🕯️ Soul at Stake — Complete game information.

Developed by Chongming Studio, China | Released April 2018 (Early Access) | PC Steam only | Genre: 1v4 Asymmetrical Horror, Chinese Mythology Theme *

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📖 Main Story

There's a secret urban legend that says whoever wins this game will gain endless wealth and power, but* the "stake" is their own soul. * Everything is a trick by* Xi'E — an ancient ghost who can't kill anyone directly, so she uses greed to lure people into fighting in a fantasy world: - Human Side = 4 Gamblers : Drawn in by their desires, they must perform an exorcism to get their souls back. - Ghost Side = 1 Angry Spirit : Also a victim of Xi'E. Everyone must be sacrificed to survive. ⚔️ Basic Gameplay: - Ratio : 1 Ghost 🆚 4 Gamblers - Objective : ✅ Players : Collect cards → Place all 5 cards on the pedestals → Drive out the ghost → Find the exit → Win. ✅ Ghosts : Obstruct the pedestals → Injure → Bind → Sacrifice all → Win. - Basic Differences - Human: Runs faster, jumps out of windows, dodges, heals teammates. - Ghost: Runs slower, but can be freely sent to any card platform at any time, sees nearby human figures, cannot jump out of windows. ### 🃏 Card Platform Mechanism (Heart of the Game) - There are 7 card platforms on the map; choose 5 to use . - Collect cards scattered throughout the area and place them on the platforms until the total reaches exactly 21 points → Seal completed. - A=1, 2–10=each number, J/Q/K=10. - ✨ 3 Divine Cards (7) : Place all three on one platform → Seals immediately + Ghosts cannot be sent to this platform for the rest of the game . - ❌ Exceeding 21 points → Points reset + Ghosts will temporarily see your location. - Ghost Sending Skill : Press Q on the card platform → Arrives instantly, no cooldown. *But the altar will pause the sacrifice for a while.

🪙 Betting Money = In-game currency

• Humans get from: Successfully playing a card, helping a friend, opening a treasure chest
• Ghosts get from: Injuring, capturing, sacrificing a person
• Items can be exchanged at the* 2 Ghost Shops per map *

💀 Rules of Death & Rescuing

• Hit once → Severely injured, slowed down, bleeding
• Hit again → Unable to recover, health decreases continuously until death
• Ghost tied to the sacrifice altar → Countdown ends → Permanent death
• Friends can heal/release the bonds at any time;* heal a friend when you are injured → Both recover simultaneously *
• Last Person Remaining → Every 30 seconds, the shop will randomly give away* free items *.

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👹 All Angry Ghosts/Spirits + Abilities

• All Shared Skills *: Send to Card Platform, See Nearby Figure's Light, Attack with Slash, Buy Ghost Items

Ghost Name	Main Ability
* Ghost Prince *	Hold and Breathe → Hide Heartbeat + Increase Run Speed ​​+ Hide; Bleeding increases with each blow
* Engagement Bride *	Creates an illusion that looks like the real one with a heartbeat; Sends you to the illusion; Can scream and break doors
* Corpse *	Short dash with adjustable direction; QTE with the wrong person will temporarily freeze them
* Witch *	Places a Potion; Standing nearby will injure + blurred vision
* Actor *	Switches between 2 modes: Long-range mask throw / Close-range invisibility until attack.
* Shadow Ghost *	* Can transform into a complete human; *fakes covering the platform/fake healing/fake running away; indistinguishable unless attacked.
* Drowning Ghost *	Pulls floodwater into an area; people in the water will run slower and have difficulty breathing; pulls and drags people underwater.
* Twin Sisters *	Younger sister chases after people; prolonged staring will teleport and bite; older sister sees the person the younger sister is staring at.
* Geisha *	Throws the demon mask directly; those hit must prostrate before a Buddha image to break the curse; sees a luminous figure within the mask's radius.
* Drummer *	Plays a mind-shattering sound; people within the radius will have their camera rotated upside down or run in the wrong direction.
* Fire Ghost *	Fastest runner in the game* ; cannot send cards/platforms *. Firecrackers at the card stand → Explosion injures everyone nearby 30 seconds later
* Ghost possesses souls *	Attacks someone to dislodge their body → Soul floats back to the body; Ghost can attack both body and soul
* Nightmare *	Enters nightmare mode → Directly passes through doors and windows; Every time an attack hits → Sees the light of other players' bodies; Many people dodge → Duration increases
* Lingering Love Spirit *	Sprays 2 layers of love poison: Layer 1 = Slow movement, Layer 2 = Blurred vision; Every time damage is dealt, it's reduced by 1 layer

✨ Ghost Enhancement Skills (In-game name = Special Technique)

-* Clarity : If someone fails the QTE → Sees the light of their body for 3/5/7 seconds - Bloodlust : Reduces the duration of knife impact after a hit 5/10/15% - Captive Pets *: Last tier remaining → Everyone's body appears glowing for 7/10/15 seconds

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🧑🤝🧑 All Gamblers + Abilities

• Combined Skills *: Dodge attacks, Jump through windows, Heal allies, Buy items for allies

Name	Main Ability
* Xiao Die *	Reduces the range at which ghosts detect scent by 0.5–2.5 meters; Best at hiding
* Ding Da Li *	Slower bleeding when downed by 10–50%; Hardest to kill
* An Ji *	Can hear ghosts' heartbeats from 1–4 meters away; Best at warning
* Henry *	Closes card tiers faster; Fewer QTE errors than others Sophia
-* Lucky *: Reduces QTE chance by 5/8/15%
-* True Friend *: Heals friends 10/25/40% faster
-* Hard-Hearted *: Repeated downing → Reduces health to 0%

📊 Character Leveling System

• Max Level =* 20 *
• LV.2 = Can equip 1 enhancement skill, LV.5 = 2,* LV.15 = Max 3 *+ 1 special card
• Skill Star Classification: ⭐Green=Normal ⭐⭐Blue=Good ⭐⭐⭐Orange=Rare
• Gain new skills from* Wheel of Fortune *: Pay 800 = Random / 2000 = Choose your own position

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🧰 All items are exchanged for the bet money

🟢 Human Side

Name	Price	Result
Ginseng Pill	19	Instantly heals injuries
Concealing Plate	11	Makes you invisible for a while, ghosts can't see you
Earth Bead	11	Flashes to a random location across the map
Smoke Screen	16	Releases thick smoke, makes you invisible/distracts ghosts
Healing Potion	16	Slow, continuous healing of injuries
Substitute Doll	19	Captured → Substitute doll dies, self survives

🔴 Ghost Faction

Name	Price	Effect
Spirit Compass	18	Sees the light of everyone within a large radius
Ghost Eye	18	Placed to watch; people passing by → warned + see light; can be removed
Animal Trap	22	Stepped on → injured + unable to move for a long time; can be stacked
Spirit Pulling Bell	25	Shakes the mind, makes people around harden; can remove invisibility
Mist Wall	22	Creates an invisible wall, blocking the way
Power Awakening Pillar	25	Temporarily increases running speed + sword strength

1. Abandoned Train Station (Plague)
2. This Ancient Palace (Forgotten Dynasty)
3. The Cursed Burrowing Building (Fog Obscuring)
4. The Blood-Colored Dyeing Factory
5. House Number 9
6. The Mad Prison
7. The Ice Village of Imprisoned Souls
8. The Exhibition Land
9. The One-Night Stand Village
10. Eternal Tomb

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📦 All DLC

• Aria in the Ashes → Actress + Henry
• Facets of the Phantom → Phantom + Sophia + Dyeing Workshop
• Drown in the Disgrace → Drowning Ghost
• Underworld Tycoon → Jacob
• Twisted Twins → Twins + Oliver + Number 9
• Funeral of the Flowers → Geisha + Aoki
• Lament of the Lovers → Loving Spirits + Rong Shi + Love Village
• Soul Undertaker → Soul Keeper + Liu Shuxi + Tomb
• Nightmare Runner → Nightmare + Zhou Shenren + Mad Prison

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⚙️ System Requirements | Minimum | Recommended | System | Windows 7/8.1/10 64-bit | Windows 10 64-bit | CPU | i3-4170 / FX-8120 | i5-6400 / FX-9370 | RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB | Graphics Card | GTX 460 1GB / HD 6850 | GTX 960 2GB / R9 280 | Storage | 15 GB | 20 GB+ | Other | Internet, DX11 | — |* Languages : Chinese, English, Japanese ❌ Thai not yet available

• Perspective: People = Third-person, Ghosts = First-person

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🆚 How is it different from Dead by Daylight?

• ✅ Purely Chinese theme, not Western.
• ✅ The 21-point/3-card 7-card system is unique, not generated by a spinning machine.
• ✅ Ghosts can send free playing cards anytime, with no cooldown.
• ✅ Ghosts are always slower than humans. Win with strategy, not speed.
• ✅ Items can be purchased at any time in the map; they are not randomly generated from the start.