, multi-hit thwacking. Despite your blows, the creature could let loose a flurry of its own, prompting you to watch their body language and block when necessary. Bear in mind that you only get three stamina points for blocking and three hit points for damage, so carelessness only gets you killed.



However, Jack's swordsmanship doesn't protect him from myriad spikes and long drops that litter the castle. Sure, the guy can grip and climb walls, but his jump is trifling in comparison to the hundreds of traps that lie in wait for him. It isn't until you've beaten the first boss that you discover this title's true focus and why it's called 6souls. Defeating the massive slime that guards the end of chapter two gives you a crystal containing the spirit of a butler. The guy's final memories reveal a little of what befell the castle, just before he grants you the ability to dash through the air. This skill allows you to cover wide gaps or blast far upward, turning the not-so-agile Jack into a veritable superhero.

Plus, you gain new souls as you advance, and each one provides an extra use of this skill. So with the second soul, you can dash twice before exhausting it, then a third soul gives you three launches and so on... You recharge this ability by landing on the floor. That's it. There's need to find power-ups or use potions. Of course, in some cases you need to find a floor because of wide gaps...

Early phases don't give you much for pitfalls, but put you in crammed situations with boatloads of spikes. You often negotiate tight corridors or chambers filled with pokeys, and one wrong dash is instant death. You might rocket upward, angle to the right, land on a crumbling platform, then continue blasting along while avoiding things like steam bursting from pipes or dangling spiders that instantly kill you.

You might wonder how Butch factors in. Now and then, you come across a gate that requires you to throw a lever to open it. That device sits in an isolated area with tiny crawlspace connected to the main hall. You let Butch out to creep into the lever's domain, where he navigates his own death maze. Appearing-disappearing platforms and the same foes await him, though Butch doesn't wield a weapon and dies more easily. He also can't zoom like Jack, but he can double-jump. Oh, and he can bark. It doesn't do anything, but it's kind of cute...



In case you're wondering, Butch gets his own solo chapter, but it involves basic stealth. It's honestly the low point of the experience, even though it's not entirely bothersome. On one hand, it's a nice change of pace and shows the game can handle variety. On the other hand, a lot of this segment involves standing still until a particular moment, then walking forward. You don't hop along many platforms or avoid hazards much here. Instead, you tuck behind boxes and wait for goblins to fall asleep or look away long enough for you to mosey by. If they so much as see you, you're toast. You don't get to run and hide until the alarm dies down; you instantly disintegrate.

All of what I mentioned before is well-worn material, and yet, 6souls handles it in a way that doesn't feel worn out. Its exuberant and exciting, even if it is nothing new. It's challenging, and its levels require some level of problem solving to get by. It helps that each gauntlet doesn't have a checkpoint, which meaningfully adds to its challenge factor. And because each stage is so short, you don't feel overwhelmed. In other words, this game hits the sweet spot where difficulty and stage length are concerned.

Boss encounters in a game like this can either end up messy, distracting, or complimentary. In this case, they're a nice break from constant platforming. When these sections crop up, you use your abilities to weave around attacks and attempt to make the villain vulnerable. One guy, for instance, uses telekinetic powers to throw boxes at you. Your newfound powers allow you to dart away from the smaller ones and escape the larger one at the last second. When the huge crate collides with the floor, it dazes your opponent, allowing you to score a few shots before he recovers.



Though this game can be tough, its frustration factor remains minimal. Sure, you get the occasional moment where you grunt or swear, but they're not nearly as ever-present as they are in Meat Boy or many of its ilk. A few levels near the end, for instance, requires you to dash across a long pit, land on the occasional appearing-disappearing platform (hoping it didn't disappear while you were flying), then continue onward until you hit solid ground. Meanwhile, chunks of real estate lined with spikes dot the area, forcing you to be nearly precise with your movements.

One boss also stands out as a blood boiler. You fight a ghostly knight you murders you with lightning-quick cleaves, and that only represents a fraction of his madness. He also throws shadowy blades at you, plus constantly tosses and calls back his actual sword, and you struggle to out-maneuver it while trying to dish out damage. Remember, you only get three hits...

Putting those moments aside, 6souls stands as a treat for 2D platformer fans. This one doesn't aim to be a face breaker and instead provides a mostly balanced, but still enjoyably challenging ride with simple, likable characters. It doesn't try to be more than it is, and it leans into its own old-school concepts well enough to entertain those who love the now-niche category.

Staff review by Joseph Shaffer (April 11, 2026) Rumor has it that Joe is not actually a man, but a machine that likes video games, horror movies, and long walks on the beach. His/Its first contribution to HonestGamers was a review of Breath of Fire III.