Lost Soul Aside seems to have hurdled through development hell to receive a relatively vague 2025 release date. It is being made by Ultizero Games for PS5 and PC, while Sony has taken it upon itself to publish the upcoming Devil May Cry/Final Fantasy XV-inspired action RPG.
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For those unfamiliar, Lost Soul Aside was first announced in 2017 and is a single-player action-adventure RPG with a deeply emotional story at its core. The game will take players on a journey to rescue their sister and save humanity from a catastrophic invasion of extradimensional entities.
Despite numerous delays and vague development updates, there is plenty of available info and shows the dynamic combat system, very much reminiscent of the iconic Devil May Cry franchise. The players will be able to chain lightning-fast combos, unlock new abilities, and upgrade weapons to take on challenging foes and colossal bosses, while the world and visual design echo the influences of Final Fantasy XV.
That said, On December 18, 2024, the Lost Soul Aside Steam page went live, initially following the negative trend of recent first-party Sony titles by requiring a PSN account. Nevertheless, that was quickly reverted. The very next day, the Steam page update showed the removal of the third-party account requirement.
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As of this writing, it is unclear whether this is a change in Sony’s policies or it is specific to Lost Soul Aside.
Whatever the case behind PSN removal, Lost Soul Aside feels like a glimmer of hope for other third-party games published and funded by Sony that will come to PC, including Stellar Blade. It appears that Sony’s exclusives may continue to require a PSN login, whether multiplayer or not, based on recent trends.
For instance, when it lands on PC later this month, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will come with a PSN requirement. The Last of Us Part II Remastered will follow suit and God of War Ragnarok will too. With fans still mad over Helldivers 2 PSN requirement, it is obvious that this strategy isn’t good for Sony.
To support the claim, titles like Days Gone, developed by Sony-owned Bend Studio, launched on PC without a PSN restriction and had a positive reception. The Last of Us Part I from Naughty Dog also avoided this limitation.
Be that as it may, Stellar Blade, developed by Shift Up, is another highly anticipated PC port. When it was released on PS5 in April 2024, it took the gaming world by storm, selling one million units in less than two months. Former Sony boss, Shuhei Yoshida, recognized the potential behind Shift Up’s epic narrative-driven action RPG, and together they turned it into a critical darling on a global scale.
Locking this kind of critical acclaim away from millions of players due to PSN requirements risks further backlash for Sony. It would almost be a crime to impose a third-party account login. It remains to be seen what a deal between Shift Up and Sony will entail for the Stellar Blade PC port, but Lost Soul Aside could be a great hint.
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