Remember Gauntlet? Good ‘ole multiplayer monster slaying, loot grabbin’ boss killing action, with an emphasis on everyone playing whatever they enjoy the most, and usually a good amount of quarter eating built into it.
Blightbound
Developer: Ronimo
Price: $19.99
Platform: PC
MonsterVine was supplied with Steam code for preview
The Console versions of the games (Especially PS2 Dark Legacy port *chef kiss*) helped alleviate some of that, but the general simplicity of the game mixed with a lot of just how the game was made at its base, it could never really shake that feeling. Blightbound brought me back to that feeling right off the bat, and instead of trying to take my quarters to progress, Blightbound used its built-in trinity of Warrior, Mage and Ranger to make you play your role, and play smart.
In Blightbound you aren’t just going to run into the middle of a group of enemies (at least to start, before you get some sick gear) as a ranger, and just tank hits, or if you don’t support your mage, taking damage is hardcoded into some encounters, your warrior won’t be getting the heals he needs for you to overcome what opposes to you. Straight up, the first time I and some of the other MonsterVine guys booted this bad boy up, we got our butts handed to us! New encounters were a learning experience every time, and we had to be in constant communication in order to succeed. So, are you down for a hardcore dungeon crawling experience, set in a gothic art style world besieged by a deadly blight? Let’s talk more about it!
Alright, let’s talk about the setting, and about that aforementioned holy trinity of classes. Ronimo, of the FANTASTIC Platformer MOBA Awesomenauts (Play it!), has put out another visually unique game, with a mystifying world that is as interesting to look at, as it is to learn about. In this fantasy world, a war with a powerful Shadow Titan has left humanities’ resources depleted, their greatest heroes being the ones who defeated the beast. But the cost was a world of eternal darkness, and from the Shadow Titan’s dead body began to flow the Blight: a mist that seeped from every crack in its corpse, changing any living thing exposed to it for too long into monstrous beasts, with giant bulbous eyes, grey skin, and other deformities. Humanity has been driven high into the mountains, above where the Blight can reach them, only making small expeditions into the blighted lands thanks to artifacts they uncovered on the mountain. This is where you come in, as you get the chance to control some of these chosen heroes as you venture through the destroyed areas humanity once occupied, trying to solve the mystery of how to reclaim your land, and how to save yourself against the horrors the blight has bought. Let’s talk about the three classes, and how they fit into this game’s intense gameplay.
Strong and Sturdy, The Warrior. Fast and Deadly, The Rogue. Wise and Powerful, The Mage. We’re all pretty familiar with these archetypes, But Blightbound makes the decision to really enforce them, to the point where you are locked to one character of each class, and there is no option to play with AI teammates, or solo so you better find a game or two friends! Beyond these archetypes, you will encounter more heroes under each class that will have different abilities or stats, but under the same umbrella. You will have a basic attack, a secondary (be it a heavy stab or block), two specials, and an ultimate; each specific hero also has a unique passive ability like Scarlet’s additional backstab damage. The first two are the only ones locked to each specific class, so you’re looking at two active abilities, an ultimate and a passive that will set each character apart under the archetypes. Your Warrior at its base has a 3 hit combo, as well as a block for its secondary attack. When you block attacks, you will build up rage, which can be spent on enhanced attacks with healing on them, and most other abilities will focus on taunting, rooting or otherwise controlling a battle. The Rogue is in charge of dishing out big damage and interrupting big enemy attacks. You’ll build combo points with your basic attacks and spend them with your secondary to cause extra damage and potentially stop an enemy attack. Most of their active abilities give them stealth, damage over time effects, or position based maneuvers. Rounding out the crew, we have the ranged expert: the Mage. Boasting ranged magic attacks, and a healing secondary, the Mage’s powers are fueled by mana orbs, able to be obtained by any member of the party. The Mage will be healing the crew, and their varied other skills will allow them to control the battlefield in meaningful ways. These roles are enforced strongly, not sending your warrior first while your rogue positions itself for the strongest attacks and the mage supports, will often spell defeat for your adventuring party, and honestly, it’s nice to be pushed into playing your role rather than just mashing buttons and such in order to output damage before you have put more quarters in.
All in all, Blightbound is a really fun hack and slash RPG that hangs a little bit toward its RPG roots, than its hack and slash ones, and is better for it honestly. With more and more content being added, as well as Ronimo having a reputation for being a great host for live service games, is a combination for wins. Sadly, I was not getting super quick games on release day and beyond for when I don’t want to play with friends, but hopefully this was just some janky early day server issues, rather than a lack of players. It’s not perfect, but Blightbound is sure to give you many fun hours with friends, without you getting too bored or anything! Check it out!
