PS Vita Fans Want Soul Sacrifice to Return on PS5, PS4 Next | Push Square

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There was a period when the PS Vita was new where Sony was desperate to secure a Monster Hunter-style hit on the system. You may recall that Capcom’s series had been extremely kind to the PSP, effectively securing it a second wind in its native Japan. But it’s widely rumoured that Nintendo swooped in and bought Nintendo 3DS exclusivity for future entries, leaving its rival scrambling for a replacement.

The company published several high-profile projects in the genre, including Freedom Wars, which will be remastered early next year. But that’s left some fans pondering whether Soul Sacrifice could also make a comeback, the first of its Monster Hunter-inspired projects.

For those who didn’t play the original, it was a co-op action game where you effectively sacrificed body parts in order to attack. Developed by Marvelous AQL, with a concept created by Mega Man’s Keiji Inafune, it was a cool alternative to Monster Hunter – with a dark, gothic fantasy theme. The core concept even expanded to the co-op, as you’d need to choose to save or sacrifice your allies if they were defeated.

Sacrificial

There were some really cool ideas here: you could launch powerful spells by ripping parts off your body, but doing so came with consequences. So, for example, if you triggered an attack using your skin, your defence would fall – or, if you used your eyeballs, your vision would be affected. While not a perfect game by any stretch, these systems were very unique and interesting.

An expanded re-release followed the original with more enemies and content, and the series was generally a big hit in Japan, with the first game selling over 200,000 copies domestically in less than two weeks. We’d always anticipated a port for PS4, but it never materialised.

Now, with the resurrection of Freedom Wars, it’s left fans longing for a re-release of Soul Sacrifice on the PS5. With Sony licensing out its IP to third-parties, it does seem possible – although the project would probably need to be