George In The Meta
Should you play Soulframe or WoW Forever?
By George In The Meta ·
Short answer: I'm picking WoW Forever. Soulframe opens to everyone on PC on 6 November, free and with no invite needed, two days after WoW Forever launches. I think WoW Forever is going to steal my time, so I probably won't be going into Soulframe. Steam says I've got 117 hours in Warframe, from the same studio, and I honestly don't even remember playing it.
When does Soulframe open to everyone?
On 6 November. Digital Extremes calls it Open Preludes: "Simply put, no more waiting for an invitation!" its announcement says. You sign up at soulframe.com, download its launcher and play on PC. Preludes is the studio's name for Soulframe's pre-alpha, so this is a game still being built, after three years of invite-only tests. Digital Extremes hasn't given a start time in that post.
Eurogamer reports that the open start comes with the Verse of the Veillands update. It changes how you uncover the map: you purify a corrupted area called the Veillands, which unlocks resources and side activities like fishing, and you can raise a small wolf into a mount along the way. There's also a new Pact, Soulframe's word for a class, called the Ode Shrike, a trapper with spikes, snares, bombs and chains.
Is Soulframe free?
Yes, it's free to play. Steam lists it as free on Windows, though the store page still says "Coming soon". Digital Extremes also sells Founders bundles, which it says contain "exclusive Pacts, Weapons and Armour". I'm not likely to pay for one.
Warframe works the same way. It's free to play on Steam, and has been since 2013.
Why don't I remember 117 hours of Warframe?
I honestly don't even remember playing the game. I think it was... didn't I have to grind to unlock stuff? So it was just mind-numbing shooter stuff over and over again. I think that's what it was.
The fact I don't even remember playing Warframe is kind of worrying. There must have been enough there that was so sticky that I kept going back to it, even without being able to remember playing it.
What would a Warframe player want from Soulframe?
I don't really know, because if I managed to put 117 hours into Warframe, I don't remember playing it.
Steam describes Soulframe as a "Fantasy Action RPG" where you fight "with blade, bow, and magick". Warframe's own listing calls it a "free-to-play online action game". Soulframe is also a separate sign-up: you make your account on soulframe.com and play through Soulframe's own launcher.
Should you play Soulframe or WoW Forever?
I think WoW Forever is going to steal my time. It launches on 4 November, two days before Soulframe opens, and GTA 6 follows on 19 November. I think a lot of things that are releasing around WoW Forever or GTA 6 are super brave.
So no, I probably won't be going into Soulframe.
