Bound By Blades - What We Know So Far

Fans of "Monster Hunter" and genre-bending, original indie creations are likely to be intrigued by upcoming title "Bound By Blades." In the fantasy world of Ashmyr, violent, terrifying creatures have turned a once-beautiful land into something disastrous. Players are tasked with fighting enemies, teaming up with allies, looting, crafting, and battling their way to victory.

The action RPG "Bound By Blades" is canonically inspired by "Monster Hunter," so players can look forward to a stunning and intricate world filled with plenty of combat and complex lore alike, not to mention unique creatures.

Thanks to its independent status, "Bound By Blades" has made extra efforts to get its game out there, including a free demo that's available now, and plenty of more tidbits to get people excited for the release. Judging by the overwhelmingly positive comments on the demo, there's a lot to look forward to. Here's everything that's out there so far about "Bound By Blades," including its release date, trailer, and what to expect for gameplay.

A firm release date for "Bound By Blades" is yet to come, as the original announcement trailer from July 2022 simply left fans guessing with a classically vague "coming soon" timeline. That being said, there is a silver lining – the folks behind the game have narrowed things down outside of the trailer, and the game is expected to drop this year.

As confirmed through a Steam announcement, "Bound By Blades" will be dropping Q4 2022. The game will be published by indie company Assemble Entertainment. Adding even more indie appeal is the fact that the game is spearheaded by solo developer Zeth, making it one of many fabulous games made by one person. Though the team around "Bound By Blades" is naming Zeth as the solo dev, there is a team supporting Zeth, including folks helping with music, animation, writing, and more.

Once it drops in Q4 2022, "Bound By Blades" will be available just on Steam for a while, until it comes out for Nintendo Switch and mobile at a later, undisclosed date.

The sole trailer for "Bound By Blades" is a satisfyingly straightforward minute of gameplay previews and informative text about the game. The announcement trailer kicks off with its cat protagonist crossing a bridge and proceeding to fight and craft. Text appears on screen inviting players to "Join The Bound," as the cat protagonist is shown speaking with a wise elder cat, hinting at the RPG elements of gameplay.

The next block of text reads "Slay Challenging Foes," and it's unsurprisingly accompanied by footage of boss battles with mysteriously hooded, bug-like, and snake-like creatures. "Collect Loot" is next, as prizes won from a preceding boss battle flow freely from a treasure chest, followed by the cat protagonist chopping down some wood from a tree. Next comes "And Craft Epic Gear," further adding to the appeal of the loot, especially once the adorable raccoon blacksmith appears in addition to some previews of in-game equipment.

The trailer nears a close with the text "Slay Monsters With Your Best Pal," as a bull joins the cat to run circles around various bosses. Things wrap up with the end screen, which lets players know that "Bound By Blades" is coming soon.

Thanks to the trailer, "Bound By Blades" hopefuls have an idea of what gameplay will look like. Combat, crafting, looting, exploring, and making friends are all crucial elements to the game that's described on Steam as a "charming and cozy boss rush indie RPG."

In addition to that up-front info, the game's demo page has a wealth of details to flesh things out. According to this intel, players can look forward to choosing from three protagonists, all with customizable options and unique approaches to combat. Two-player co-op will be an option, and yes, cross-play is supported.

In addition to inspiration from "Monster Hunter," "Bound By Blades" developer Zeth cites that the map from underappreciated deckbuilding roguelike dungeon crawler "Slay the Spire" and the Greater Rifts progression system from "Diablo 3" were used as inspiration to add replayability to the game in an End Game Dungeon System. Not only is there the potential for long-term play – Zeth plans to keep the game growing through feedback until it officially releases, with hopes to expand it beyond that as well. All in all, there's a lot of potential for "Bound By Blades." Players can get a taste of what's to come with the free "Bound By Blades" demo before the full game drops Q4 2022.