When I first heard about the single-player, party-based Souls Like called Deathbound, I was told it would be a PC-only release. But when I asked if the game would ever make its way to consoles such as the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, the follow-up was, “We’re not sure yet.” However, I’m happy to announce that things have changed, and Deathbound will be released on the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S alongside the PC release.
Check out the official announcement from Tate Multimedia below:
A few months back, I went hands-on with a demo of the game, which is still available if you want to try it for yourself, and came away impressed with Deathbound. I love it when a developer puts a unique spin on the Soulslike formula, but I wasn’t prepared for what Trialforge Studio had in mind for Deathbound.
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.
You can read my entire impressions piece here.
While Deathbound will now be released for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, the official release date has yet to be revealed.
