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- See Shanghai and play: the Chinese have made a competitor to Final Fantasy in 11 years
See Shanghai and play: the Chinese have made a competitor to Final Fantasy in 11 years
Lost Soul Aside, one of the most ambitious projects of the season, has been brought to Russia: it is positioned as a rival to Final Fantasy, the grandiose and expensive Japanese franchise. The new game was created by a Chinese solo developer named Yang Bin. Over the years, his author's project has gained a team and gained an influential publisher, Sony Interactive. And with it, multimillion—dollar investments, which are still much lower than those spent on Japanese FF series games. There is a translation into Russian, which makes the release attractive to the domestic user.
What will the Asian novelty tell you about?
11 years of incredible work, an author who survived alcohol addiction, chronic insomnia and almost lost friends — this is the story of Yang Bin, the creator of Lost Soul Aside. The game, which he called "the only escape from madness," was reviewed by Izvestia by Achivka, the largest distributor of consoles and video games in the Russian Federation. The main thing in this project is passion and a dream, but it also contains the tragedy of the developer, as well as flaws that caused Steam users to rate it only 58% out of 100. This is one of the lowest-rated projects of 2025 in the category of AAA games, that is, extremely expensive to produce. Whether such an assessment is fair is another matter.
In 2012, Yang Bin, then a young indie developer with no experience or budget, began working on a JRPG inspired by Chrono Trigger and Xenogears. He dreamed of creating a game that would bring back his sense of happiness—the days when he played old RPGs with friends and believed he could change the world. But the reality turned out to be tougher: he worked 16 hours a day, ate fast food, slept on the couch in the office and hadn't seen the sun in months.
The pressure was mounting: bugs in the code, lack of money for decoration, fear that the project would never end. To cope, he started drinking — first a glass of wine in the evening, then a whole bottle of vodka a day. Alcohol helped him "switch off," but in the morning he woke up with panic attacks: his heart was pounding, his hands were shaking, and the voices of the characters from the game were blaming him for the failure.
Gradually, his life collapsed: his friends stopped calling because he became "not that Yang Bing," but irritable, withdrawn, aggressive. He stopped leaving the house, communicated only with colleagues by correspondence and saw the world through the monitor. Sometimes he experienced bouts of paranoia: he thought Sony wanted to steal his project, that the fans already hated his game, that he would never finish.
One day he tried to delete the entire game code — he was sitting in front of the computer, his hand was shaking over the Delete button, and only tears stopped him. "I can't give up," he later wrote in his diary. "It's the only thing I have."
It was a letter from Sony that saved him. The label became interested in the project and offered support: money for the team, editors, and marketing. Yang Bing agreed, and the team grew to 50 people. But he couldn't give up alcohol—now he was drinking to cope with new pressures: responsibility for the team, Sony's expectations, and the fear that he would let everyone down.
And after 11 years, the game came out. But Yang Bing couldn't be happy: he had lost almost all his friends, his health was ruined, and the voices of the characters were still ringing in his head. "I released the game," he said in an interview. "But who am I now?"
He went through hell for the project.
Yang Bin stuck to what he knew best, the classic turn-based mechanics from the 1990s. Grid battles, fire combos + powerups, customization with limited classes. It was safe for him—he didn't want to try new things for fear of failure. But for modern players, it looks like a museum piece: slow battles, predictable tactics, lack of innovation. Exploring the world? Empty locations, repetitive quests ("bring an item", "talk to an NPC") — no surprises, just nostalgia for the past. Another thing is that right now this nostalgia is very strong, and every month there are several reissues of old hits. And everyone is happy, spending decent money on ancient games.
The main character is a lonely guy who loses friends, doubts himself and believes that he can save the world. Companions are his replacement for the real friends he has lost. The dialogues are full of platitudes: "Hope will save you," "You are not alone." For Bean, it was sincere—he thought the players would understand his pain. But the players did not understand, because not everyone knew about the personal tragedy of the developer. For outsiders, the plot twists are predictable, and the ending — the typical "the villain is defeated, the hero saved the world" — adds nothing new. Perhaps Yang Bin's stress prevented him from looking at his project dispassionately.
Users complain that Lost Soul Aside does not meet expectations. They were waiting for innovation, a deep plot, exciting gameplay — and they got an old JRPG with problems that reflect the personal tragedy of the developer.
The game received a low rating of 57.5% out of 100. It's not because she's bad. That's because she's the result of 11 years of fighting madness, not a masthead for JRPG fans. However, this is a rating on Steam, and on PlayStation 5 the game looks very presentable and feels much better. In fact, Lost Soul Aside is not just a JRPG, that is, a Japanese role—playing game. This is Yang Bin's diary, translated into pixels and code.
In other words, if you want to support Yang Bing, buy the game. Just read more about him so that his story becomes personal for you. This game is not about gameplay. It's about a man who went through hell and survived. Another question is whether he has the strength to continue his chosen path and continue trying to overthrow the great Final Fantasy? And also to hire employees who will make his new brainchild more competitive.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
