Songbringer (2017)

Songbringer's general aesthetic and sense of humor rubbed me the wrong way, but the procedurally generated worlds are actually a lot of fun to get lost in, and the art style and music, though occasionally harsh, have a lot of love and nuance put into them.

For a game from a one-man studio on a very modest Kickstarter budget, Songbringer impresses in several ways. It's true that I don't find its visuals to be representative of good pixel art. But graphics are hardly the most important area. I do enjoy Songbringer's sci-fi settings, co-op gameplay, and non-linear nature. With achievements and leaderboards, Zelda fans should check this one out, but maybe wait for a sale if you find the visuals to be distracting.

Songbringer is fun and challenging. Unfortunately, the lack of a pulling force, supporting characters, more lore, something to that effect, will not grab every gamer. Songbringer is definitely worth checking out though if you have the slightest bit of interest, at $19.99 you'll get hours of fun.

I don’t think it is groundbreaking or the next biggest hit. The elements of the game are ones that have been done before and it doesn’t offer anything innovative to that list. Songbringer also doesn’t provide enough information on what its story is. When it does, that info is extremely vague and leaves more questions than answers. While it calls itself procedurally generated, the worlds seem exactly the same. Combat, weapons, and their upgrades were the only things that excited me about the game. If you are looking for a game with old school Zelda-like qualities, give it a shot.

Songbringer will take us on a journey into a fictional world in the distant future but with reminiscences of past games. With a visual design based on Pixel Art and a proposal that offers us almost total freedom when it comes to exploring, it will please everyone who loves old-fashioned adventures and confrontations with big bosses.