Deathbound

Deathbound manages to bring innovations to a consolidated genre, mixing elements that make it ideal for those who want to venture into a soulslike without going through any hardships.

Deathbound is a fresh take on the soulslike genre that will keep fans happy despite having a few technical issues that may get in the way of enjoyment.

Deathbound is a unique entry into the Soulslike genre, with a cool, grim setting and unique ideas that set it apart from other titles. Ambitious as it may be, its character writing leaves something to be desired, and aspects of the mechanical design keep Deathbound from its full potential.

Some of the difficulty is good, and some of it is bad. If you’re into games like Dark Souls and Elden Ring, you will probably have a good time with this. But if you’re new to the “Soulslike” genre and looking for a challenge, you might want to start with one of those games first, lest you be frustrated too easily by the unfortunately fairly numerous stumbles Deathbound takes. It leans more good than bad, with a creative party system and mostly satisfying combat, but ultimately, I think only existing fans of the genre are going to last long enough to complete it.

While not bound for the embrace of death owing to its unique party system and visual flair, Deathbound struggles to stave off the reaper’s scythe thanks to technical issues, poorly told stories and unbalanced though otherwise competent gameplay. It may scratch the Soulslike itch for some, but whether you’d reanimate the souls of the damned for a longer crusade, only the Lady of Death knows.

Deathbound won’t be the next Soulslike sensation, but at a time when they’re around every corner, its courage helps it stand out. When there's a story to hear and monsters to fight, Deathbound’s rag-tag gang of alter-egos can hold their own, even as unfulfilled potential continues piling up. Its demo and low asking price should help prospective buyers decide if Deathbound is for them, and promised post-launch DLC could reward those who do stick with it. This is a solid title for Souls enthusiasts between major releases, and the emphasis on weaving disparate play styles together will make Deathbound an experience to remember, despite how hard its flaws are to forget.

Deathbound is a game that has a lot of great ideas that seem amazing on paper, but few of them actually end up hitting the mark. The clear high points of this game pretty much all relate to the setting, the story, and the characters presented, but even this is marred by the goofy vocal performances and the frequency of the swearing in a bid to seem edgy and cool. But in the end, the game is dragged down by a wonky multi-character combat system, a messy health system, an all-round unresponsiveness, which is a death warrant in a Souls-like such as this, and the fact that the game's performance is enough to make you throw in the towel before you even have a good reason to write the game off. It feels like a game that would have benefited from pivoting to an all-out hack-and-slash format because, despite labeling itself as one, Deathbound simply doesn't have the polish or the attention to detail needed to truly call itself a Souls game.

Soulslike with a fresh twist in mechanics and the presentation is adequate, recommended for fans.

On paper, this is a game that looks like a gem in the rough. With its mix of soulslike combat mechanics and a deep narrative that explores themes of death and rebirth, the ideas behind the game are truly intriguing. The premise of being able to absorb the abilities of fallen enemies and transform them into new forms of combat is a fresh idea that promises dynamic and strategic gameplay. However, despite these innovative proposals, the game fails to execute its ideas satisfactorily, leaving players with a sense of wasted potential.

Deathbound é uma jogo de uma desenvolvedora com pouco recurso, mas talvez, com futuro. Gameplay generalizada de soulslike, História gigantesca passada em um jogo que é definitivamente pequeno, sendo assim, a lore no geral "mal contada". Diversos e diversos bugs de mapa, mas que com um breve ajuste pode ser facilmente arrumado. Pouca criatividade de inimigos, boses que só batem infinitamente. Ambientação gráfica bonita e interessante. Talvez o jogo tenha falhado em fazer um ciclo de um game desafiador, que acabou se tornando "Impossível". Isso tudo n se transformou em um jogo ruim, mas apenas em um jogo que pode muito mais do que ele é.

As a person who loves Souls games i got some interest on this one when i saw the gameplay and the mechanics of sharing four different characters. Nevertheless, once you start playing and "collect" all the charaters, you feel all of a sudden that something does not work properly. First of all, the combat feels cluncky, it is not smooth at all but nothing that makes me quitting the game. Second thing you realize is that HP and Stamina are shared, and the less HP you have, the less Stamina you get so that forces you to switch between characters in the middle of the combat with, for me, a window of time very long where you can be hit. Additionally, there is no covering nor parry system. You can only parry with one of the four characters. Imagine the situation. You are in the middle of the combat and the boss double attack and instantly double attack again so you have to be away from him or try to dodge. Now imagine you got a hit and that leaves you half HP. Now you have half stamina so probably you can score a hit before dodging (that's what half stamina lets you do) and now you try to swap and got hit again so your new character is half hp and half stamina too. Ok cool, lets take some "potion". The potion gives your current character HP but takes some HP from the other three. So when you are struggling and need some healing, in case you need a swap you are gonna be ***** up because they will probably have less hp that your current one. Many people may think i'm just crying, i'm handless... The truth is i could put more effort in beating the second boss (when i dropped the game) but i did not feel like i was enjoying the game for these reasons and at the end i don't want to waste my time if there are better games out there. At the end, as i read from another comment, it was a good idea but not quite well executed

It's a simple Souls-like game once you understand the system. A fatal bug that has existed since the release date has not been fixed, and you will still need to back up your save data. Also, even though they said they would announce an update soon, it's been over a month and nothing has happened. You should prioritize fixing soft lock bugs before announcing a sale.