Paperbound [Game Review]
Game: Paperbound
Genre: Smash-up brawler
Developer: Dissident Logic
Publisher: Dissident Logic
Copy supplied by developer
Paperbound is a four-player smash-up brawler developed and published by Dissident Logic.
GRAPHICS
The game has a really polished 2D comic book style. Each character has different skins, and the guest stars look like they were taken straight out of their respective game. There are five books, each one based on a different classic novel: A Journey to the Center of the Earth, Skull Kingdom, A Book of Five Rings, The Book of the Dead and Dante's Inferno. While most of them are well realised, there are a few levels that are too small for four players to fight in.
GAMEPLAY
If you have any real friend, siblings, cousins or pets with whom you get along with, than Paperbound is for you. This is a local co-op only game with up to four players, and for those lonely you can play with up to three bots, which are really challenging. There are a total of 17 characters, including Captain Viridian from VVVVVV, the Goblin King from Tumblestone, Jonview the Protector from Cards and Castle, Juan from Guacamelee!, and the Locksmith and the Gentleman from Monaco. Unfortunately, all the characters play and feel the same, with the only difference being their attack animations.
This game is a one-hit kill brawler, and there are three ways to kill your enemy: by meleeing him, by throwing scissors or by launching an ink bomb. However, the selling point of this game is the possibility to invert gravity: this is a total game changer, making each round really fast paced.
There are two types of game mode: Free for All and Teams. In Free for All, you can play [b]Classic Versus[/b], in which the first one to reach a certain amount of frags must escape from a page tear to win, [b]Survival[/b], in which the last player with any lives remaining wins, and [b]Long Live the King[/b], in which the first player who gets a frag becomes the king and must try to survive, while fragging the king makes you become the king. In Teams, there is also [b]Capture the Quill[/b], a small variation of Capture the Flag. They are all a lot of fun to play with friends and family, especially the ones in Free for All. You can also change some options before starting a match, like Number of Bots, Number of Scissors and so on.
The controls are really responsive and intuitive with a controller, while the keyboard controls are really awkward, so be sure that everyone is using controllers for the best experience possible.
CHALLENGE
As already mentioned before, changing gravity makes the game more intense than ever, with characters and scissors flying all over the place. In case you don't have someone to play with, there are bots that make the game really challenging, especially in Free for All, and they are quite possibly the best AI I have seen in a brawler in quite some time.
SOUND
Even though each stage has a different musical theme, most of them are quite forgettable. The only track I really like is the Main Theme, which reminds me quite a lot of Magicka. The sound effects are nothing spectacular and worth mentioning.
REPLAYABILITY
You will replay this game with your friends over and over. Unfortunately, there are no unlockables excluding the book of Dante's Inferno.
Overall, this is a fast-paced brawler that brings enough new ideas to the table to feel fresh. I highly recommend this to those with many friends and to fans of smash-up brawlers. If you don't enter in any of these categories, than you won't enjoy this game.
Story: n/a
Graphics: 8
Gameplay: 8.5
Challenge: 8
Sound: 7.5
Replayability: 8
ENJOYMENT: 8
FRUSTRATION: 3
