Bastard Bonds - fabulous fast-paced tactical RPG with high-end pixel art

[ArchAngel]

I wanted to download the demo but it asked for my private info and shit so I decided not to. Any place I can download demo without all that shit?

 

[Luka-boy]

I wanted to download the demo but it asked for my private info and shit so I decided not to. Any place I can download demo without all that shit?

Try this link.
https://www.sendspace.com/file/zzh7k5

 

[Drowed]

Sounds fine enough. I'll be sure to try the demo when I am able to. How's the difficulty like?

So far, remembering that I've only played about 10-14 maps, I would say it is on the level of "you can die if you're careless". But it isn't really hard. By the comments here and on their forum (on steam), it seems that the difficulty increases greatly after some time, but I cannot confirm it. It does have room for that, at least. I still barely started using the game's magic system, and I only have 6 members in my party (you can only use 4 at a time on each map). It looks like you can "collect" a LOT of people in this game, and I still don't know how their interaction will work when you choose a map as "base".

 

[Zombra]

What's the gameplay like? Screenshots look fabulous and made me interested right away.

Fast-paced and elegant, with a neat "risk" mechanic that keeps me involved. The videos don't illustrate how central this mechanic is. Every time you move, attack, etc., you can play it safe, perform the action, and end your turn, or do it "risky" and get an extra action. Piling on risk means you can attack 5 times in a turn if you're lucky ... of course, if you fail the roll, you fumble, end your turn, and are left defenseless until next turn. Enemies use it too so you want to watch for which ones are done, which ones are still attacking, and which ones fumbled. Great to see such a simple, easy-to-understand mechanic with complex enough gameplay implications to consistently demand player attention.

 

[Notorious]

I took a chance with this game and I'm really liking it so far (10 hours in)

Combat: Serviceable turn-based combat. It doesn't have a lot of depth but you have to use each character accordingly or you will die pretty quickly. The most difficult encounters up to this point are all optional, meaning that they are inside areas and you have to initiate dialogue or piss them off. Good design. Overall it's too easy for me but still fun. (For players always press Shift before your actions, as the enemy will use it all the time. This should be default.)

Gameplay: The game is it's locations. They are all uniquely designed (So no replay value) and offer a whole lot of variety. Exploring is rewarded and there is always something interesting to find. Some are simple with a few enemy encounters, others offer a whole lot of things to discover. I didn't have this much fun in simply walking around and looking since a long time. If you don't enjoy walking around and finding out stuff in the demo, give it a pass. It also has bases which serve as your hub. You can hire different merchants to upgrade/sell/store your items. Simplistic but OK.

Itemization: Simple. It has a linear progression of items with a few uniques thrown in. I like it since you won't get anything ridiculous but it will keep you want to find new ones as you can use most of them.

Encounter Design: There are throw away mobs to be sure, but also a lot of interesting ones. There wasn't one that has blown my mind but also not insulted me (Looking at you Pillars!).

Graphics/Sound: I really like the graphics. They remind me of Bitmap Bros games, especially the Cadaver games. They have no animation which I don't mind since I want turn based combat to be fast. (Mordheim/NEW XCOM turns zzzzz) Sound is... there.

Conclusion: With all the dongs and the homoerotic design I was extremely skeptical but when you play the game it's barley noticeable. It's simplistic in every aspect but a fun time all around.

 

[Haba]

It is pretty good.

Recruitment limit system sucks ass though. If you talk to an unique NPC but don't have the "space" in your camp, you won't be able to recruit them ever. So either play with a guide or with previous knowledge.

If you do screw up, you can reset the map state by moving the correct file from Maps folder to the MapsToPatch -folder.

Also, if anyone was wondering how damage rolls work in the game:

Spoiler

I will try to spell this out to some extent, and then I think you will understand why I am not exposing formulas.

Your damage is based on a system of supremacy between you and your target.

For example:

Your attack is less than half of the target's guard : -1 supremacy
Your attack is less than the target's guard: -1 supremacy
Your attack is more than your target's guard: +1 supremacy
Your attack is more than double your target's guard: +1 supremacy
You are lucky: +1 supremacy
You are unlucky: -1 supremacy

All of these conditions are cumulative.

Your damage begins as 1d10 roll in all cases. If you have positive supremacy you roll that many extra 1d10 and take the best result. If you have negative supremacy you roll that many extra 1d10 and take the worst result.

This means that your base damage will always start as 1-10 but it will skew higher or lower based on your supremacy.

Effects that modify base damage occur next, mostly skills and buff/debuffs.

Then a damage multiplier is calculated by adding together anything that has one. Two pieces of equipment with 20 Physical each adds to 40 Physical, which then translates to a 40% bonus on your base damage.

That's just for normal attacks. Not counting criticals or magic, which is handled a bit differently.

Just stick to higher numbers are better.

 

[cruelio]

Gahahahahahaha!

Didn't max out force before taking pic, -10 gahahahas

 

[cruelio]

If the developer makes a sequel, then I'd say the biggest work has to go into AI. The enemies, without exception as far as I can tell, attack whoever is closest. So a simple party is just one super tank who walks up front, one character who can do damage but also tank if necessary for when there are too many enemies for one tank to handle, and then two glass cannon DPS shitters who attack with reach weapon/magic from behind the tank(s). It's not hard to cover the utility skills with this set up either. I'm willing to forgive this since the game is so unique and creative in other ways, the combat goes at a brisk pace, and I think this is basically the work of one insane bara fan, but I wouldn't be able to get through another game if improvements weren't made.

 

[ArchAngel]

I wanted to download the demo but it asked for my private info and shit so I decided not to. Any place I can download demo without all that shit?

Try this link.
https://www.sendspace.com/file/zzh7k5

Tnx, that worked.

I played it for 2 hours. Fun little game but not worth 20$. It is not even close to games like Underrail or Shadowrun games. I will probably buy it when it is 50% off.

 

[DramaticPopcorn]

not even close to [..] Shadowrun games

BY WHAT FUCKING METRIC

 

[ArchAngel]

not even close to [..] Shadowrun games

BY WHAT FUCKING METRIC

Archangel's awesome metric.

 

[InD_ImaginE]

How long is the total game? Will it reach 20-25 hours mark, at least? If so I think I will buy this now.

 

[Musaab]

Will my disgust of homosexuals make this game unfun for me?

 

[Haba]

How long is the total game? Will it reach 20-25 hours mark, at least? If so I think I will buy this now.

This is me after 6h...

Will my disgust of homosexuals make this game unfun for me?

Not really, it isn't that in-your-face really. If you are not in closet, muscular male body is something to admire. Some of the characters are p. gay, but you can always kill them if that's your thing. Or just ignore the fagmeisters.

Plus it makes the leather-clad demons and devils all the more scary, when you think of what kind of things they'd probably do to you if they had the chance...

 

[JudasIscariot]

Downloading demo for Wine testing...

 

[JudasIscariot]

Demo (version 1.0) werks in Wine just fine although I seriously have no idea as to how to use a key in this game lol.

 

[InD_ImaginE]

Bought the game and it is surprisingly enjoyable in spite of the simple system. My only gripes are movement can be confusing in cluttered maps with a lot of walls, enemy AI is rather simplistic, and I expected something more... kinky. All in all, for 8 bucks it is really satisfying and I hope for more RPG by the dev in the future.

 

[Roqua]

I actually saw this on steam and didn't check it out because of the art. The way Bastard Bonds is written I assumed it was some platformer with no rpg elements. Just more proof that being superficial is retarded, but with me as the superficial idiot for a change. But honestly, that is the absolute wrong type of font to get people who like real crpgs to click on the icon in my opinion. It just screams - KIDS GAME - NO DEPTH!

Do I create the whole party or do I only create the main character and recruit the rest? I've been playing DDO and haven't got bored with it yet, so I don't really want to stop playing for a game with shitty recruitable party members, and not full party creation.

 

[Jack Dandy]

AFAIK, it's a mix of both. You have shitloads of recruitable NPCs, but you can also make your own.

 

[Infinitron]

OK, let's Kodex Kurate this thing.

What would say are Bastard Bonds' main highlights? What are the things you would choose to mention about it in a brief tweet-sized description?

 

[Haba]

OK, let's Kodex Kurate this thing.

What would say are Bastard Bonds' main highlights? What are the things you would choose to mention about it in a brief tweet-sized description?

Oh sorry, what were you saying?

 

[Siveon]

"Bastard Bonds is a fun albeit simplistic tactical RPG with erotic overtones and a setting inspired by sword & sorcery classics such as Conan The Barbarian. With decent exploration, troupe mechanics and some lite C&C, this game is worth the price of admission."

Or something to that effect.

AFAIK, it's a mix of both. You have shitloads of recruitable NPCs, but you can also make your own.

Well you don't make any party characters from the start, at least. You might find previously created characters around the world, but you'll probably be relying on the preset NPCs as party members most of the time.

---
FAKE EDIT: Uh, perhaps we should mention the character creation as well?

 

[Roqua]

Thank you both for the information. It is a shame so few games do not allow full party creation. It really should be the standard.

 

[Hobo Elf]

"Bastard Bonds is a fun albeit simplistic tactical RPG with homoerotic overtones and a setting inspired by sword & sorcery classics such as Conan The Barbarian. With decent exploration, troupe mechanics and some lite C&C, this game is worth the price of admission."

Or something to that effect.

AFAIK, it's a mix of both. You have shitloads of recruitable NPCs, but you can also make your own.

Well you don't make any party characters from the start, at least. You might find previously created characters around the world, but you'll probably be relying on the preset NPCs as party members most of the time.

---
FAKE EDIT: Uh, perhaps we should mention the character creation as well?

I wouldn't say it's homoerotic since women are hypersexualized as well. I'd just call it a very erotic game in general.

 

[Siveon]

True, fixed.