Deathbound
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Critic Reviews for Deathbound
It's not going to be the next Soulslike hit, but Deathbound has unique ideas and solid execution that genre fans can appreciate.
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.
Deathbound feels like an early access game at times, with ponderous, imprecise combat and a world that simply struggles to find its way.
Deathbound, like many other Soulslike games before it, brings a few neat ideas to the table. While they are certainly nice to sample and play around with, a lot of the surrounding elements are sluggish and bland. It’s still great to see developers have a go at joining the pantheon of games in the genre, but Deathbound didn’t leave me wanting to come back for more.
Deathbound shines with ambition and innovative ideas, but stumbles in execution. Its unique party system and fascinating setting clash with technical issues and weak narrative, with the result of an imperfect but intriguing experience for Soulslike fans.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Releasing an appropriate amount of time after Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC was the right move, as Deathbound can't really go toe-to-toe with the greats. Still, anyone with a tolerance for jank and an interest in the game’s new ideas should come away satisfied, even while recognizing that this pluckiness only takes it so far. Deathbound is an indie soulslike through and through, a scrappy moonshot with some interesting tweaks on the genre, and a satisfying depth of lore to boot. Its flaws hold it back, but that shouldn’t distract from its enjoyable character-switching combat and overall gumption.
Deathbound is a fresh new Souls-styled action RPG with rewarding combat that might have too steep of a learning curve for some players out there.
