Skip to main content GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love Search GamesRadar+ View Profile Xbox Series X Nintendo Switch Nintendo Switch 2 Tabletop Gaming Toys & Collectibles Retro Gamer Newsletters Total Film Gaming Magazines Why subscribe? Subscribe from just £3 Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love Try a single issue or save on a subscription Issues delivered straight to your door or device From£9.99Subscribe now Gamescom 2025 schedule Battlefield 6 New Games for 2025 Recommended reading Action RPGs Legally distinct Final Fantasy 15, better known as the PlayStation-published anime action RPG Lost Soul Aside, has gone gold ahead of its PS5 and PC launch this month Action RPGs Phantom Blade Zero director says playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 "reminded me of Final Fantasy 10" and "I'd love to bring back some vibes from the PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 era" Action RPGs Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is the hardcore Soulslike you'd get if you tried to turn Sekiro into Chinese Dark Souls 3, and that devotion to FromSoftware is exactly why I like it Action RPGs Phantom Blade Zero is "neither a Soulslike game nor a traditional action game," creator says, suggesting that "maybe it could create a new identity" altogether Action Games "Many people are making games for money, but we make money for games": CEO says all the studio's releases were stepping stones to the "end goal" of its big kung fu action RPG Lost Hellden channels talent from Final Fantasy XI, XII, Tactics and Valkyria Chronicles into its old school JRPG action Action Games Phantom Blade Zero director crafts enormous boots for himself, suggesting his action RPG is a blend of Dark Souls, The Witcher 3, and Baldur's Gate 3 Action RPGs "One of those emails was an invitation from Sony": PlayStation's new Final Fantasy-style action RPG started with one dude screwing around with Unreal Engine 4 in 2014 Austin Wood 22 August 2025 Lost Soul Aside is out on PC and PS5 on August 29 When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: PlayStation / UltiZero Games) Ahead of the impending release of Chinese action RPG Lost Soul Aside, PlayStation's put out a mini documentary exploring the game's origins and ambitions, and it's an interesting look into the project's nearly 11-year journey from Unreal Engine 4 experiment to marquee release. The video, earmarked "PS5 and PC games" as PlayStation continues to invest more in PC with simultaneous multiplatform launches, largely centers around Yang Bing, the original creator who posted the prophetic "my Animation made by unrealengine4" on YouTube back in 2014. That short video featured a quick and dirty mockup of a dude who looks like Kingdom Hearts' vision of a goth fighting red-eyed demon ninjas as a sassy, talking dragon skull floats around him, set to rock music seemingly recorded from inside a sock inside a handbag. You may like Legally distinct Final Fantasy 15, better known as the PlayStation-published anime action RPG Lost Soul Aside, has gone gold ahead of its PS5 and PC launch this month Phantom Blade Zero director says playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 "reminded me of Final Fantasy 10" and "I'd love to bring back some vibes from the PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 era" Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is the hardcore Soulslike you'd get if you tried to turn Sekiro into Chinese Dark Souls 3, and that devotion to FromSoftware is exactly why I like it I say this with all the love in the world as someone who's seriously interested in this game: it's amazing how closely Lost Soul Aside has stuck to this original vision. Lost Soul Aside - A Hero’s Journey (Behind The Scenes) | PS5 & PC Games - YouTube The full game – polished and expanded under PlayStation's China Hero Project at full-fat developer UltiZero Games, and re-announced or teased in various forms over the years – has a Final Fantasy 15-adjacent HD anime aesthetic and stars long coat enthusiast Kaser, joined by parasitic magic dragon head Arena. It looks incomparably better than that 2014 animation, but it's still got that charming edginess about it. "The earliest stage of the project can be traced back to 2014," Bing says in the video. "At that time it was more of a personal hobby. I personally liked fast-paced, fluid combat games. I just wanted to gradually bring the things in my mind to life." "Like Bayonetta or Devil May Cry, it belongs to the hack and slash category," battle and system lead Xu Siwei says elsewhere. Lost Soul Aside does feature RPG-lite elements like a skill tree, but it's firmly combat-first. PlayStation calls it an action RPG, which seems fair enough, but its long combos, extravagant weapons, and flurrying visual effects do scream hack and slash to me. Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. There's a degree of flourish and embellishment I associate with the genre, whereas modern action RPGs tend to have more heft and consequence to attacks, and I'm thrilled to see it celebrated here. But what do most genres mean in 2025, really? The soundtrack, described as a mix of rock and electronic music, also gets a nod in the documentary, and is thankfully now recorded sock-free. (Image credit: Ultizero Games / PlayStation Publishing) Bing says "when I first uploaded the trailer online, I didn't think much about it," but then came the deluge of emails. "Later, I just found one of those emails was an invitation from Sony PlayStation. I was shocked and excited, and immediately replied." Fast forward a decade and Sony Interactive Entertainment Shanghai president Tatsuo Eguchi reckons Lost Soul Aside has become a standard bearer for the publisher's Chinese efforts. "The successful development of this game represents the spirit of PlayStation's China Hero Project," he says. Eguchi also acknowledges the "numerous difficulties" Lost Soul Aside has overcome in its long, winding production. Bing thanks fans for their support and encouragement: "No matter what difficulties I encountered along the way, I've been able to persevere to this day." Per the game's dedicated PC features trailer, it's also another step in Sony's off-console growth. Lost Soul Aside promises "optimized 4K graphics, advanced ray tracing, high dynamic range display [support]," and other bells and whistles like DualSense controller functionality. Lost Soul Aside will launch on PS5 and PC on August 29 at $59.99. Legally distinct Final Fantasy 15, better known as the PlayStation-published anime action RPG Lost Soul Aside, has gone gold ahead of its PS5 and PC launch this month. See more PS5 News PlayStation Austin Wood Social Links Navigation Senior writer Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Legally distinct Final Fantasy 15, better known as the PlayStation-published anime action RPG Lost Soul Aside, has gone gold ahead of its PS5 and PC launch this month Phantom Blade Zero director says playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 "reminded me of Final Fantasy 10" and "I'd love to bring back some vibes from the PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 era" Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is the hardcore Soulslike you'd get if you tried to turn Sekiro into Chinese Dark Souls 3, and that devotion to FromSoftware is exactly why I like it Phantom Blade Zero is "neither a Soulslike game nor a traditional action game," creator says, suggesting that "maybe it could create a new identity" altogether "Many people are making games for money, but we make money for games": CEO says all the studio's releases were stepping stones to the "end goal" of its big kung fu action RPG Lost Hellden channels talent from Final Fantasy XI, XII, Tactics and Valkyria Chronicles into its old school JRPG action Latest in Action RPGs Nier Automata’s infamously quirky creator Yoko Taro has been an enigma for years, and now the legendary RPG veteran is getting an entire book filled with interviews that are sure to be unmissable Gearbox's Randy Pitchford says Borderlands "ushered in a whole new genre" of looter shooters, and imitators get it wrong when they "twist it too far," unlike Gearbox: "We tend to commit to the bit" Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford says the game industry once expected a genre experiment like Borderlands to "die," but it actually became "one of the leading video game franchises in the world": "It's kind of humbling" Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford says "I think they could charge $200" for Borderlands 4, "you can't find a better value in the world for any type of entertainment," then adds: "I wish they'd give it away, because then everyone would play it" Final Fantasy 14 fans can't get enough of the MMO's wonderfully simple instructions on how to access the Monster Hunter Wilds crossover's content: "Create a character, play roughly 600 hours" Black Myth: Wukong dev announces new action RPG Black Myth: Zhong Kui, admits it's "little more than an empty folder at this stage" and it has "absolutely no idea" when it's coming out, then teases more Wukong to come Latest in News EA has had enough of the Battlefield 6 beta memes: welcome to the FPS's largest map in Battlefield Labs, which really is that big As scholars analyze every frame of Donkey Kong Bananza for lore implications, the game's director says "please enjoy it without thinking too deeply about it" World of Warcraft ends 21-year drought and adds housing with MMO's new Midnight expansion – but Blizzard has a good reason it took so long: "We couldn't just check off a box and do the minimum" Konami veteran says the goal with Metal Gear Solid Delta was to let new devs "figure out" how to make a Metal Gear so they can eventually "carry on the legacy on our behalf" Forget Star Wars and Marvel, Disney is reportedly looking for fresh IPs that will lure a Gen Z male audience to the brand Ex-Sony boss would consider bringing back PlayStation All-Stars as it's "important" for the brand, even if it didn't live up to Nintendo's Super Smash Bros GAME REVIEWS MOVIE REVIEWS This is the perfect cozy board game for Fall with its compelling mix of Redwall and city-building Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater review: "Little surprised me in this rigid remake, but it's still one of my favorite games of all time" This D&D-style board game "pairs gentle strategic fun with tempting press-your-luck mechanics" for a very good time Sword of the Sea review: "Joyous, fluid hoverboarding connects together everything I loved about Journey and The Pathless" This D&D board game could be the magic item needed to refresh your game nights, but it won't be a critical hit for everyone Weapons review: "A twisted fairytale that bests Barbarian" The Fantastic Four: First Steps review: "An occasionally thrilling heroic adventure that sits safely within a B-tier MCU range" Superman review: "A triumphant reinvention and a promising start for the DCU" Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber" M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion" Peacemaker season 2 review: "Darker and sadder than the first year, but there's still a lot of fun to be had with the 11th Street Kids." Wednesday season 2 part 1 review: "Complex and exciting but weighed down by too many subplots" Alien: Earth review: "Arguably the franchise's strongest outing since James Cameron's Aliens" King of the Hill season 14 review: "Hank Hill himself has evolved into a much more open and accepting person" Eyes of Wakanda review: "A creative premise shortchanged by the runtime and Marvel bloat" GamesRadar+ is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site. Contact Future's experts Terms and conditions Privacy policy Cookies policy Advertise with us Review guidelines Write for us Accessibility Statement Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. Please login or signup to comment Please wait...