Slashy Souls for iPhone

First reaction: warning signs I ignored

I should have listened to my instincts the moment I heard Slashy Souls was being billed as a free endless-runner to promote Dark Souls III. Even letting aside the obvious mismatch between the Souls series’ deliberate, punishing design and the fast-paced arcade formula, the promotional angle felt tacky and the screenshots were unimpressive. Still, I wanted to give it a chance — hindsight tells me I shouldn’t have.

How the game opens and what you're expected to do

The game drops you at a bonfire — the familiar checkpoint from Dark Souls — and immediately throws you into motion. You inhabit a knight who sprints through a gloomy, gothic landscape with no tutorial or guidance: just run. The core objective is straightforward: keep moving forward, avoid or overcome environmental hazards, defeat enemies you encounter, and stay ahead of a creeping black mist that pursues you from behind.

For many endless-runners the lack of instruction is acceptable because their mechanics are simple; for Dark Souls, part of the appeal is learning by experimentation. In Slashy Souls, though, that same minimal guidance doesn’t translate into rewarding discovery — it simply becomes confusing because the game rarely makes clear whether your inputs registered or not.

Controls and responsiveness

The intended control scheme is basic, but the execution is inconsistent:

• Swipe up to attempt a leap over obstacles.
• Swipe horizontally (left/right) to try rolling away from danger.
• Tap the screen for a quick sword swing.
• Hold your finger down to raise a block.

Visually the environments are often muddy and details that signal traps are easy to miss. The real problem is input reliability: a swipe up might produce a jump, a sword slash, or nothing at all. Rolls and blocks behave the same way — sometimes effective, sometimes useless — and the game even crashed for me on occasion. The only mechanics that feel consistently tight are the collectible magic spells, but they’re rare enough that they can’t be relied upon as a regular survival tactic.

Closing thoughts and recommendation

I can’t really categorize Slashy Souls as either a competent mobile runner or a faithful Souls spin-off. If it were a paid release I’d call it a blatant cash-grab aimed at fans; as a free promotional app it just feels like a missed opportunity that cheapens the Dark Souls name. It’s punishingly difficult, but not in the meaningful, skill-based way the series is known for — instead it’s frustrating because the fundamentals (visual clarity, input responsiveness, stability) are weak.

Alternative to try

• Minecraft (paid) — a more polished and engaging option if you’re after a portable experience with depth and reliable controls.