At TennoCon 2023, Warframe developer Digital Extremes shared new details about its upcoming free-to-play game, Soulframe.
The presentation began with Digital Extreme showing off an extensive gameplay demo reminiscent of a fusion of FromSoftware’s Warframe and Elden Ring. So far, the gameplay and controls have looked smooth, with some gameplay showing off some magical combat and stealth gameplay that players can engage in.
Digital Extremes’ presentation included a look at the Plain of Souls and the Nightfold tent. The first, described by Digital Extremes, will serve as your ancestral village once you unlock more of the world’s story and progress through the Soulframe.
We also saw some role-playing elements appear in Soulframe, with Digital Extremes admitting that the RPG genre is “a bit out of [its] Wheelhouse.” The developer explained how Soulframe’s skill set is divided into three characteristics called Virtues: Courage, Spirit, and Grace, which are based on the characters of a fighter, mage, or assassin in similar fantasy role-playing games.
![Soulframe Virtues simplify the stats commonly found on fighter, mage, and assassin characters.](https://assets-prd.ignimgs.com/2023/08/25/soulframe-3-1692992537927.png?width=1280&fit=bounds&height=720&quality=20&dpr=0.05)
A deep gameplay dive touched on how inventory works in Soulframe. In addition to storing weapons and clothing, players will also have a slot to collect souls. In Soulframe, the Messenger (controlled by the player) has his soul and heart taken away, and the only way to gain permanent skills is to reconnect with his ancestors and collect their souls.
One of the more interesting features in Soulframe, like Warframe before it, has a feature where you can seamlessly switch between classes. In Soulframe, the feature is called Pacts, and each one offers three different bonuses; Digital Extremes only showed two in the demo: Fey and Ode Tempest.
Soulframe was announced at TennoCon last year and is described as a free-to-play open-world adventure “heavily influenced by themes of nature, restoration, and exploration,” with some inspiration from projects like Princess Mononoke.
Digital Extremes has yet to announce a release date for Soulframe.
Taylor is a reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.