One day, a couple of teenagers find out that a fantasy world exists next to their familiar world, and moreover, goblins and other fabulous creatures live literally next door to them. And also - that they have to save both worlds, whether they want it or not. What catches the "most teenage" beat'em'up Young Souls - we tell in the review.

Tristan and Jen are siblings, orphaned young rebels who are taken in by an eccentric professor. The guys often skip school, ride a scooter and are always ready to stand up for each other.

One day, fate confronts the heroes not with hooligans, but with goblins who kidnapped their adoptive father. So they learn about the existence of a parallel world that can be accessed through a portal, and the sinister plans of a local villain that has views of both universes.

For a beat'em'up game from a popular online games provider Friv2Online, Young Souls contains an unusual amount of story. Tristan and Jen are constantly chatting and making fun of each other, each NPC is ready to give out a tirade for a couple of tens of minutes, and quite serious topics are raised in the dialogues between the characters, such as growing up, family relationships and moral duty. The duo turned out to be very charismatic, and it is really interesting to follow the adventures of the twins.

Fights are much worse in the game. Everything is in order with the combat system : there are several types of strikes, blocks and counterattacks, jumps and rolls. The battles are captivating, but they are also accompanied by such a flickering of effects that it becomes unrealistic to understand at least something in this kaleidoscope of colors. As a result, you will constantly miss hits because you did not realize where the character is among the bright flashes. This also applies to boss fights, which only makes the bitterness of defeat even stronger.

Young Souls is playable in co-op, including on the same screen, with a second player fighting alongside the first, and dialogue options for both players to choose responses. If there is no partner nearby, AI will not take over his role : a brother or sister will appear at the call of a button, taking the fight if a relative has fallen under a hail of enemy blows. As long as at least one of the twins is alive, the battle is not lost.

The friv game is moderately difficult and well balanced. The combat feels pleasant and intuitive. Characters can be equipped with weapons and equipment, which changes both the appearance and the style of play. If not for the mountains of visual garbage that accompanies the battles, one could fall in love with Young Souls, and in its best moments the title deserves to stand on a par with the beat'em'up leaders.

There are unusually many in the game not only plot inserts, but also “peaceful” activities: at any moment you can get out into the city, go shopping, look into the gym and chat with onlookers. The most interesting implementation of sports training: these are rather complex mini-games that allow you to permanently improve the characteristics of the heroes. This dilutes the dungeon clearing missions, allowing you to take a break from boss fights.

Is Young Souls worth playing? Definitely yes, this is a charming beat'em'up with interesting characters, unobtrusive humor, co-op and exciting combat. The friv game has problems with the readability of the characters during combat, which, unfortunately, has too much impact on the gameplay. But, if you adapt to this shortcoming, you will get a lot of positive emotions from the project.