Deathbound Review – Out of Sync

Everywhere you look, a new souslike is cropping up. It’s a subgenre ruled by FromSoftware and one that, while it has an ever-growing and extensive list of entrants, is rarely done right. In everyone’s bid to both capture the lightning in the bottle that is the Souls series and carve out their own path with unique mechanics, settings or any number of standout features they often fall short of those lofty goals. It’s a tall order, to say the least. And it’s one that Trialforge Studio hopes to fill with Deathbound, the latest of the soulslikes to step through the foggy wall.

Deathbound drops players into Ziêminal, a world where the medieval trappings of the present are built upon the remnants of the technologically advanced civilization of the First Men. The fantasy and science fiction mash-up makes for a strong first impression, as the dilapidated laboratories become the battleground for sword-wielding religious crusaders. Visually, these environments spanning two very different eras are a delight, even if the later hours sometimes dip below the initial experience and reveal a largely linear design. Regardless of where players find themselves as they traverse the apocalyptic scenery, the graphical fidelity sports solid detail. And it must be called out for the accomplishment it is, especially for a small developer.

The story enveloping this land of science-imbued brutalist architecture fails to capture the attention like the period-blending surroundings. It’s a tale involving the Goddess Life and the Goddess Death, the latter of which brought about the demise of the First Men following the former’s deception. Several hundred years after these events, the ideals of these deities are carried forth by the Church of Death and the Cult of Life. It is between them that the conflict continues, and it’s where Deathbound begins.

Party Planning

Unlike other soulslikes, Deathbound doesn’t star a single character. There’s no singular protagonist nor will you be playing around with sliders to create a custom hero. Instead, several impressively voiced characters take the center stage in this self proclaimed party-based soulslike. Therone, a member of the Church of Death’s Fifth Crusade, kicks things off, but the group soon grows to include a rogue and a mage, rounding out the RPG trifecta. There are seven playable characters, or Essences, in total; four can be slotted at a time, enabling players to find combinations that work for their preferred playstyle. Therone’s sword-and-board style is best complimented by at least one character with ranged capabilities, a combat option the first two recruitable Essences possess. If you want to add a backstab ability to the lineup, Anna is the way to go. If an immovable tank is what’s required, call in Agharos. Transitioning between four characters makes for a distinctive gameplay experience, even if the execution is a bit rigid.

The differing ideologies of the playable characters can cause conflicts, which result in certain buffs and debuffs (as well as extra dialogue consisting of bickering). For example, pairing Therone with Anna results in the “Anointed by the Goddess” effect, sapping 15% from max stamina while increasing critical bonus by 50%. These risk/reward combinations make for interesting moments of experimentation. Party composition tweaking is where Deathbound shines brightest. Not only is there a four-person team to tactically assemble, each can be upgraded individually as well as part of the larger group. The leveling experience, which takes place at Phylacteries (i.e., bonfires), houses a skill tree that has general upgrade nodes that affect all characters in addition to Essence-specific zones. Furthermore, memory points can be accumulated by hunting down a character’s, you guessed it, memories. These go towards talents that modify how those characters play. An early example empowered Anna’s attacks to proc poison, adding helpful tick damage in battle.

Party Hard(ly)

On paper, Deathbound sounds incredible when digging into these intertwined party mechanics and synergies. However, the reality is that it remains shy of full realization. The piece that needs to tie it all together is the combat, and that’s an area that is a mixed bag. As expected, standard and heavy attacks are weaved together along with blocks and dodges, all while managing a stamina meter. Here, max stamina is intrinsically tied to health. Losing half of a character’s health means half of their available stamina is gone, too. Even though there are technically four health pools to swap between at a given time, it only takes the death of one character to signal game over. Knowing when to switch is important, as is the use of the Sync meter. The Sync meter opens up tag-team style opportunities, allowing for character swapping while performing enhanced dodges or attacks. Again, it may sound good, but the mechanic rarely went off without a hitch.

We have come to expect a certain level of jank and rigidity in smaller scale soulslikes, but given that the subgenre is heavily dependent on precision and timing it’s difficult to give it a pass. When those areas aren’t up to snuff, it makes eating those severe health-depleting enemy attacks all the more painful. The uninspired enemies of Deathbound will often approach in trios, ready to capitalize on those lackluster systems that often leave the player open to one too many unfair hits. Why Anna has to firmly stand unflinchingly in place while reloading her one-handed crossbow, I’ll never know. I wouldn’t call Deathbound a difficult game, simply an unrefined game.

Deathbound Review Verdict

Editor’s Note: Deathbound was reviewed on PlayStation 5, and a copy was provided to us for review purposes.