Deathbound is primarily held together by its unique gimmick: the fact that you’re playing multiple characters at the same time. The studio itself even goes as far as referring to Deathbound as a party-based Soulslike. While you’re controlling a single character at any given time, you also have the ability to switch between your “equipped” characters. Up to four can be equipped in this way, and each comes with their own unique movesets, weapons, equipment, and special abilities.

This mechanic is also tied deeply into the lore of Deathbound; all of the characters you find tend to have died for some reason or another that may or may not be related to the ongoing war that underlines the entire setting of the game. As you find new characters, you get to experience an abridged history of this person, letting you understand who they were, and what they may have done to end up dead. There is quite a bit of variety in the characters you find even in their stories, and your party members range from assassins to naive mages.

While you have all of these characters to play with, interestingly, Deathbound doesn’t really have you get into the nitty-gritty of having to manage each individual inventory or equipment. Rather, each character’s equipment is fixed, and you only really get to equip artifacts and a couple of rings.

"The best thing about Deathbound, however, might just be its core combat."

The equipment can be upgraded and depending on which buff you want to level up, you’ll have to spend different types of resources that you can find all around the world by exploring, or by beating specific enemies.

Speaking of progression systems, there are two main ways of getting stronger in Deathbound: the traditional way where you spend your experience to unlock different passive abilities that might boost your damage, defenses, or health, and a talent system which you can use to further specialize the different members of your party. While the traditional leveling system feels rather boring and uninspired, offering up dull bonuses like 3 percent extra damage or 5 more health, the talent system is much more interesting.

Throughout the game, you’ll find various points that can be interacted with by specific characters. Upon interaction, these points display a small scene, filling out more of that character’s backstory, and ultimately, rewards you with a talent point. These points can then be spent to unlock more specialized bonuses for your characters. For example, your poison mage can choose to make their overcharge abilities do more damage, or they could be instead upgraded to make use of buffs to a greater extent. This system ends up feeling more customizable and generally more interesting than just getting flat stat bonuses, and makes exploring the game’s labyrinthine zones really rewarding.

"There are two main ways of getting stronger in Deathbound"

The best thing about Deathbound, however, might just be its core combat. While it starts out like any other Souls-styled game out there: your right trigger and shoulder buttons focus on attacks, while your left trigger and shoulder buttons have you use your character’s shield, things quickly start getting more complex as soon as you unlock your second party member. This is where sync attacks come into play. You switch between your party members with the D-pad, and this can also be timed with attacks in order to get follow-up strikes that are considerably stronger than a standard combo. These sync attacks turn what is otherwise a slow and methodical hack-and-slash game into a fast-paced action game with complex combos that can be really fun to pull off.

The only real downside to the core combat system is its learning curve. Moving your thumb over from the left analogue stick to the D-pad in the middle of a combo isn’t exactly intuitive, after all, and things also get complicated once you realize that not all of your party members use the left triggers and bumpers for defensive abilities. For instance, the assassin’s left trigger and bumper revolve around the use of her one-handed crossbow. This simple fact has gotten me killed more times than I’d like to admit, all because I thought I was going to block an attack rather than shoot a huge enemy with a tiny crossbow bolt.

Getting over this learning curve can be quite rewarding, however, since the control scheme ultimately works well enough to let you pull off fun, long combos. This assumes, of course, that the enemy is open to attack. Trying these combos in the middle of an enemy’s attack won’t really do much more than potentially get you killed, since it’s not really necessary that big attacks will always stagger enemies.

"The only real downside to the core combat system is its learning curve."

Deathbound also plays around with its health and stamina system in a way that I consider equal parts interesting and frustrating. Health and stamina for each character is essentially the same, which ultimately means that, the more damage you take, the less stamina you have to attack, dodge or block. While an interesting penalty, this fact also often makes low-health party members liabilities, since they just don’t have enough stamina to try and survive a vicious onslaught. It certainly doesn’t help that even one party member getting killed means death for your entire party.

Ultimately, Deathbound has some interesting ideas, and is one of the few Souls-styled games out there that feels fresh and interesting. The game features a relatively dull world with some interesting lore tidbits here and there, but the party system is what makes it feel truly unique and fun. There’s plenty of banter between all of the characters, which can get especially fun to listen to thanks to inevitable personality clashes, and the combat system also feels incredibly rewarding to master.

Pair that up with a progression system that heavily rewards exploration and a gear system that streamlines just the right amount of things, and you have what is essentially one of the most interesting new entries in the genre out there.

This game was reviewed on PC.

The setting of Deathbound is a crumbling civilization where a clash between the forces of faith and science decimated the game’s world, Ziêminal, and the city of Akratya. As they explore the game’s world, players will take on different kinds of monsters that the developer says can’t be described as ‘good’ or ‘evil’.

Deathbound features a unique mechanic dubbed the Binding System, which essentially allows players to absorb the essence of fallen warriors. These essences can be used to unlock new skills and abilities, allowing players to define their own playstyle rather than be confined to the traditional sword-and-shield style of play.

Trialforge Studio describe’s the game’s world as a brutal one that mixes a technological past and a medieval present, and the enemies players will face as unforgiving.

Kao the Kangaroo will see players assuming the role of, well, Kao the Kangaroo as he embarks on a light hearted tale set against a variety of different locations. Players will have to brawl with enemies using simple combat, run and jump through obstacles, grind on rails to make it through to the end of the levels, and more.

The visuals certainly look great, with a vibrant colour palette and art style clearly inspired by the recent Crash Bandicoot and Spyro games. There’s no firm release date just yet – except for a vague Summer 2022 window. Kao the Kangaroo releases for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Nintendo Switch.

Gamingbolt spoke to PR manager Michał Azarewicz, lead game designer Rafał Sadowski and lead programmer Krzysztof Siewiorek at Tate Multimedia to learn more about the game and some of  the challenges of development.

"he motorbike’s wheelsaw introduces some new and totally original mechanics for the player. It was one of the most core elements of our game concept from the very beginning."

With a 2.5D perspective and “Dieselpunk” aesthetics, there’s certainly a lot going on with Steel Rats. What inspired the concept?

Michał Azarewicz: Hah, well Steel Rats emerged from a DLC idea for Urban Trial Freestyle [Tate’s stunt bike game franchise]. There was an idea for zombies in the DLC, where the main weapon would have been a wheelsaw on the front bike tire. When our team started to develop the project we devloped so many ideas and concepts that it evolved into a standalone project. We changed the setting, the colour palette, and camera view point. Our concept artists Kamil Smala and Marcin Basta have done awesome work creating this new feel and aesthetic for the game. It was an evolution like any game’s development, so there have of course been many iterations and versions of Steel Rats.

What challenges did you face in getting the game off the ground? How difficult was it to implement the core concept?

Michał Azarewicz: We didn’t want to make a standard arcade game, so we decided on a few core concepts. Firstly, the player character would be on a bike the whole time as opposed to running and jumping. We needed to create gameplay that would be interesting for modern gamers and that’s why the game’s perspective is 2.5D. Secondly, we needed to make riding the motorbike feel unique and distinct, that’s why we came up with the idea of vertical riding and the realistic bike physics. The physics of the bike and the way it handles is integral to the feel of the game, we actually received a grant to creating the in-game model for the bike.

The grant project didn’t have the sexiest title ‘Developing innovative project and prototype of a stunt motorcycle physics with a set of major and secondary game functionalities faithfully imitating real model’ but this should show you that there is a great level of realism in how the game plays, meaning that although the game is very accessible to all players, it’s not a casual title. You will need some skill to master the bike and learn to control it, but players shouldn’t worry, we’re creating tutorial levels, so they will be well looked after!

What is the overall story of Steel Rats? What can you tell us about the overall length and potential replay value?

Rafał Sadowski: The top level story is that you play as the ‘Steel Rats’ a motorcyle gang who are their home city’s last line of defense against an invading robotic, alien army. Right now we’re looking at a roughly 8-10 hour long campaign if you burn straight through it, with many secrets to be found in each level that will provide players with a lot of replay value.

"In Steel Rats, there are parts of the game where you will need to “go fast” but this won’t be all the time."

How do the physics of the bike’s saw blades operate and feed into both navigation and destruction?

Krzysztof Siewiorek: The motorbike’s wheelsaw introduces some new and totally original mechanics for the player. It was one of the most core elements of our game concept from the very beginning. Its most important feature is that it allows the bike to drive up walls, go upside down or wherever you want it to go. This created a huge range of possibilities in level design and has allowed us to redefine the classic platforming/acrade genre. The wheelsaw also takes a big role in combat and clearing your path on missions. Keep in mind, this is only one of many things that make our game a unique experience. We’ll be releasing the first gameplay footage in the coming months so everyone will be finally able to see ‘Steel Rats’ in action.

What can you tell us about each playable character? How do their weapons and abilities alter the overall experience and difficulty?

Rafał Sadowski: You will play as each member of the Steel Rats who have their own unique weapons and bikes. This allows different plalystyles to be catered for. In terms of difficulty, we’re not going to punish the player too much. The fun of Steel Rats comes from the blending of physics based motorbike simulation and crazy “melee-bike combat”, so there was no need to make the whole experience too difficult.

Levels have multiple tiers and pathways to race through. In terms of altering the experience, what do they provide besides different routes to take?

Rafał Sadowski: The main thing is a sense of discovery, we want the player to explore each level. Who knows what you’ll find on the rooftops for example, it might be a small secret or a whole new hidden challenge.

Is there a Sonic the Hedgehog-like proficiency to be learned where players pick the best routes and execute the best runs for the highest scores?

Rafał Sadowski: We all love Sonic! It’s hard to ignore such a well established franchise when you’re designing a fast-paced arcade experience of your own. In Steel Rats, there are parts of the game where you will need to “go fast” but this won’t be all the time. There are many different play styles, from stunts, melee combat, ranged combat and slower paced exploration, so we won’t be try to keep pace with Sonic the whole time.

Are there any additional challenges or modes to pursue once the main story is complete?

Rafał Sadowski: We’re still considering a bunch of options. We already have one really cool, significant new feature for when you have completed the main game and we’ll of course continue to think about additional content and game modes.

"For us it’s easier and much faster to develop games for multiple platforms than in past generations of consoles."

For the music, what was it like working with the The 5.6.7.8’s?

Michał Azarewicz: It was a brilliant experience for both them and us. The 5.6.7.8’s came in to perform a remastered version of their hit “Hoovering” that we used in our trailer. This version was recorded in the Midilive Studio in Paris, which has an awesome history, and this was the first time the girls have worked on this kind of project. We later implemented the track in our first demo level and can be heard playing in certain sections as you drive about the world. This worked really well and has been well received by those who’ve played it. Regarding the rest of the game music, we have our sound designers Dawid W. Mika, and Arkadiusz Reikowski, who previously worked with the Polish studio, ‘Bloober Team’ on their recent games ‘>observer_’ and ‘Layers of Fear’ so they have brought some incredible experience to the project.

What resolution and frame rate does Steel Rats run on Xbox One X and PS4 Pro? Will you have separate modes for 4K and 1080p TV owners?

Krzysztof Siewiorek: Our team is constantly working to deliver best gaming experience possible. We try to keep our game’s focus on rich, diverse environments and unique gameplay all the time. We have to keep in mind the game’s technical performance as well of course which is very important for us. You can be sure that we are taking advantage of this new tech and we have already achieved very good results from the hardware, but it’s too soon to say what the final numbers will be.

Do you think consoles are now closing to PC in terms of performance because of the common x86 architecture?

Krzysztof Siewiorek: A more unified architecture is one of the most important features of modern gaming development from our perspective as it is both the player and the developer who benefits. For us it’s easier and much faster to develop games for multiple platforms than in past generations of consoles. The result is that we can focus more on delivering a content rich title and a superior in-game experience and focus less on low level tech differences. The player also then gets a much better and way more polished game for the same or even lower price. We are pretty sure that the game console manufacturers took a lesson from previous generations and will continue to do their best to provide the fastest machines possible in the future.

When can we expect Steel Rats to release in 2018?

Michał Azarewicz: It will launch in 2018 for sure, most likely early in the second half of the year, but the exact date will be announced later. If you want to follow our social media channels, you will be kept up to date with all the latest on Steel Rats and we’re preparing lots of incredible things before launch.

Check out the entire interview below.

Ravi Sinha: Urban Trial Freestyle is an excellent addition to the PSN digital library; however, it also shares similarities with the Trials HD series on Xbox LIVE. Was there a point of inspiration, or any other sort of intersection and overlap between Trials HD and Urban Trial Freestyle?

Wojtek Bilinski: Of course we were inspired by Trials in some ways, but in a same way we were inspired by Elastomania or any other title based on trials genre. Trials HD is a fantastic game, maybe even one of the best download games on Xbox360, but if you spend some time with UTF, you will find out that it is very different from Trials and it also has a lot to offer. UTF environments, motorbike physics and gameplay features differ a lot, as well as online features and game modes.

"We definitely are considering tackling new systems to expand Urban Trial Freestyle to the largest possible group of players."

- Wojtek Bilinski, Tate Multimedia's General Manager

We have worked together with Julien Dupont to capture this unique urban-freestyle look and feel of the game. Trials HD is definitely more like an outdoor event.

UTF has also many unique features, like billboards with Stunt Masters – the system presenting best players on special billboards placed on tracks or the use of the tilt feature on both PS Vita and the PS3.

Ravi Sinha: Urban Trial Freestyle has appeared on Playstation Network, and will be heading to 3DS’s eShop later. Why not Xbox LIVE or Steam? Are those platforms you will consider later?

Wojtek Bilinski: We were thinking about PSN and PSVita platforms from the beginning, there was a noticeable lack of such game on these systems. And we definitely are considering tackling new systems to expand Urban Trial Freestyle to the largest possible group of players.

Ravi Sinha: Forty maps is a lot! Apparently the 3DS and iOS versions will have additional maps as well; are there any plans to release more content for the games as DLC?

Wojtek Bilinski: Not at the moment, but we’re not saying it will never happen. If enough players in the community want more tracks it could be hard to say “no”.

Ravi Sinha:  Now that the game has been released, was the game profitable to you guys? Did it do good sales wise to warrant a sequel?

Wojtek Bilinski: We don’t know the numbers yet but in February UTF was Number 1 on PS Vita in Europe and USA . We are working on some new stuff around trials mechanisms and would like to enhance the stunts factor of the game but there is no rush with the sequel as there is still a lot of players that we hope shall discover our game since the game was only released 2 months ago! 🙂

Ravi Sinha: Urban Trial Freestyle looks incredibly good, especially for a digital game. Considering the range of the platforms you worked with- everything from the 3DS to the PS3 to the iPad- how did you manage to make the game look so uniformly good across platforms so varied?

Wojtek Bilinski: Actually Tate Interactive worked on PS Vita and PSN version of UTF. 3DS and IOS is being developed by Strangelands form UK. But referring to the question most of our games were multiplatform, so through years we’ve learned how to cope with multiplatform production.

The key is to know how much you can handle and to make a reasonable production milestone, so both versions don’t come in their ways. The good asset server is a must and cooperation and understanding with publisher need to be perfect – luckily we had both.

Ravi Sinha: The level editor function on the 3DS version of the game sounds intriguing. How full featured is the suite of tools that will be made available to the player?

Wojtek Bilinski: Basically you start with an empty décor and you just start adding objects to build up the ramps and obstacles that you want. There is a selection of over 150 objects, from planks and crates all the way up to trains and bridges, which you can use to construct your course.

Objects can be positioned, scaled and rotated, either individually or as groups, and you can duplicate sections you’ve already made and reuse them further down the track. All this is done using the tactile screen and a couple of icons, so it is really easy to do.

Ravi Sinha: Obviously in a game such as this, the actual track and level design matters a lot. Urban Trial Freestyle has some great and varied design. What was the approach behind designing the levels?

Wojtek Bilinski:  UTF level design is based on 3 main elements – the way the obstacles are set, the environment and special effects which makes the environment interactive. When we created the level, first we set the theme and then, keeping that in mind, the designer built the track from the sets of obstacles. When the track was ready, art guys worked on special effects and built the environment.

The last step was lightning. The average time was around 2 weeks per level but that doesn’t mean that each level was done within such time. It’s just a general working time to create primary elements. Along the process there are new implementations, focus tests, bug corrections and optimizations so we need to get back to each level from time to time throughout the whole development.

Ravi Sinha: Multiple developers point to the ease of working with Sony on PSN, and Nintendo with their new stance on digital gaming with the eShop. How was your own personal experience working with them on releasing your title digitally?

Wojtek Bilinski:  There are always some pitfalls along the way but we had some great support from SONY so we managed to get through pretty easily.

"Bringing the common architecture to PS4 should ease the development in many ways. And it should help them too, as we will be able to ask for solutions in different sources."

Ravi Sinha: Urban Trial Freestyle was released both on the PS Vita and PS3. How was it working on these two hardwares? Was it easy to develop games for? The PS4 was recently announced which promises easier games development. Do you think the amount of time you guys invested on developing the game on the PS3/PS Vita would have been less if it was developed for the PS4?

Wojtek Bilinski: It’s hard to say, the game itself always takes the most time to develop as this is what really counts. But with this, what SONY has already stated this could be the case. Bringing the common architecture to PS4 should ease the development in many ways. And it should help them too, as we will be able to ask for solutions in different sources.

Ravi Sinha: The social aspects of Urban Trial seem to have been received well; are you looking towards expanding these in the future?

Wojtek Bilinski: Yes, definitely we would like to do so. The idea of seeing other players happy faces after breaking the record turned out really well. It’s fun and it’s compelling. Still a lot can be improved here. We’d like to make it more dynamic, so more people could see themselves on billboards. Maybe some special contests refreshed with time could bring even more innovation.

Ravi Sinha: Urban Trial Freestyle was fun! What else can we look forward to in the future?

Wojtek Bilinski: Apart from UTF we are working on some new and fresh design idea around hack’n’slash genre but it’s too early to present it.

Kudos to Robbie Paterson from Indigo Pearl for setting this interview up.

The motocycle stunt game Urban Style Freestyle for the PS Vita has climbed its way to the top of the sales charts for the month of February. It also managed to slip its way into the top 20 PSN game downloads for the month.

To celebrate the occasion, the publisher has announced that the game will be making its way to Nintendo 3DS and iOS devices this spring. Urban Trails will also see a release on the PlayStation Stores in Turkey and Denmark in March 20th, and in Argentina and Chile on April 1st.

Urban Trail Freestyle lets players burn their rubber any way they deem fit in over 45+ levels that are set within five diverse cityscape. Over 64 custom bike configurations are available from the get go, providing the player with a large array of customization options.  New tracks, motorcycles, outfits and customization options are unlocked as the player progresses through the game’s many modes.