Soulslikes are usually solo affairs: It is you towards hordes of low-level flunkies and high-powered horrors in an countless grind of brutal fight till you lastly avenge your loved ones’s honor by reclaiming the Myrmidon of Loss, or no matter. (I’ve solely performed Elden Ring, so my grasp on the main points is slightly shaky.) Deathbound goals to do issues slightly in a different way, billing itself as a “one-of-a-kind party-based soulslike.” However that does not imply you may be roaming the forbidden metropolis of Akratya with associates: You may nonetheless be by yourself on the market.
Deathbound seems to be like a reasonably simple soulslike at first look, however what makes it totally different, in response to developer Trialforge Studio, is its “distinctive four-hero system.” It isn’t a celebration within the traditional D&D sense, although. As a substitute, you may take up the essence of fallen warriors as you journey by the sport, primarily making them part of you, and as soon as you’ve got bonded with them you’ll remodel between 4 totally different characters, all of who’re you, at will—even within the midst of fight.
Every of the characters you swap between could have their very own distinctive talent tree, perks, and talents, and you’ll mix or chain their assaults in highly effective combos. The powers of all 4 personas can be mixed in much more devastating “Morphstrikes” which might be charged throughout fight.
Complicating issues, the characters could have their very own backgrounds, factions, and alliances, which might “considerably influence gameplay, resulting in totally different outcomes and standing results relying in your actions,” Trialforge stated.
“Aligning characters from the Church of Demise and Cult of Life—two opposing factions throughout the vessel (that is you)—will trigger battle and end in consequential fight results. Alternatively, pairing Fallen Warriors with related beliefs can result in highly effective fight buffs.”
I used to be initially intrigued by the concept of a full-on multiplayer soulslike, as a result of—and look, I will be sincere right here—it means I might roam round and luxuriate in all of the structure and stage designs and bizarre little issues whereas my extra expert companions deal with the heavy lifting. So I used to be slightly bit disillusioned once I learn past the headline and found that is not truly what’s occurring in Deathbound. It is nonetheless very a lot a singleplayer sport.
However upon additional consideration, I believe it sounds attention-grabbing differently. Lots will rely on how a lot depth and reactivity Trialforge offers to Deathbound’s characters and interactions, however proper off the highest it makes me consider Baldur’s Gate 2, which is full of NPCs who work together with each other in fantastic and sometimes sudden ways in which make every of them really feel like a real particular person. If Trialforge can deliver that kind of reactivity to Deathbound, it is perhaps very cool regardless of nonetheless being a solo joint.
Deathbound is about to launch on August 8, and will likely be accessible for PC on Steam, GOG, and the Epic Retailer. Within the meantime, you may hang around on the Discord.
