Young Souls is an action-packed, story-driven, stylish beat ‘em up full of witty humor, phenomenal art, and a colorful cast of charming characters. However, for fans of the genre, or even newcomers, there are likely a lot of questions regarding just what Young Souls does to make itself stand apart.

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From a dynamically different experience between solo and co-op play to a challenging difficulty rivaling that infamously hard series, there is a lot to experience, overcome and get better at in Young Souls. Fortunately, going in with this handful of helpful hints will see you better prepared to master one of the best beat ‘em ups ever made.

10 Surprisingly Story Heavy

Rarely does a beat ‘em up have a particularly satisfying story. Traditionally, the narrative found barely scratching its way out of the shadow of gameplay is a superficial addition that contextualizes why you’re going from A to B. However, in the case of Young Souls, the narrative is incredibly important.

You’ll encounter numerous sequences that are filled with expertly written dialogue, as well as the frequent moment of reflection on behalf of one of the twins in which they partake in some friendly sibling banter. Fortunately, it never gets in the way of the addictive gameplay and instead works harmoniously alongside it.

9 Combat Requires Spacial Awareness

Combat in Young Souls is relatively complex, requiring you to account for a number of factors such as your character’s speed, weapon choice, and what kind of enemy you’re up against. You’ll come toe-to-toe with a number of enemies who have a penchant for dodge rolling behind you and stabbing you in the back.

As a result, you’ll need to have a decent amount of spatial awareness and be competent in dealing with multiple enemies attacking from all sides. Unlike in movies where the bad guys take it in turns, in Young Souls enemies will relentlessly attack you, so you’ll need to utilize your own dodge roll to evade any potential damage.

8 You'll Have To Make Choices

Every so often in the narrative, you’ll be presented with a series of choices. This could be as simple as thinking of an excuse for why you’re not in school or choosing an insult to direct at a bumbling baddie.

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These choices don’t really seem to have all that much of an impact on your overall experience, so you don’t need to worry too much. They’re also not timed, so you can ponder on your choice - should you want to - for as long as you’d like.

7 It Is Best Played With Friends

Beat ‘em ups tend to work best when played with a friend. There’s nothing quite like pummeling bad guys down a darkened alleyway with a friend by your side. Fortunately, Young Souls accommodates this as it includes both a solo mode and a cooperative mode.

While the solo mode is still a ridiculous amount of fun, Young Souls is absolutely best played with a friend. In solo mode, you have to account for a lot more such as the balancing of your characters as well as getting to grips with two different playstyles. However, with a friend, you mitigate all of these issues and are able to just sit back and relax. Furthermore, for those planning on playing on the Nintendo Switch, thanks to the addition of a cooperative mode, Young Souls is easily one of the best beat ‘em ups on the platform.

6 The Cutscenes Are Gorgeous

For those who like a sprinkling of cutscenes in their morning beat ‘em up narrative, Young Souls has you covered. Due to the range of dynamic and captivating cutscenes brought to life in the game’s stunning and unique art style, Young Souls' narrative becomes increasingly more compelling.

While they don’t tend to last for very long - and are skippable for those who just want to get on with the action - they are a genuine joy to watch. For those who were hoping for a more story-centric game, Young Souls absolutely caters to you.

5 Expect Some Light Exploration

While most beat ‘em ups tend to be linear affairs, Young Souls has taken it upon itself to deviate from the norm slightly and offer some additional routes and extra locations for you to explore.

Everything is still perceived from a side-on perspective, and as a result, mostly sees you moving right at all times. However, the occasional offshoot and human world do offer opportunities to engage with some light exploration. For the most part, it is optional, so if you aren’t too fond of exploration elements in your beat ‘em up, then don’t fear. However, for those who choose to interact with it, you’ll see it is not only a lot of fun but incredibly rewarding.

4 Balance The Speed Of Your Characters

In Young Souls’ cooperative mode, both players take on the role of one of the two main protagonists. However, in solo mode, you’re responsible for both characters, controlling one at any given time with the other available to tap in should the fight get too tricky.

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However, due to this ability to switch characters on the fly, it is important to ensure that each one plays functionally differently from one another. For example, you could make one of the characters a slow-moving but heavy-hitting tank, and the other a faster more nimble fighter. This will allow you to deal a ton of damage and then quickly switch out so that your tank can heal, and your faster fighter can dodge attacks until they’re done. Contemplating strategies like this is crucial to your survival throughout Young Souls’ difficult story.

3 It Won't Be Easy

If you haven’t already gleaned, Young Souls is not an easy game. While it comes with a range of difficulties - as well as additional accessibility options for those who are finding it particularly difficult. Even on its equivalent of “normal” difficulty, Young Souls poses quite the challenge.

This is, in large part, due to the number of enemies you’ll have to fight, as well as the expertly crafted boss battles you’ll so frequently encounter. Mastering the game’s various systems, especially the parry move, is the best way to ensure that you get through unscathed. However, while the game can be quite difficult, it is never detrimental to the experience, making it easily one of the best modern beat ‘em ups.

2 Go To The Gym

No one likes going to the gym. It’s exhausting, takes too much effort, and you’re all sweaty by the end of it. It’s easier to just sit at home, play video games, and do the workout minigames in them instead. Fortunately, Young Souls includes such a workout minigame.

Every time you go up a few levels, you’ll get a token that gives you access to one free training session at the gym. This can be used to perform one of the three workouts that target specific stats. You’ll have to ace the minigame associated with each workout, so be prepared to mash or hold a button for a little while. However, it is absolutely essential that you utilize these tokens and go to the gym the second you get the option to as it’ll give you a huge helping hand in taking down some of the tougher bosses.

1 Talk To Baldwin

You’ll encounter Baldwin relatively early on in the Young Souls experience, and he’ll play a significant role in the overall narrative from then on. While he does make numerous appearances in various cutscenes, he also plays another, more useful role.

By talking to Baldwin whenever you get a chance, you can get a rundown on the various characters and events that have happened before you arrived. This is absolutely crucial if you want to better understand the lore and world of Young Souls and fortunately won’t take you too long to do.

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