Cretan Soldiers — The Island's Armed Defenders

If the presence is the thing you run from, the Cretan soldiers are the thing you run toward. These armed human warriors — shown in the trailers in bronze and crimson, carrying shields and spears, fighting in sunlit marble courtyards — are the core enemies Sophia’s combat system is built around. They’re the proving ground for everything in the combat guide.

Based on trailer footage; marked expected until the final game confirms enemy types and behaviour.

Who they are

We don’t yet have the full story on exactly who these soldiers are — local forces guarding the island’s secrets, mercenaries, agents of whoever wants Sophia dead, or something tied to the ancient curse. What’s clear from the footage is their function: they’re human, fightable opponents, the enemies you parry, counter and finish. They come armed and armoured, and they come in numbers.

Enemy variety

Even in the limited footage, the soldiers show variety, which tells us a lot about how combat encounters are designed:

• Light skirmishers — faster, less armoured, attacking in quick flurries. Shorter parry windows, but they fold fast once you read them.
• Shielded soldiers — defensive, harder to open up, likely requiring you to break their guard or wait for a committed attack to punish.
• Spear-wielders — reach weapons that strike from distance and can catch you mid-approach. Parry the thrust, then close in while they recover.

The key design point is that these types appear mixed together in the same fight. A group might pair a shield-bearer holding the line with spear-users poking from behind and skirmishers darting in. That mix is what makes the one-versus-many encounters genuinely demanding — you can’t apply one rhythm to the whole crowd.

How to fight them

The principles from the combat guide all apply here:

• Don’t get surrounded. Fight near walls and chokepoints so the group can’t flank you. Open ground against four soldiers is how you die.
• Pick your reads. In a mixed group, watch the enemy actually winding up to attack, not the whole mob. The one you’re ignoring is the one who hits you.
• Parry to create openings, then punish. Aggression timed off a successful parry is your main source of damage.
• Finish to thin the numbers. Every soldier you fully remove is one less weapon to track. Prioritise finishing weakened enemies over chipping fresh ones — and do it when you have space, not mid-swarm.
• Set the board first. Use stealth, distraction and the environment to reduce the group before the fight, so you’re never facing the full mob at once.

Why they matter

The Cretan soldiers are where Resonance delivers on its central promise. After two games of being outmatched, here’s where Sophia — and you — get to be dangerous. These fights are the release valve, the moments of empowerment that the game balances against the helpless dread of the presence and the dark. Master them, and you’ll feel like the most lethal thing in any sunlit courtyard on Crete.

For the full approach, read the combat guide and the parry guide.