During the February 2024 Steam Next Fest, I had the opportunity to go hands-on with an upcoming Action RPG Soulslike called Deathbound, and I enjoyed most of what I played. Mind you, when it comes to Soulslike titles, I’ve played nearly all of them, which makes me more critical of the ones I’ve experienced. Still, despite being in the pre-alpha stage, I was impressed with what the Deathbound demo accomplished. So much so, I felt that a Deathbound Demo preview was warranted
Soulslikes are changing for the better
Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed the emergence of several Souls-like games that deviate from the trend of attempting to replicate FromSoftware’s titles precisely. Instead, they introduce innovative features that capture the attention of Soulslike enthusiasts like myself. Notable examples include Lords of the Fallen, which transports players to distinct worlds to accomplish objectives, and Mortal Shell, where players inhabit the bodies of fallen characters, altering gameplay dynamics. The latter is particularly intriguing, and Deathbound takes this concept even further. In Deathbound, players encounter not only the corpses of fallen characters but also experience their influence on gameplay through buffs and debuffs. Adapting to this mechanic required some adjustment on my part.
Again, despite being a pre-alpha, the game looks pretty good and more put together than I expected it would be. I can only imagine how the completed game will be fair, and I’m looking forward to it.
Deathbound is built differently
While most Soulslikes involve controlling a single character, Deathbound takes it a step further by allowing you to command a party of four, selected from characters you’ve acquired during your journey. In the demo, I initially had access to three characters: a mage, an assassin, and a henchman. These characters, known as Essences, each offer a unique playstyle.
The mage specializes in spellcasting but lacks the expected full-screen attack. Additionally, the class imposes a spell-casting limit to prevent spamming. Exceeding this limit incurs a debuff called ‘heat,’ which not only harms the player but also damages enemies.
As one might expect, the assassin is swift and wields a crossbow capable of full-screen attacks, albeit with low damage. However, the slow reload time leaves the player vulnerable to enemy attacks, making swift reflexes imperative.
Finally, there’s the henchman, a formidable warrior wielding a powerful hammer. Though slow, the henchman’s strength makes up for the lack of speed, delivering devastating blows to adversaries.
During my Deathbound demo playthrough, I acquired two more characters, but I’ll omit them from this preview. It’s evident that each Essence possesses traits suited for specific situations, highlighting the importance of understanding their mechanics to progress in the game.
What’s intriguing about this distinctive party system is how the game, particularly in the demo, manages health and healing. Each character in your party has its health pool, but if one character perishes, your entire party faces defeat. Furthermore, when you heal the character you’re controlling, it comes at the expense of the other party members’ health. However, engaging enemies replenishes the health taken from other characters over time.
This dynamic compels players to experiment with different team compositions and discern when to swap out characters, even if it’s for healing purposes. It’s a departure from the mechanics found in other action role-playing games or Soulslikes.
“The Morph System grants access to swift character swapping and special attacks triggered during morphing, attacking, or dodging maneuvers. These actions rely on a specific resource called Sync, a meter that accumulates when you deal damage to enemies or execute perfect dodges. Once the meter reaches a certain threshold, it can be expended to unleash potent attacks or execute near-instant character swaps. I found the benefits of this system immensely valuable in various scenarios.
Furthermore, there’s a party-specific mechanic known as Synergy, or Sync. Depending on how you align your characters, you’ll observe either an orange bar, granting buffs, or a blue bar, imposing debuffs. Throughout my time with the demo, I noticed that certain character combinations don’t synergize well, compelling players to weigh the benefits of buffs against the drawbacks of debuffs when selecting their preferred team composition.
In addition to the aforementioned mechanics, Deathbound incorporates elements commonly found in Soulslike games: a leveling system, a skill tree, and a resting area that, upon use, respawns defeated enemies, resulting in loss of unspent experience upon death, and of course, formidable bosses. However, it’s worth noting that while a skill tree exists, each selected skill impacts all Essences within your group. This aspect prompted me to carefully consider which skills to prioritize based on desired stat enhancements.”
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Yep, this is definitely a pre-alpha
While I’m impressed with Deathbound and eager to experience the fully finished game, the pre-alpha version a number of issues. Combat feels clunky, particularly evident when surrounded by enemies. There were instances where proximity to a wall caused my attacks to miss their intended targets, highlighting issues collision detection. The confined spaces and narrow pathways further exacerbate these challenges, as enemies effortlessly corner and overwhelm the player, often resulting in unavoidable deaths.
Movement speed feels sluggish, akin to trudging through molasses, and climbing ladders is equally laborious. These mechanics could benefit from increased speed to enhance overall gameplay fluidity. Additionally, I find the health and stamina system problematic, as the overlapping meters for both resources create confusion. Separate displays for health and stamina could alleviate this issue, although it may clutter the heads-up display (HUD).
Another notable absence is the lack of a jumping lunging attack, a potential missed opportunity given the demo’s emphasis on verticality. Such an attack could add depth to combat scenarios and provide players with a strategic advantage when engaging enemies from above. While this feature may be under development for inclusion in future iterations, its absence in the current build is noticeable.
Despite these shortcomings, it’s important to acknowledge that the game is still in its pre-alpha stage, and there’s more than enough time to address these concerns. We don’t even know how many versions of the game are already completed and how far or behind this pre-alpha build, is.
Deathbound has potential
Deathbound wasn’t on my radar until I received notification about it, but now it’s a title I’m eagerly anticipating. The game boasts several compelling features, and the Essence and Sync systems offer players diverse approaches to gameplay. These refreshing ideas are already proving to be effective. Here’s hoping that Trialforge Studio pays heed to the feedback from demo players and creates another Soulslike title that will captivate fans for years to come.
If you haven’t played the Deathbound demo yet, it’s still available on Steam. Trialforge Studio is shooting for a 2024 release date for Deathbound, and so far, it looks to be released for the PC as of now.
