Songbringer Reviews
Songbringer's general aesthetic and sense of humor rubbed me the wrong way, but the procedurally generated worlds are actually a lot of fun to get lost in, and the art style and music, though occasionally harsh, have a lot of love and nuance put into them.
For a game from a one-man studio on a very modest Kickstarter budget, Songbringer impresses in several ways. It's true that I don't find its visuals to be representative of good pixel art. But graphics are hardly the most important area. I do enjoy Songbringer's sci-fi settings, co-op gameplay, and non-linear nature. With achievements and leaderboards, Zelda fans should check this one out, but maybe wait for a sale if you find the visuals to be distracting.
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.
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.
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
"The first Zelda game meets science fiction."
Review in Finnish | Read full review
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.
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.
While it does have flaws, the sum of Songbringer's parts is an easily recommendable title for fans of the genre.
With a sci-fi twist on an old formula, Songbringer is almost a breath of fresh air. Occasional stereotypes aren't as welcome as all of the new ideas the game brings forward, including a tongue-in-cheek style of humour to accompany a truly unique experience and a gorgeous visual style. With so many options and routes through the story, this is a game begging to be replayed for months to come.
Wizard Fu's Songbringer, a procedurally generated Zelda clone, has landed on Nintendo Switch but it is worth playing?
While swinging around a humming nanosword never gets old, Songbringer's aimlessness prevents the party from really getting started.
With a particle-heavy 8-bit paintbrush, Songbringer is a glam metal Zelda. Songbringer doesn't try to finish what Hyper Light Drifter started; Songbringer has heart of its own. It's easy to like but hard to love.
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 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 a fun game that is not without its problems.
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.
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.
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.