A dark fantasy action RPG where you play a feline warrior. On Xbox it looks sharper, plays smoother and still kicks my butt.
Verdict Play It Now
I’ve been following Kristala for a long time, and getting it on my Xbox felt like a reunion. It’s a Soulslike with cats, and that sounds like a gimmick until you play it. The world is sharp, the combat is tough and the cat stuff is baked into everything. Seeing how far this team has taken it since I first got my hands on it was honestly one of the coolest parts.
Watch the RAW IMPRESSIONS
Kristala RAW IMPRESSIONS on Xbox: The Soulslike Cat Game I’ve Watched Grow Up, and It’s DopeKristala is a really, really dope game, and it's been great watching it grow.
CMoney, OnPoint 4 Gamers
What it is
Kristala is a dark fantasy action RPG from Astral Clocktower Studios, an indie studio that both develops and publishes the game, built in Unreal Engine 5. You play a magically gifted feline warrior trying to become a Raksaka by proving yourself to each of the six clans and standing judgement before the Sacred Kristals, all while fighting to cleanse the cursed land of Ailur of mutated creatures. It mixes fast, challenging combat with parkour, feline stealth and a lot of worldbuilding.
The full 1.0 release launched April 23, 2026, after Early Access on PC that started in June 2024. It’s on Xbox Series X|S and PC, it’s an Xbox Play Anywhere game and it’s $39.99 on the Xbox Store. What I played was the pre-launch Xbox build, ahead of the 1.0 release.
A huge step up
I’d played Kristala on PC before, and the pre-launch Xbox build is a big jump. The graphics got a real upgrade. It’s clean now, really clean, and the water and other effects look way better. I love the creature designs, especially the creepy monsters just sitting there in the world.
The controls are where I felt it most. Wall jumping, grabbing poles and leaping between rooftops used to be easy to miss, and now everything connects the way it should. Small stuff got love too, like objects actually reacting when you break them. It was good before. Now it feels right.
Play like a cat
The game really leans into being a cat. In my session I never took fall damage, even on big drops, so I felt free to climb and explore. You move silently while sneaking, and creeping up on an enemy for a stealth kill, or dropping on one from above, never stops being satisfying. Exploring pays off, with goodies and hidden paths all over the place.
You pick from six classes, Warrior, Knight, Assassin, Shaman, Battlemage and Spellblade, and the stats between them are really different. I went Knight with a sword and shield because I want to block and fight. There’s a skill tree, a spell tree and fast travel between the fountains you unlock. There’s also an optional dynamic difficulty mode that adapts to how you’re playing, on top of the intended challenge, which is a great addition.
That boss
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Kristala does not play around. The boss at the end of my session wrecked me the first two times. His attack patterns felt even nastier than I remembered, and some can’t be blocked at all. Once I learned to build up my mana and use my magic attack, I took him down on my third and final try, and it felt amazing. That’s the Soulslike loop done right.
Verdict: Play It Now
Kristala is a really dope game, and I’m a huge fan. I fell right back into it, it looks and plays better than ever, and it still has that challenge that makes every win feel earned. On top of that, you’re supporting an awesome indie team. Go play it.
This is not a review, so there’s no score here.
Screens from the pre-launch Xbox build. Featured image: OnPoint 4 Gamers.
