Soulframe, a Warframe successor with huge Elden Ring vibes, opens up to more players

Digital Extremes first revealed Soulframe at TennoCon 2022, the yearly convention that was created to celebrate the free-to-play online game Warframe. Soulframe looks like a much slower game than its sci-fi sibling, and a new preview at TennoCon 2024 gave us a closer look at the combat, progression, and customization. Soulframe is still in a relatively early stage of development, but a long-burn will likely work well for the fantasy adventure game.

Soulframe Preludes is a sort of early access version of the game, and Digital Extremes are inviting waves of new players in batches. The protagonist is the Envoy, a babe washed ashore upon the northern isle of Midrath after a pitched battle endangered their family. In the TennoCon digital preview, we got to see the circumstances that leads to the Envoy’s journey, complete with an appearance from their mom whom we can customize through epic song.

Cut to a grown Envoy, years later, who is able to battle legendary figures like Nimrod. The Envoy can swap between an open world, thick with ruins, foliage, and wonder, and a mind palace of sorts called the Nighthold. When the player pauses, they fall into the Nighthold, a mystical realm occupied by their Ancestors. These helpful Ancestors can upgrade gear, brew elixirs, and craft weapons.

The Soulframe team did a developer stream for the game at TennoCon, where they shared plenty of new information of what players can expect. It definitely feels like Warframe and Elden Ring fell into a The Fly-style cloning machine, and as a fan of both games, my interest is definitely piqued. At TennoCon, we got a glimpse of Verminia, a rat queen who loves fashion. Verminia is a new Ancestor players can meet and bring into the Nighthold, and she’ll assist the Envoy with dolly dress up.

However, Soulframe is designed to update over years, similarly to its older sister Warframe. Soulframe Preludes is still a very early stage of development, and we’ll likely see the world continue to grow and evolve. For now, Digital Extremes isn’t ready to let every player in to give Soulframe’s new systems a spin. However, they are inviting waves of new players over time.

Players can sign up to potentially test out Soulframe Preludes on the game’s official site.

We learned about Soulframe two years ago, but the game is coming into much clearer focus with these new updates. While Warframe still has plenty of gas left in the tank, I’m curious to see where Digital Extremes takes this new spin on its successful core formula. Soulframe is currently only available on PC, but we’ll likely see it roll out to more platforms as the early access period continues.