Boy this game is HARD to start, I had to start it two times before doing it "right", so few tips for the ones that want to get into Soulbringer:

NOTE: double click to run or leave shift pressed as you click to move!

As you start, search the boxes and barrels around the ferryboat house, you'll find some stones (that are unuseful as far I know) and a fish, take the fish of course.

Before even moving, open up the character screen and spend all your points on combat, then go to the inventory screen and select the knife to equip it, you'll see you've all the combat moves unlocked, the best one is "stab", the last on the list

Now follow the road and stab the bandit in the head. Yes, in right his dumb head. Click repeatedly on STAB or press the relative hotkey (moves are from Q onward on a QWERTY keyboard, so STAB will be R if I remember right)

Now go back to the ferryman, to unlock his house door you have to click on the "objects" button and select the action "unlock", then click on his door. This will end your first quest.

Save the game.

Get out and follow the road to Madrigal, you'll meet an asshole, just forget about him for the moment and go straight from the gates you just passed, you'll find the captain of the city guard, talk to him, select "uncle", then select "bandits" to receive your second quest, you have to kill the bandits that are inside the city, so don't leave it. Instead go south and you'll find them in Madrigal south square, don't fight them in groups or you will die, if they begin to follow you in group run and hope they'll stop running after you.
Start with killing the ones in brown, stay away from the red one, the formula is the same, stab them to death one after another. Eat apples to regain HP as you kill them, then go for the red one, loot like there's no tomorrow and especially take the club and the cloak with you, equip both. Then get back to the Guard Chief and show him your brand new cloak to complete this quest and gain some gold.

Save the game.

Now you can go directly to the Inn or go past the Guard Chief gate to go to your uncle house. If you want to skip a cool encounter with a Raal, just go to the tavern and then to your uncle, if you don't want to miss that cutscene then go directly to your uncle house.
But beware, there's a bandit camp over an hill just next to the main road and when the bandit that patrols the road see you, the coward will ran and call his friends, so when he starts running, get the hell out of there and run in a large circle over the hill to the right side of the street (beware the camp on the top), you'll see the bandits getting out the camp to search for you, just wait and look at the scene from a safe distance, they'll walk back to their tent. Select the one nearer to you that's not the red one and click any attack actions, if you're far enough he will spot you and leave the group, run away from the camp, making him following you, then kill him with a single two handed club blow. If you're lucky enough you'll completely shatter his head. GORE! and then do the same for the other one, if you level-up, don't spend your points just now, you'll need them later. Kill the red one with the knife, he's quite tough to kill with the club.

Now you can freely loot the shit out of their stupid corpses and loot their little camp too, don't forget to grab the gold from the tent.

After that, lead to your uncle house. If you were at the inn before, you'll find him inside, if you weren't you'll find a scroll saying he's out, and then walking outside you'll meet a demonic ninja assassin with GLOWING EYES that people use to call a "Raal", he will try to cast a spell on you and then he'll flee, if you follow him, he will lead you to a dungeon that's way too hard for you, so just let him go and lead to the inn, where you'll meet several
interesting characters: a bitch, a fat and bald shopkeeper, a pimp\bartender, the asshole you've met before, and an half naked guy with a wolf head that he considers to be a hat.

After talking with them, lead back to your uncle's house, talk to him, use the magic book, and then spend your points on magic until you have unlocked all the spells up to the minor shield, spend the remaining points on strength or speed, then go to sleep, your first day in Soulbringer is over!

And what a first day it was, mate!
It took me about three hours of real-world time to sack off in the hero's uncle's house, and after that simply felt exhausted. Not tired, but bloody exhausted, as if I'd run a marathon with a broken foot.
I almost regret not buying this game when it first came out; I remember passing by the boxed piece back in 2001. It might have been more tolerable then.

If you are clicking repeatedly to attack, you are doing it wrong.

Set up some attack combos. Be sure that the attacks loop. I essentially chose one attack in each combo (A primary attack; a low attack for spiders; different type of magic attacks and a heal me combo), then just set it to loop. From then on, just click on your target, then click on the combo button you want to use. You will attack them automatically. You will dodge or block, occasionally, as well.

When attacking, try to make your opponent attack from higher up.
Also, you can set auto run in the game options.

I know about auto run but it's kind of bad :) the character stops and starts running again very slowly when you click near to him so it's better to just keep shift pressed or do a doubleclick when I need to run.

About the combos, I have registered few of them and set them to loop, but often I prefer playing pressing the attack hotkey directly, this way as you can time better your attacks I know what you mean, this game hate it's players :)
It's the way the character moves that breaks it the most I think, he's so damn slow! Animations are very good, most of them were motion captured, but there's a good second of lag even to pick up an item from the floor. But I'm sure I would have loved this game in 2000.
You also need to think that this game came out side by side with Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption, and that one is so much better in every single aspect to put the poor Soulbringer to real shame

I'd say the real breaker is the lag that comes from opening ones inventory. There's an absurd ssecond-long lag every time one opens the screen, examines something, exits the screen, and damn near everything else.
Pretty awful, all told. But still worth seeing through to the end for the sake of acheivement if nothing else!