Lost Soul Aside vs Path of Exile

• Perspective: Third-Person
• Multiplayer: Single-Player Only
• Setting: High Fantasy / Sci-Fi
• Platforms: PlayStation 5, PC
• Unique Feature: A highly stylized, fast-paced combat system that revolves around seamlessly switching between four distinct weapons and utilizing a shapeshifting dragon companion for both combat and traversal.

• Perspective: Isometric (Top-Down)
• Multiplayer: Online Co-op (up to 6 players)
• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, macOS
• Core Loop: 3-Month Seasonal Leagues
• Model: Free-to-Play
• Unique Feature: Unprecedented character customization through a massive passive skill tree and a modular skill gem system, all within a free-to-play model.

• Arena: A constant, integral companion. Arena's shapeshifting abilities are the source of Kaser's four weapon types and his special 'Arena Powers'. He also enables advanced traversal like flight, gliding, and hoverboarding.
  Voidrax (Dragon-like)

• Minions: Players (typically Witches or Templars) can use skill gems to summon an army of minions, such as zombies, skeletons, or even the reanimated corpses of powerful monsters, to fight for them.
  Undead, Golems, Spectres
• Cosmetic Pets: Non-combat pets that can be purchased as microtransactions. They follow the player around but do not participate in combat or affect gameplay in any way.
  Various

• Unique Items: Dropped by monsters throughout the game. There are over 1,000 unique items, each with fixed names, art, and special properties that can enable entire character builds. Some are extremely rare and valuable.
• Divination Cards: A type of item that drops in specific areas of the game. Collecting a full set of a particular card allows the player to trade it to an NPC for a predetermined item reward, allowing for targeted farming of valuable items.

• High Fantasy
• Action RPG
• JRPG
• Sibling Bonds
• Redemption
• Dimensional Travel
• Fast-Paced Combat

• Dark Fantasy
• Survival
• Exile
• Eldritch Horror
• Deep Character Customization
• Loot Hunting
• Complex Economy
• Action RPG

• Sword: Melee
  The standard weapon, ideal for swift attacks and close-quarters precision.
• Greatsword: Heavy Melee
  A heavy, two-handed sword that deals significant area-of-effect and stagger damage with slower swings.
• Poleblade: Hybrid Melee/Ranged
  A versatile weapon that focuses on range, allowing for both wide slashes and ranged, bullet-like attacks.
• Scythe: Advanced Melee
  An 'all-in-one' weapon for advanced players that mixes reach, speed, and crowd-control capabilities.

• One-Handed Weapons: Claws, Daggers, Wands, Swords, Axes, Maces
  A wide variety of weapons that can be dual-wielded or used with a shield. Each weapon type has its own implicit properties and benefits from different parts of the passive skill tree.
• Two-Handed Weapons: Bows, Staves, Swords, Axes, Maces
  Weapons that require both hands, generally offering higher base damage or more linked sockets at the cost of being unable to use a shield.
• Shields: Armour, Evasion, Energy Shield, or Hybrid
  Off-hand items that provide defensive stats and a chance to block attacks. They can also have powerful explicit mods, making them a key piece of gear for many builds.

• Kaser's Attire: The game does not appear to feature a traditional armor system with defensive stats. Kaser's outfit can be customized with cosmetic items from the Deluxe Edition or pre-order bonuses. Progression is focused on skills and weapon upgrades.

• Body Armour, Helmets, Gloves, Boots: The four primary slots for defensive gear. Armor pieces provide a base defense type (Armour for physical reduction, Evasion for dodging, Energy Shield as a magical health pool) and are a primary source of sockets for skill gems.
• Accessories: Amulets, Rings, and Belts. These items do not provide base defenses but are crucial for obtaining offensive and defensive stats, such as resistances, life, damage, and critical strike chance.

• Cosmetic Microtransactions: The primary form of character customization. Players can purchase a vast array of cosmetic armor sets, weapon effects, character effects, footprints, portals, and hideout decorations to completely change their character's appearance without affecting gameplay stats.

Progression is based on a deep RPG system. Players earn experience to unlock new abilities and skill evolutions in a character skill tree. 'Fragments' can be collected to modify weapon appearance and provide stat boosts. Arena's powers also offer a variety of offensive, defensive, and healing abilities that can be upgraded.

The game features a linear structure with wide, explorable areas rather than a single seamless open world. Players will traverse multiple unique worlds and dimensions as Kaser hunts down the Voidrax commander, Aramon. Traversal is enhanced by Arena's abilities, including dashing, dragon flight, and crystal hoverboarding.

• Kaser: Playable Protagonist
  A skilled swordsman and member of the GLIMMER resistance movement, on a quest to save his sister's soul from the invading Voidrax.
• Arena: Companion
  A shapeshifting, dragon-like Voidrax warrior who joins Kaser. His transformations provide Kaser's different weapons and abilities.
• Louisa: Key NPC
  Kaser's younger sister, whose soul is abducted by the Voidrax, serving as the primary motivation for the story.
• Aramon: Antagonist
  The enigmatic and vengeful commander of the Voidrax forces.

• Marauder (Strength): Playable Class
  Starts at the strength-aligned portion of the skill tree. Excels at melee combat and physical damage. Ascendancies: Juggernaut, Berserker, Chieftain.
• Ranger (Dexterity): Playable Class
  Starts at the dexterity-aligned portion of the skill tree. Specializes in bow attacks and evasion. Ascendancies: Deadeye, Raider, Pathfinder.
• Witch (Intelligence): Playable Class
  Starts at the intelligence-aligned portion of the skill tree. A master of elemental magic, chaos spells, and minion summoning. Ascendancies: Necromancer, Elementalist, Occultist.
• Duelist (Strength/Dexterity): Playable Class
  A hybrid class that starts between Strength and Dexterity. Focuses on fast melee attacks and blocking. Ascendancies: Slayer, Gladiator, Champion.
• Templar (Strength/Intelligence): Playable Class
  A hybrid class that starts between Strength and Intelligence. A staff-wielding holy warrior. Ascendancies: Inquisitor, Hierophant, Guardian.
• Shadow (Dexterity/Intelligence): Playable Class
  A hybrid class that starts between Dexterity and Intelligence. A specialist in traps, mines, and critical strikes. Ascendancies: Assassin, Saboteur, Trickster.
• Scion (All Attributes): Playable Class
  Starts in the center of the skill tree. An advanced class unlocked later that can borrow abilities from other Ascendancy classes, offering unique build possibilities. Ascendancy: Ascendant.

• Main Story Campaign
  A cinematic, chapter-based story following Kaser's journey across multiple dimensions to rescue his sister's soul from the Voidrax and their commander, Aramon.
• Battle Arenas
  A recurring mission structure where players are locked into an area and must defeat several waves of challenging enemies before they can proceed with the story.

• The Main Campaign
  A ten-act storyline that serves as the introduction to the game's world and mechanics. The player must progress through Wraeclast, defeat various bosses and gods, and ultimately complete the campaign to unlock the endgame Atlas of Worlds.
• Mapping (Atlas of Worlds)
  The primary endgame activity. Players use map items to open portals to randomized, high-level areas with their own bosses. The goal is to complete hundreds of different maps to unlock passive points for the Atlas itself, which allows players to customize their endgame content.
• League Mechanics
  Each three-month league introduces a new optional mechanic and set of objectives. Engaging with the league mechanic is key to earning the best rewards and completing the league's challenges for cosmetic prizes.

• Q: What is Lost Soul Aside?
  A: Lost Soul Aside is a single-player action RPG known for its stylish, fast-paced combat inspired by games like Final Fantasy XV and Devil May Cry. It was developed by a small indie team as part of Sony's China Hero Project.
• Q: Is it an open-world game?
  A: No, it features a linear story structure with wide, explorable areas and branching paths, rather than a single, large open-world sandbox.
• Q: What is the combat like?
  A: The combat is the main highlight. It's a high-speed, skill-based system where players can seamlessly switch between four different weapons mid-combo and utilize a shapeshifting dragon companion for special attacks and traversal.
• Q: How long did the game take to make?
  A: The project began as a solo hobby project by Yang Bing in 2014. After gaining viral attention, it was supported by Sony and developed by a full studio, Ultizero Games, leading to its 2025 release.

• Q: Is Path of Exile truly free to play?
  A: Yes. The entire game, from the story campaign to the deepest endgame content, is available for free. The developers are funded by cosmetic microtransactions and quality-of-life stash tabs, which are not required to play or succeed.
• Q: Is Path of Exile pay-to-win?
  A: No. The developers have a strict policy against selling player power. Microtransactions are for cosmetic effects or convenience items like stash tabs, none of which provide a direct competitive advantage in gameplay.
• Q: How complex is the game for a new player?
  A: Path of Exile is famously complex and has a very steep learning curve. While the campaign is approachable, the sheer number of systems (crafting, endgame atlas, boss mechanics) can be overwhelming. New players are often advised to follow a build guide for their first character.
• Q: Should I play Path of Exile 1 or wait for Path of Exile 2?
  A: Grinding Gear Games will be supporting both games concurrently. Path of Exile 1 will continue to receive new leagues and updates even after PoE2 is released. It is a great time to start playing PoE1 to learn the core concepts, as many will carry over to the sequel.

• OFFICIAL AND EXTRAPOLATED SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS for Lost Soul Aside. This information is based on the official PC specifications from developer UltiZeroGames, adapted to the requested JSON structure. As a high-speed action RPG with impressive visuals built on Unreal Engine 5, the requirements are demanding, especially for higher resolutions. Laptop and future-generation GPU listings are extrapolated based on performance benchmarks.
• Laptop Performance Note: Laptop versions of the listed desktop GPUs require comparable performance. For a visually rich, fast-paced game like Lost Soul Aside, maintaining a high and stable framerate is critical. This makes a laptop with a powerful CPU and a well-cooled, high-TGP (Total Graphics Power) GPU essential for an optimal experience.
• Laptop Consideration: G P U T G P: A high TGP is crucial for the GPU to sustain its boost clocks during intense, particle-heavy combat sequences, ensuring fluid gameplay without performance drops.
• Laptop Consideration: Cooling Thermals: The game's Unreal Engine 5 foundation can heavily tax both the CPU and GPU. A robust cooling system is necessary to prevent thermal throttling and maintain consistent performance, which is vital for the game's demanding combat.
• Laptop Consideration: C P U Power Limits: Strong single-core and multi-core CPU performance is important for handling the game's physics, complex enemy AI, and rapid player movements without creating a system bottleneck.
• Laptop Consideration: M U X Switch Optimus: A MUX switch or NVIDIA Advanced Optimus is highly recommended to minimize system latency. In a high-speed action game where reaction time and input precision are paramount, reducing latency provides a significant competitive advantage.
• Optimization Detail: Upscaling Tech: The game officially supports NVIDIA DLSS, AMD FSR, and Intel XeSS. Given the demanding nature of Unreal Engine 5, using these upscaling technologies is highly recommended to achieve stable, high framerates, especially at 1440p and 4K resolutions.
• Optimization Detail: Key Settings Impact: Performance will be most affected by settings related to Unreal Engine 5's features, such as Global Illumination (Lumen), Shadows (Virtual Shadow Maps), and Effects Quality. Turning on ray tracing features will also have a significant performance cost.
• Game Name: Lost Soul Aside

• OFFICIAL AND EXTRAPOLATED SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS for Path of Exile (Live Game). This information is based on the official PC specifications from developer Grinding Gear Games and the game's Steam page, adapted to the requested JSON structure. These requirements are for the current game and are distinct from the higher requirements of the upcoming 'Path of Exile 2'. Laptop and higher-tier GPU listings are extrapolated based on performance data for this notoriously demanding ARPG.
• Laptop Performance Note: Laptop versions of the listed desktop GPUs require comparable performance, which is highly dependent on the laptop's TGP (Total Graphics Power) and thermal design. Path of Exile can be very CPU and GPU intensive during endgame mapping with many on-screen effects, so a laptop with strong single-core CPU performance and good cooling is crucial for a smooth experience.
• Laptop Consideration: G P U T G P: A sufficient TGP is important to prevent the GPU from throttling during intense moments with dense monster packs and numerous particle effects.
• Laptop Consideration: Cooling Thermals: Path of Exile is known for pushing systems hard. A robust cooling solution is essential to maintain stable framerates and prevent performance degradation from heat during long gaming sessions.
• Laptop Consideration: C P U Power Limits: Strong single-thread CPU performance is critical for Path of Exile, as the game engine relies heavily on it to process the vast number of calculations happening in combat. Adequate power to the CPU is key.
• Laptop Consideration: M U X Switch Optimus: A MUX switch or NVIDIA Advanced Optimus is recommended to reduce system latency, which can be beneficial for reacting to dangerous in-game mechanics.
• Optimization Detail: Upscaling Tech: The game does not have official integrated support for upscaling technologies like NVIDIA DLSS or AMD FSR. Performance is based on native resolution rendering. Players must rely on driver-level solutions or third-party tools if they wish to use these features.
• Optimization Detail: Key Settings Impact: Performance is heavily impacted by the number of effects on screen. Key settings to adjust include Shadow Quality, Texture Quality, and Antialiasing. The game is notoriously CPU-bound in endgame scenarios, meaning lowering graphical settings may not always increase framerates if the CPU is the bottleneck.
• Game Name: Path of Exile

• Upscaling Tech: The game officially supports NVIDIA DLSS, AMD FSR, and Intel XeSS. Given the demanding nature of Unreal Engine 5, using these upscaling technologies is highly recommended to achieve stable, high framerates, especially at 1440p and 4K resolutions.
• Key Settings Impact: Performance will be most affected by settings related to Unreal Engine 5's features, such as Global Illumination (Lumen), Shadows (Virtual Shadow Maps), and Effects Quality. Turning on ray tracing features will also have a significant performance cost.

• Upscaling Tech: The game does not have official integrated support for upscaling technologies like NVIDIA DLSS or AMD FSR. Performance is based on native resolution rendering. Players must rely on driver-level solutions or third-party tools if they wish to use these features.
• Key Settings Impact: Performance is heavily impacted by the number of effects on screen. Key settings to adjust include Shadow Quality, Texture Quality, and Antialiasing. The game is notoriously CPU-bound in endgame scenarios, meaning lowering graphical settings may not always increase framerates if the CPU is the bottleneck.

• G P U T G P: A high TGP is crucial for the GPU to sustain its boost clocks during intense, particle-heavy combat sequences, ensuring fluid gameplay without performance drops.
• Cooling Thermals: The game's Unreal Engine 5 foundation can heavily tax both the CPU and GPU. A robust cooling system is necessary to prevent thermal throttling and maintain consistent performance, which is vital for the game's demanding combat.
• C P U Power Limits: Strong single-core and multi-core CPU performance is important for handling the game's physics, complex enemy AI, and rapid player movements without creating a system bottleneck.
• M U X Switch Optimus: A MUX switch or NVIDIA Advanced Optimus is highly recommended to minimize system latency. In a high-speed action game where reaction time and input precision are paramount, reducing latency provides a significant competitive advantage.

• G P U T G P: A sufficient TGP is important to prevent the GPU from throttling during intense moments with dense monster packs and numerous particle effects.
• Cooling Thermals: Path of Exile is known for pushing systems hard. A robust cooling solution is essential to maintain stable framerates and prevent performance degradation from heat during long gaming sessions.
• C P U Power Limits: Strong single-thread CPU performance is critical for Path of Exile, as the game engine relies heavily on it to process the vast number of calculations happening in combat. Adequate power to the CPU is key.
• M U X Switch Optimus: A MUX switch or NVIDIA Advanced Optimus is recommended to reduce system latency, which can be beneficial for reacting to dangerous in-game mechanics.