Songbringer Reviews
Songbringer is a lot of fun, gameplay is quick and the world is fun to explore for the most part. It feels like it is created for multiple playthrough’s but once I made it through my second world I didn’t feel the need to go again. Had my first world not left me stuck, I may not have ever seen a second world. Fans of retro style indie games will find a space for this in their library, but again I can’t imagine even those fans going through the slog on a second world… and if they do it will be to just have a look at what else they could have ended up with.
Songbringer is a randomly generated top-down Zelda-like that has a surprisingly cohesive story and may be worth a play if you can snag it on sale.
Songbringer is a roguelike that rewards fast thinking, curiosity and persistence. With pretty high difficulty level, it's a treat for hardcore players.
Review in Polish | Read full review
While swinging around a humming nanosword never gets old, Songbringer's aimlessness prevents the party from really getting started.
In the end Songbringer is an exciting, if familiar, take on the old Zelda formula that for the most part plays as good as it looks.
Neo-retro games have had a great resurgence in recent years with the increased prevalence of Indie developers, and I believe what Songbringer accomplishes is nothing less than a fond wistfulness of those days of cartridges and arcades. While Songbringer plays heavily on the nostalgia of games long past, I believe new players with a little determination can still find a lot to like in this updated take on an old-fashioned game. For a game priced around the same as a movie and popcorn, this is an expeditious journey worth taking. Board the Songbringer sailor. Ekzera awaits.
While it does have cracks on its surface, underneath those cracks, Songbringer sings a beautiful tune.
Songbringer is neatly designed, written with wit and humour and has some fun gameplay, but it struggled to keep my interest through its entirety and I found myself finding it hard to replay dungeons after many a death.
Songbringer is the game that fans of the original Zelda have longed for, spiced up with a slick Hyper Light Drifter aesthetic. It might not, however, strike a chord with anyone else.
Songbringer is a fun game that is not without its problems.
Sonbringer is an absolute joy to play with lots of secrets to discover. The option in the game for entering a code to have a set world to explore which you can share with the rest of the world is a very interesting idea for a procedurally generated game, and it definitely made my experience with it better. Being able to play on your own or have a friend take over Jib is a nice option, and something I liked. If you're looking for a fun action game on PlayStation 4 and are a fan of the old-school The Legend of Zelda games, then you should definitely give Songbringer a go.
In theory, Songbringer should be excellent. As a procedurally generated take on the original Legend of Zelda, there's plenty of room to innovate with old and new ideas alike. Unfortunately, the old ideas feel derivative of better games and the new ideas are hardly revolutionary. The overall aesthetic and sound design do a great job at creating atmosphere, which makes it all the more disappointing when the level design falls victim to the typical procedurally generated pitfalls. Without attention specifically given to enemy placement, how areas connect, and dungeon design, Songbringer never sustains a consistent level of difficulty or quality. Procedural generation is a handy tool, but not when it's used as a substitute for actual level design.
Songbringer is one of those releases you're either going to love or hate.
Songbringer's core gameplay is enjoyable and the variety of weapons and items means that you're always unlocking something fresh and getting to experiment with new things.
Songbringer will take us on a journey into a fictional world in the distant future but with reminiscences of past games. With a visual design based on Pixel Art and a proposal that offers us almost total freedom when it comes to exploring, it will please everyone who loves old-fashioned adventures and confrontations with big bosses.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
I don’t think it is groundbreaking or the next biggest hit. The elements of the game are ones that have been done before and it doesn’t offer anything innovative to that list. Songbringer also doesn’t provide enough information on what its story is. When it does, that info is extremely vague and leaves more questions than answers. While it calls itself procedurally generated, the worlds seem exactly the same. Combat, weapons, and their upgrades were the only things that excited me about the game. If you are looking for a game with old school Zelda-like qualities, give it a shot.
If you’ve ever wondered what a procedurally-generated roguelike Zelda could look like Songbringer takes a fair shot at it, just be warned that it can be a little rough around the edges. The option to up the stakes and play in Permadeath mode is an interesting one but should only be undertaken once you’ve taken some time to get used to how things work. Your ability to explore and get into areas that are a bit beyond your capabilities is exciting but could also make for frustration if death means having to start all over again before you’ve really gotten your feet wet. That said, it has a gift for the unexpected and you truly never know what you may encounter next.
On the whole, if the overland adventure/subterranean dungeon crawl genre strike your fancy and if you dig on the modern indie aesthetic, you’re going to find a lot of procedurally-generated ground you’ll dig exploring.
Songbringer is fun and challenging. Unfortunately, the lack of a pulling force, supporting characters, more lore, something to that effect, will not grab every gamer. Songbringer is definitely worth checking out though if you have the slightest bit of interest, at $19.99 you'll get hours of fun.
"The first Zelda game meets science fiction."
Review in Finnish | Read full review