2023 will undoubtedly be a great year for fans of classic RPGs: Octopath Traveler II, Sea of Stars, Star Ocean: The Second Story R, Astlibra Revision for Nintendo Switch or the recent Super Mario RPG to name a few a few examples of how well we “dined” this year.
But when it seemed like all the food had been served and it was time to move on to desserts, independent research WildArts Games He offers us a very special side dish that we didn’t have: a loaf of bread that lives up to the name Born of Bread..
The French-Canadian studio has been working on this role-playing game for five years, which according to Nicolas Lamarche, its lead designer and programmer, “is a love letter to the family RPGs of yesteryear” and inspired by titles like Paper Mario or Undertale.
It’s about to come out of the oven and after tasting it, we’ll tell you if this bread turned out crispy and finished raw material.
Born of Bread review for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC by HobbyConsolas:
Playability and gameplay of Born of Bread on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC
Born of Bread puts us in the role of Pan, a humanoid loaf of bread that comes to life thanks to a magical recipe book. With neither food nor drink, Freshly Baked Bread must go on an adventure to prevent the Embers, a group of hot-headed villains released by mistake, from taking possession of some mysterious stones that threaten the safety of the kingdom.
According to this premise, Born of bread is represented as very classicincluding exploration, turn-based combat, mini-games, objects of all types, secondary characters, dungeons, secondary missions… But as we’ll see below, Paper Mario’s influence is more than obvious, as it includes a large amount of detail that goes beyond limits of normal restrictions.
During the exploration, apart from moving through the scenarios, we can use the ladle to hit objects and enemies, and jump to reach high places (which gives it a slight platforming feel). I Each companion that joins the group gives a new skill which allows us to interact with the environment.
For example, Lint, a nervous writing raccoon, can dig in different places to discover new paths. So we suggest going back to previous areas when new characters join the party to get treasures or unlock secrets.
And while the exploration is already brought to life thanks to all these details, the combat system is not far behind. Born of Bread combat is turn-based.but they include a large number of mechanics more typical of real-time games.
For example, during an attack we have to hold the button and release it when the indicator is above the green area to deal more damage. And when we are attacked, we can press a button at the right moment to defend ourselves. Again, if you’re familiar with Paper Mario or Super Mario RPG, all of these mechanics will probably look familiar.
Now, Born of Bread isn’t limited to mimicking what can be seen in other titles, but also He pulls a few homegrown ideas out of his sleeve as a command system. Pan can equip various weapons that act as special attacks using a system that involves placing “pieces” in a grid. Sort of like a Resident Evil 4 inventory, wow.
For their part, other members of the group can learn new skills by finding salamanders hiding in scenarios that invites us to study them carefully to increase our capabilities in battle.
Pan’s weapon attacks and other characters’ special abilities have their own execution mechanics to enhance them: move the joystick from one side to the other as fast as possible, hold the button to reach the desired baking point… There are many options.
Add to all this the importance of positioning (yourself and enemies) or an elaborate system of weaknesses and strengths where the type of physical attack and elemental effect must be taken into account, and the result is a very solid combat system that is hard to get bored ofbecause we are always doing different things and actively participating.
And we haven’t even talked about all the mechanics available, as Born of Bread has more than meets the eye, with new features to consider as you progress, such as blessings, special ingredients or card styles.
To strike him The fights are usually pretty simple and we rarely get into trouble, especially when we turn to healing items.
In addition to all that has been said, Perhaps the most notable feature of Born of Bread is that it is a game with a lot of charm. From the striking visuals that combine 3D settings with “flat” characters, to a world full of colorful and fantastical locations and characters, everything makes this universe a special “something”.
Here it should be noted that during the battles we are accompanied by a chronicler who controls “stretching” battle. In addition to being able to see real-time chat (fake) with comments, sometimes the public will make requests that, if we fulfill, restore valuable points needed to perform skills. Very original.
As you can imagine, it’s also a game with a great sense of humor. For our taste, he sometimes gets into a bit of a “silly” mood and it can be a bit annoying, but it cannot be denied that he conveys a very good vibe and always manages to make us laugh. It helps a lot here the spanish localization is greatwith lots of puns.
Is “Born with Bread” difficult?
As we said a moment ago, Born of Bread is a pretty simple game overall. There aren’t many difficulty levels to choose from, but if we play by paying attention to the enemies’ weaknesses and strengths and exploring the scenarios well in search of objects, there won’t be many fights that present much of a challenge.
The same can be said about exploration: sometimes we’ll have to look for key objects to advance, or use the environment to navigate closed routes, but usually our attention is enough.
Price and available platforms
Born of Bread will be released on December 5, 2023 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Its price on Nintendo consoles is €29.99, most likely the same as on other platforms.
While the distributor “Born with bread” Dear villagers! does not plan to release a physical edition. But, as usual, if the game succeeds, it may “come out of the oven” in the future.
The secret is in the dough
I may not have invented the wheel, but Born of Bread is a cute role-playing game that, thanks to its diverse mechanics, manages to entertain and entertain from start to finish. It’s a very solid and finished game, one that you can tell from the first moment that those responsible put a lot of thought into it.
And above all, it’s an RPG that achieves everything it sets out to do. It goes without saying, but if you love classic RPGs and in particular you love the combat system of Paper Mario and Super Mario RPG, Born of bread is exactly what you are looking for.
