Deathbound Review (Steam)
Deathbound Review, Deathbound is a one-of-a-kind party-based soulslike set in a callous world where Faith and Science clash. Dynamically transform between fallen warriors all with their own unique skill sets, combat styles, and rich history. Conquer a brutal reality where Life and Death were never more conflicted.
Deathbound Review Pros:
- Decent graphics.
- 7.7GB Download size.
- Steam achievements.
- Graphics settings – screen mode, limit max fps, v-sync, motion blur, anti-aliasing quality, texture quality, shadow quality, post-processing, view distance quality, DLSS mode, DLSS sharpness, enable FSR, and FSR sharpness.
- Full controller support.
- Two control schemes and choose Xbox or Playstation button icons for the controller.
- Mouse and keyboard support.
- Can remap the mouse and keyboard controls.
- Soulslike action RPG gameplay.
- A full 3D game world with 360-degree camera control.
- Morphing – a mechanic whereby you find characters and absorb their essence, this means with the d-pad you can morph into that character.
- Each essence (character morph) has its own set of health and stamina.
- If any essence dies they all die and you get a player death.
- Tutorial pop-ups as you play.
- Ten save slots.
- You can and will change between essence e as you fight or pull off combos and it really opens it all up.
- You can overheat and explode if you use magic too much, the heat bar does go down and you can manage it easily with a bar.
- When you die, you drop all experiences you have not banked and have one life to get back.
- Level up at the special totem-like structure to open up new abilities and increase stats.
- You can see the amount of exp you are carrying.
- Lock-on allows you to focus on an enemy and you can quickly change target.
- Items can be seen as blue orbs emitting light.
- Combat is a case of learning patterns and taking your time, you can riposte, parry, dodge, and counter-attack.
- Breakable objects covering the world.
- Stamina is paired with your health meaning the more health you lose, the more stamina you lose.
- Conflicts and synergies play a big part, conflicts grant a unique buff and debuff while synergies grant a unique buff. You have to manage the conflicts and synergies with your bound essences and phylactery.
- The world is dark and I presume smelly, But it has something about it that makes you want to come back for more, You want to explore.
- Find materials and resources for healing and upgrading equipment.
- Excellent voice work.
- You can upgrade gear at the level-up Totems.
- Each essence steals health from damage dealt with and heals the unused essences.
- You can have up to four essences at one time.
- A world full of exploration and intrigue.
- Poise is in the game so deplete the enemies’ bar to stagger them and do major damage.
- Afflictions like poison, bleeding, etc can be built up in you and your enemies.
- Totems act as a respawn point.
- The general performance is actually quite good.
- Names of locations pop up as you explore.
- It’s a world where you can find secrets, alternate routes and find shortcuts.
- You learn about each essence as you find them, their abilities, and a bit of story where you go through memories to get some backstory.
- Excellent in-game cutscenes and character interactions.
- Jump scares are peppered around.
- Stories can be told via ghost-like sequences.
- Within the level-up skill tree are actions for particular essences and parts where it’s for everyone.
- Enemy projectiles can get stuck in you and show.
- Does like to sprinkle in the odd jump scare here and there.
- You see enemy health bars and damage dealt.
- Stealth allows you to backstabber enemies for maximum damage.
- It’s possible to freeze enemies.
- Each essence plays in a unique and wildly different way from the last.
- Your Sync meter is used for morphing during fights and combos, you build it up with fighting and getting perfect deflection.
- Find memory cores to get more backstory in the menu.
- I love the interactions between all the essences and how they react to what is going on.
- Enemies can drop items.
- All enemies respawn after you die.
- Each essence can have its own talents, you unlock and equip them at will.
- When upgrading items you can choose to do the top or bottom buff.
- Character builds is a thing and you can do it.
- When you nail the morphing, parrying, and combo-ing it really is a beautiful brutal ballet sequence.
Deathbound Review Cons:
- There is no pausing.
- The basic controls are not explained well.
- Combat does take some getting used to.
- Enemies just stand there waiting for you to trigger them and it’s a bit world-breaking.
- The world is done in such a way that it can be hard to navigate.
- No jump button.
- The essences and what you can and can’t do with them are not well laid out and it just feels like stress with a lot of menus and icons.
- It’s just a case of learning a new soulslike and that in itself can be a good or bad thing.
- The checkpoint urns are far apart meaning a lot of backtracking.
- A lot of what you think is an obstacle is in fact nothing you can pass through.
- The combat in terms of changing essences for combos and dodging takes a lot of time to get used to.
- Enemies can be in a state or position where you cannot hit them.
- Judging timed blocks is rather tricky.
- Invisible walls in stupid places.
- No accessibility options or a way to turn off the arachnophobia setting for the early game.
- If you die in the backstory of an essence then you lose your exp and have to find and start the backstory again.
- You cannot skip the backstories.
Related Post: Master Blaster Review (Steam)
Deathbound:
Developer: Trialforge Studio
Publisher: Tate Multimedia
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9/10
Summary
Deathbound offers a visually appealing experience with decent graphics and a manageable download size of 7.7GB. The game supports Steam achievements and provides extensive graphics settings, including options for screen mode, v-sync, motion blur, and more. Full controller support is available, with the ability to choose between Xbox and PlayStation button icons, and the game also supports mouse and keyboard controls, which can be remapped. The gameplay is a soulslike action RPG set in a fully 3D world with 360-degree camera control. A unique morphing mechanic allows players to absorb characters’ essences and morph into them, each with its own health and stamina. However, if any essence dies, it results in a player’s death. The game includes tutorial pop-ups, ten save slots, and a heat management system for magic use.
Combat in Deathbound requires learning enemy patterns and mastering mechanics like riposte, parry, dodge, and counter-attack. The game features a lock-on system for targeting enemies and various items that emit light for easy identification. The world is filled with breakable objects, and players must manage health and stamina, which are interconnected. Conflicts and synergies play a significant role, providing unique buffs and debuffs that must be managed with bound essences and phylactery. The dark, intriguing world encourages exploration, with materials and resources available for healing and upgrading equipment. Voice work is excellent, and gear can be upgraded at level-up totems. Players can have up to four essences at a time, each stealing health from damage dealt to heal unused essences.
Despite its strengths, Deathbound has several drawbacks. The game lacks a pause function, and the basic controls are not well explained, making combat challenging to master. Enemies often stand idle until triggered, breaking immersion, and the world can be difficult to navigate without a jump button. The essence system is complex and can feel stressful due to numerous menus and icons. Checkpoint urns are spaced far apart, leading to significant backtracking. Some obstacles are misleadingly passable, and combat mechanics like changing essences for combos and dodging take time to get used to. Enemies can sometimes be positioned where they cannot be hit, and timed blocks are tricky to judge. Invisible walls and the absence of accessibility options, such as an arachnophobia setting, further detract from the experience. Dying in an essence’s backstory results in lost experience and the need to restart the backstory, which cannot be skipped.
In summary, Deathbound is a visually impressive and mechanically rich game with a unique morphing system and deep combat mechanics. However, it suffers from a steep learning curve, complex essence management, and several design flaws that can hinder the overall experience. Despite these issues, the game’s intriguing world and excellent voice work make it worth exploring for fans of the genre. I have never rage uninstalled and reinstalled ten minutes later a game as much as I have here, Just seeing a screenshot is nearly always guaranteed that I will be playing the game the moment I get some free time. It is not perfect but it is masterful.