Soul at Stake

Soul at Stake is an oriental-themed 1v4 survival horror game. Four gamblers are trapped in an illusion with a devil and must collect cards, break a seal and perform a ritual to expel it and redeem their souls. The devil hunts them, while the gamblers try to escape; there is no exit.

The soul gamble

A ghost called Xi’E, drawn from In Search of the Supernatural from the Jin Dynasty, created the game as a hoax. Evil but unable to kill directly, Xi’E uses people’s greed to lure them into repeated soul-gambling games. It builds dreamlike illusions that feel real to those inside and conjures cardholders to help them expel devils—wronged souls imprisoned by the ghost. The gamblers believe they might win countless money and change their destinies, but Xi’E is the only one who actually wins.

The gamblers enter in groups of four to face one devil. They can collect cards and redeem stakes for items that offer only small chances of survival. Xi’E also prevents the devil from catching its prey directly, pushing it to use its pursuit skills to catch and execute the gamblers before it becomes dust.

Gamblers and devils

The gamblers arrive with different motives. Some have lost loved ones or money and want to regain their youth, beauty or lives; others are fleeing crimes, have been tricked into coming, or are willing to sacrifice themselves for their brothers. Xi’E sees them all as souls to play with.

The devils are wronged spirits transformed by Xi’E. Each has a distinct power driven by resentment.

Illusions and stakes

Xi’E creates illusions based on real places, including a plague-stricken abandoned train station, a deserted century-old palace and a distant Hakka Tulou cursed by a ghost wedding. Sounds of heavy banging and cracking haunt the station, while terrible sighs can be heard in the palace at midnight. In these half-real, half-unreal settings, gamblers gradually forget the real world.

Gamblers earn stakes by sealing cardholders; the devil earns them by catching and killing gamblers. Both sides can redeem stakes for survival or hunting items from Xi’E, which feed the hope and greed that the ghost exploits.

Choices and growth

As a gambler, you choose whether to focus on cardholders, help injured teammates, escape using items or rely on yourself. As the devil, you choose whether to hunt or wait for gamblers, and whether to chase or launch a sneak attack. Each encounter brings choices that can put your soul at risk.

Gamblers and devils can develop and discover abilities to improve their chances in later gambles. Both sides pursue this growth to survive and continue playing.