'By Sun's Arse' Soulframe looks promising in Tennocon 2023 gameplay deep-dive

Tennocon 2023 is here, and while Digital Extremes has rolled out a whole host of exciting updates for its Space Ninja loot-shooter, Warframe, the developer has shared more about its new project, Soulframe, too.

The third-person action-adventure title got a new gameplay trailer, highlighting its RPG mechanics, procedural dungeon generation, and much more.

Soulframe gameplay shown at Tennocon 2023

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In a pre-Tennocon briefing, Soulframe is "spiritually connected" to Warframe, the team at Digital Extremes noted, and focuses on a customizable character cast out as a disgraced soldier and working to reconnect with ancestors to provide various buffs and abilities.

Stats are assigned to a trifecta of Virtues; Courage, Spirit, and Grace, with Digital Extremes wanting players to have difficult choices to make with a "triangle of trade-offs". Courage will help with fighting ability, while Spirit pertains to magic and wielding the arcane arts. Grace, meanwhile, helps with stealthy, assassin-style combat.

Players can move through the open world and engage in combat that looks slower than Warframe's, but is also not quite Soulslike in nature, taking on quests from NPCs.

One such NPC, Avarot, is likely to be popular across the internet for his adorable look and British accent, as well as his charming greeting, "by sun's arse!".

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The demo also showcased the ability to drop down into a well to clear out enemies in procedurally generated areas, with abilities like turning opponents to stone. Digital Extremes promised a variety of classes, known as Pacts, too, as well as opportunities for stealth kills and a variety of traps littering dungeons.

Players power up using ancestors, while dungeon runs will offer Wandering Souls, a wildcard that offers further customisation from run to run, letting players attune to specific enemies and challenges.

Steve Sinclair, DE's Chief Creative Officer, said in a press release: “We couldn’t let this show pass by without giving Tenno and future Envoys alike a deeper dive into some of the combat, character systems, and environments we’ve been hard at work on in Soulframe.

"Rest assured we will have a lot more to talk about in 2024.”

Soulframe is currently without a release date.