Who said books can’t be as fun as videogames?
Can you imagine if all the protagonists of books lost their memory? Venture into their world and beat the hell out of historical and literary characters you studied in school. Bookbound Brigade is a new take on the established Metroidvania genre where you get to lead a colourful bunch of real and fictional heroes.
Bookbound Brigade is right up my alley with its Metroidvania gameplay and quirky humour which see you control the likes of Dracula, King Arthur, Joan of Arc and many others as they band together to stop the literary world from vanishing. The game is for true Metroidvania fans though and while I enjoyed it, I can see the backtracking and level design won’t be to everyone’s tastes.
Combat is also a bit of a mixed bag, sometimes either being too easy or too challenging and changing formations feels a bit broken at the moment.
The game has a 2D art style that makes the characters look more like comic book characters than literary/historical figures, but it works with the sense of humour the game has. There are some great jokes thrown in, including digs at Joan of Arc’s being burned at the stake to name a few. Visually, the art style works well, and the game looks decent overall. The soundtrack isn’t too bad either.
The Verdict
Bookbound Brigade is a great game for Metroidvania fans and with the likes of Metroid Prime 4 not even having a release date, this will definitely ease the pain a little.