In Bladebound, you are a fabled, awesome warrior that absolutely destroys everything in its path. Until, at the end of the tutorial mission, you are defeated and cast down, diminished in power and removed from reality for centuries. Until finally, after awakening, it’s time to come back and save the world.
Bladebound is a fairly typical hack and slash gameplay wise, but the pacing is something entirely different – it is intensely fast and quick flowing, though not at all overwhelming. Enemies are frequently appearing or jumping out of the sky to be swung at, but the interesting thing is that it’s never particularly frustrating. You can destroy most individual enemies with a single hit, leaving the slightly larger ones needing a little bit more smacking to finally put down.
This excellent pacing keeps the gameplay constantly enjoyable, making Bladebound a game that never stops being exciting.[sc name=”quote” text=”This excellent pacing keeps the gameplay constantly enjoyable, making Bladebound a game that never stops being exciting.”]
Another surprising element of Bladebound is the cinematics that progresses the story. They are remarkably detailed and attractive considering the limited budget and physics of an isometric 3d action game.
The polygons might look a little dated in some points, but the depth and complexity of the animations, as well as the decent enough dialogue and story, leave the player frankly in awe of how far we’ve come in the game development world.
As you progress through the levels you gain access to a variety of increased fighting moves, such as a massive jumping attack to smash your enemies and the ever obligatory whirlwind attack that smashes all enemies around you.
Each level is fairly simplistic; fight your way through the levels, defeating every enemy that appears along the way and collect treasure. Generally, the treasure will be guarded by some above average strength monster, requiring, even more, smashing and slashing.
As you complete levels, you will gain access to loot that can then be equipped or combined to make even more powerful loot. This combination mechanic ensures you can get a feeling of continuous development and progression through the levels, allowing you to increase in power, assuming you do your due diligence and remember to upgrade everything.
This upgradeable weapon system, combined with the progressively more dangerous enemies, means you will always feel challenged, yet never overwhelmed. It takes a good game to manage to combine elements from different genres and make a consistent game from it and, thankfully, Bladebound has managed to do just that.[sc name=”quote” text=”It takes a good game to manage to combine elements from different genres and make a consistent game from it and, thankfully, Bladebound has managed to do just that.”]
Bladebound is definitely an interesting game – as hack and slash games go, it is certainly consistently fun and enjoyable, but also as an RPG it keeps this fun alive, with customizable weaponry and statistics.
Bladebound is a consistent game, one with lots of killing enemies and rampaging through levels. If you’re looking for a hack and slash experience, there are few better alternatives.
[review pros=”Fluid and progressive gameplay dynamics. Satisfying to smash enemies constantly.” cons=”The upgrade system can sometimes feel confusing.” score=9]
[appbox appstore id1198507229]
[appbox googleplay com.artifexmundi.balefire]
