SoulCalibur VI Evo 2018 Tournament Shows 2 Hours of PS4 Gameplay

We still have to wait a bit for SoulCalibur VI, which releases October 19, 2018, but Evo 2018 gave us an in-depth look at its gameplay (running on the PlayStation 4). While most of us won’t be playing at this skill level, watching the Evo tournament still gives us an idea of what to expect.

This SoulCalibur VI tournament, which ran on the E3 2018 build of the game, featured many well-known faces from the competitive gaming scene. While some people may not be interested in watching Evo matches for entertainment, they shouldn’t rule out the insights it can provide on upcoming games.

Watching matches from events like Evo can be intimidating and somewhat confusing, if you aren’t used to witnessing high caliber play or aren’t familiar with the jargon. If that’s your concern, you’ll be happy to know that Aris and Markman, the SoulCalibur VI tournament commentators, did a great job discussing what was happening on-screen while reminding us what we can expect in simple, accessible terms.

Especially in the first few SoulCalibur VI matches, both hosts took the time to remind viewers how the mechanics and meta have changed in this new entry in the series. Markman emphasized that each character offers something unique, now more than ever, because of the how Soul Charge works.

While Soul Charge isn’t new to the series, it takes on a different form in SoulCalibur VI. Soul Charge now costs one bar to perform, in doing so you enter a powered-up state until the bar drains. Aris chimed in and added, “This game’s design has a lot more to do [with] character’s lore and abilities in the story, than it necessarily does about the weapon they’re using. Every character has their own anime-style trait and gimmick.” Aris and Markman never left any awkward pauses and continuously used the tournament matches as a way to explain the game.

Sometimes Evo matches can feel overwhelming to watch and hard to keep track of, but I found these SoulCalibur VI fights easy to comprehend. The players competing in this tournament understood how to effectively use combos and navigated the stage more quickly and thoughtfully than a casual player would. Everyone should feel right at home when watching these matches. For our thoughts on this title so far be sure to read our SoulCalibur VI hands-on preview.

SoulCalibur VI will come to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on October 19, 2018.

[Source: Push Square]