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If you’re looking for your next favorite survival game, we finally know the Soulmask release date. Launching in Steam Early Access in just a few weeks, you’ll have full control of your NPCs while also being able to automate their day-to-day lives using the eponymous soulmasks to your advantage. The free demo is also running for a few more days, and you’ll be rewarded during the full launch for playing, so there’s no better time to give the game a try.
Blending the genres of survival game, RPG, and sandbox, Soulmask’s 64 square kilometer map takes you to the Mayan era with seven biomes to explore. In typical survival fare, you start with nothing, before needing to venture out, find resources, and build, all while expanding your clan and engaging in frenetic third-person combat.
The clan mechanic is where Soulmask starts to set itself apart from survival and crafting rivals like Rust, though, as these NPCs all come with different personalities and talents. You’ll have hunters, crafters, warriors, and more at your disposal to help keep your society flourishing. You can set up your clan’s workflow and customize it to your liking, in a similar system to how you control the titular Pals of Palworld. But keep an eye on your people’s personality traits, as you’ll want to pick the best person for each job.
During our Soulmask interview at GDC, business manager Elson Soh at publisher Qooland Games told us about how the game aims to use these NPCs to cut out some of the busy work we’ve been doing in survival games for decades. “A couple of years ago when survival games first came out, cutting stuff was fun, but now you’ve done it so many times. Getting firewood – you’ve been doing it since World of Warcraft. That’s something we wanted to solve. We really hate repetitive labor tasks.”
So what about the titular soulmasks? Well, they all offer different boons and stat boosts for your activities like hunting, sneaking, or fighting, and can be upgraded to make them better. But that’s not all, if you want to get even stronger from these masks, you can hand them off to NPCs with high corresponding stats, take control of them, and then stand an even better chance at whatever task you’re doing.
You need to mix and match your soulmasks and NPCs to get the most out of this twist on the survival genre, and automate as much as you can to thrive. With a realistic physics system, you’ll engage in combat with eight weapon styles and 75 supporting combat skills, doing so in a vast world of around 500 hours of survival to be had.
Soulmask is coming to Steam Early Access on Tuesday June 18 and you can wishlist the game, or download the free demo, right here. The demo itself will be available until Wednesday May 15, and all players will be awarded the ‘New Chieftain’ Mask skin for playing.
If you want to add even more to your list we’ve got all the biggest upcoming PC games to keep an eye on, alongside some stellar open-world games you can play in the meantime.
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