Blightbound review

Blightbound is a solid dungeon crawler. It’s not perfect, and the spoils of war can be ripped from you in the dying moments of a dungeon. Despite the sometimes clunky gameplay and poor AI of computer-controlled allies, it’s still enjoyable. Running through a dungeon and taking in the dark fantasy aesthetics, while getting entangled in intense fights with contorted flesh monsters. Taking your hard-earned loot back to the refuge and using it to rebuild your home or your characters. Yeah, there’s a lot to like about Ronimo Games’ latest.

Blightbound: A gorgeously gory world

The setup for Blightbound is engaging. The world you fight in has been ravaged by a fog known as the Blight. After a battle decades before with a Shadow Titan, it released the Blight and corrupted living beings into mangled creatures engulfed in evil. The purpose of the game is to venture into a variety of dungeons and destroy these monsters and rid the world of Blight. Dungeons are beautifully hand-drawn. It reminded me a lot of Darkest Dungeon.

These dungeons are filled with monsters to slay and bosses to overcome. Traps are littered throughout them that can do plenty of damage if not approached correctly. Despite the tough difficulty, there’s loot to be found. There’re also fallen heroes you can save to then bolster your ranks the next time you dive back into a dungeon. Due to the lengthy dungeons, it can be so disheartening to get so close to the end, only to die. All that XP is gone, and you have to start all over again.

Poor matchmaking

Playing with friends is the best way to play Blightbound. My experiences with playing with randoms hasn’t been great, and that’s if I actually get in a match with them. The option to play with bots is available, but the AI is dreadful. Some areas of a dungeon require all three of you to stand on pressure pads. I found they moved weirdly, and not as smoothly as they should. This caused moments when they were stuck behind a wall, forcing me to go back to them and coax them out of the areas they’d got trapped in. If you do have two other friends to play with, I implore you to go into dungeons with them.

Online matchmaking is made more frustrating by the need to fill the three distinct roles of a party. There has to be a warrior, assassin, and mage. With the mage being a definite go to, very few want to play as the tank or damage dealer. Despite these shortcomings, Blightbound is still enjoyable in its gameplay. It’s just a shame the AI isn’t very smart, and the online elements could do with a massive overhaul.

Blightbound: A nice mix of attacking options

As mentioned, you can choose to play as a warrior, an assassin, or a mage. Each character has a wealth of attack options. The warrior is a tank who gets stuck into the action and can deal an unruly amount of damage. The assassin is the DPS piece of the puzzle, and if used correctly can inflict a lot of damage when behind an enemy. The mage is by far the best to use. They can both heal all enemies in the party and dish out magical attacks that do a fair bit of damage. Each hero has an ultimate move that can be built up over time and used for maximum effect.

New characters can be unlocked by hiring them in the shop, or completing side quests or storylines. There’re some differences in characters, but most just feel like a carbon copy of the original. Some of the dungeons are tough, and that’s why it is so important to play with friends. A lack of cohesion can affect games when playing with strangers. Regardless of what character you choose, it’s no fun if you can’t function as a team.

When your party works well together, Blightbound is much better. There maybe some issues with the repetition and generic characters, but it can be enjoyable. It feels as though it may have come out of Early Access a little too soon. Hopefully, these issues can be fixed in the upcoming months. Unless you are playing with those who play Blightbound how it is meant to be played or with friends, it’s hard to recommend right now.