tell me about heartbound and where to get it
RPGmaker (or similar feeling) game, though it’s more like an adventure game than an RPG - no menu, no visual tracking of stats/values, no skills or levels, etc. Despite that it actually does track a lot, primarily good or bad behaviors setting you on a ‘glowbringer’ or ‘darksider’ path, with hints there may also be a middle option. As well as keeping an eye on how ‘curious’ you are, and how quickly you can complete things. All of that seems to have effects, of varying size, on events as they progress. Even found an NPC who gave me feedback on them at one point, which was interesting to hear.
Follows the story of a young boy in an.. Apparently less than ideal home situation who’s dog goes missing, leading him on an adventure through time and space (as you do) with a lot of quirky characters and dialogue. Unfortunately it’s also one of those games where even saying that much feels like spoilers, and the creators have already stated they are weaving ARG elements in there to boot, so it’s very much a ‘best played bind’ experience. Can tell you it has real good music, and frankly impressive sprite work/art direction though. Not to mention I’ve personally found the dialogue and characters very enjoyable, which is good since that’s a driving factor to the gameplay.
Oh! And combat, when it comes up, is handled via a series of minigames, which is actually a pretty fun and refreshing change of pace. Just simple stuff, click things to stop them hitting you, click in order sequences, timed clicks, stuff most gamers are very familiar with by now, but varied enough to avoid feeling monotonous. You can use a controller instead, but I can’t comment on that much, as I prefer keyboard and mouse in general.
It’s currently available on Steam for like.. Ten bucks? Still very much in Early Access, which I know is going to be a deal breaker for some and understandable so. BUT there’s also a demo which I’d absolutely recommend trying as, frankly, I knew I wanted this game minutes into the thing. Plus ya know, ye olde PC Specs check etc (not that I see this one being a huge challenge to most rigs, at all), and demo’s are just plain nice to have as an option imho!
