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Deathbound is a soulslike game with a unique atmosphere and a gameplay whose mechanics make it a very different title from what we are used to seeing in the genre. Finding a soulslike that offers something new and fun is a challenge. In addition, the message of growth and transformation that seeks to convey is evident, addressing serious issues such as religious fanaticism, the ephemeral nature of life and the horrors of war.

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.

Challenging enemies, fun and thoughtful characters, and an obvious love for the genre has helped bring Deathbound to life. The occasional glitch or bug can’t take away from that either.

Deathbound è, nel suo complesso, un'esperienza che trova la sua identità nel sistema multi-personaggio che incoraggia un combattimento estremamente dinamico e una selezione dell'equipaggiamento e dei guerrieri oculata, ma piena di possibilità. Le sviste a livello tecnico (compresi alcuni crash all'interno del menù di selezione dei consumabili) sono sistemabili con un po' di lavoro e non vanno a intaccare troppo l'esperienza complessiva. La storia, non originalissima, riesce a catturare l'attenzione ma sono il design e l'esplorazione dei livelli, relativamente piccoli e pieni di collegamenti da scoprire, a tenere alta la tensione e la curiosità. Chi fosse alla ricerca di un modo nuovo e originale di vivere l'esperienza soulslike, troverà in Deathbound un piacevole compagno di avventure.

Deathbound is very unique, and if there was a score for uniqueness as a soulslike game, it would score an 11/10. It’s a fairly decent game with a great aesthetic and theme, but it is held back by a myriad of issues that affect the game’s core gameplay. It has enough variety to separate itself from the pack of soulslike games and even the giants in the genre. However, it may not be a game that a casual fan would enjoy because of the clunkiness and jankiness that exist in the game.

Embárcate en una cruzada por un mundo medieval forjado a partir de las ruinas de la tecnología. Allí donde la fe fanática y la ciencia antinatural chocan en las sombras de una sociedad que se desmorona. La iglesia de la muerte se alza a las puertas de la gran ciudad de Akratya. Estandartes en alto, acero justiciero en mano. La santa conquista para eliminar el culto a la vida está a punto de comenzar... y entre todo eso te encuentras tú. No eres nadie y a la vez todo el mundo: el resultado de un experimento desesperado en la búsqueda de la vida eterna. A los ojos de la iglesia eres un símbolo del pecado y la herejía; para otros, la validación de sus incesantes experimentos. Te encuentras en un mundo en el que no existen ni el bien ni el mal, solo las excusas.

Deathbound es una propuesta ambiciosa, con buenas ideas, y potencialmente bien planteada, dentro del género Soulslike. Donde tengo que destacar sus mecánicas innovadoras, que logran diferenciarlo de otros títulos similares. Y es que esa posibilidad de controlar múltiples personajes y el sistema de ataques sincronizados añaden un estrato de complejidad y estrategia al combate muy interesantes.

Deathbound offers some interesting ideas for soulslikes. However, design and technical issues prevent it from reaching a more prominent place in a genre where these concepts are key to determining what is really good.

Les Souls-like sont nombreux et se ressemblent souvent, mais une petite équipe brésilienne nommée “Trialforge Studio” propose une première production qui tente de nouvelles choses pour le genre. Deathbound est un Action-RPG se déroulant dans un univers où s’affrontent “l’Église de la mort” et “le culte de la vie”. Nous incarnons plusieurs personnages décédés dont les essences partagent le même corps. Si l’expérience Souls reste classique en reprenant les poncifs du genre, nous contrôlons une équipe de quatre personnages aux capacités distinctes. Il est possible d’alterner entre chacun de nos équipiers à tout moment, quelque chose que le titre encourage fortement grâce à plusieurs mécaniques ingénieuses. Malgré ses idées innovantes, son level design et ses sensations de jeu efficaces, Deathbound se montre malheureusement un peu oubliable. Très porté sur le scénario, ce dernier n’arrive pourtant pas vraiment à être mémorable. Le titre est aussi visuellement daté, et son sound design laisse également à désirer. Cette courte aventure possède pas mal de défauts mais reste un Souls-like original qui plaira peut-être aux amateurs du genre.

Deathbound won’t be the next Soulslike sensation, but at a time when they’re around every corner, its courage helps it stand out. When there's a story to hear and monsters to fight, Deathbound’s rag-tag gang of alter-egos can hold their own, even as unfulfilled potential continues piling up. Its demo and low asking price should help prospective buyers decide if Deathbound is for them, and promised post-launch DLC could reward those who do stick with it. This is a solid title for Souls enthusiasts between major releases, and the emphasis on weaving disparate play styles together will make Deathbound an experience to remember, despite how hard its flaws are to forget.

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.

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.

Some of the difficulty is good, and some of it is bad. If you’re into games like Dark Souls and Elden Ring, you will probably have a good time with this. But if you’re new to the “Soulslike” genre and looking for a challenge, you might want to start with one of those games first, lest you be frustrated too easily by the unfortunately fairly numerous stumbles Deathbound takes. It leans more good than bad, with a creative party system and mostly satisfying combat, but ultimately, I think only existing fans of the genre are going to last long enough to complete it.

A party-based Souls-like is an inventive idea, but Deathbound can’t meet its lofty ambitions.

En resumen, Deathbound presenta un núcleo interesante con su sistema de Esencias, pero no es suficiente para compensar los problemas en su ejecución. Aunque tiene destellos de potencial, se siente como una experiencia promedio, afectada por un combate deficiente y un mundo mal construido.

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 is a failed experiment. The morph system is its one saving grace and truly does differentiate the game from others in the genre. Weaving together morphs into combo attacks and dodges is exciting and fun. The rest of the game just does not back it up. A forgettable story, comical voice acting, missed opportunities, frustrating level design, and unfair enemies push Deathbound away from the echelons of greatness in the soulslike genre. Perhaps with this experience under their belts, Trialforge Studio can learn from the missteps of Deathbound and come out of the other side with a new vision and a more realized adventure.

Deathbound could have certainly been a successful standalone Soulslike title, but poor implementation decisions in some of the core gameplay elements have squandered that potential. Ultimately, if you're a die-hard Soulslike fan and are bored with the genre after playing many titles and are looking for a new Soulslike experience, regardless of quality, then you can give Deathbound a try. Otherwise, you can go for other similar titles and not be fooled by the game's innovative party system.