Blightbound hits a particular type of nostalgia for me. Fond memories of teaming up with friends to slash our way through Castle Crashers or iconic phrases like “Warrior needs food badly!” It definitely has that classic co-op hack ‘n’ slash feel going for it, but also has some RPG elements layered on top for an older, maybe more refined audience. For instance, each class (warrior, rogue, and mage) play very differently. Each level requires each player to be on top of their specific skills and execute them when needed. The mage is the only character that heal and if they aren’t on the spot then you won’t be getting too far. The added complexity makes the encounters more interested than a typical hack ‘n’ slash. It also means you can replay them for different experiences.
You unlock many different characters over the campaign, each with their own personal story, and unique abilities. For instance, the second mage character you unlock comes with a “gravity well” ability that pulls all the enemies in. This opens the warrior up to unleash massive damage and the rogue to drop area of effect abilities. It may look a little confusing and chaotic at first, but once you figure out each character’s rhythm and role, the game really shines. It can also be quite challenging, requiring everyone to be on point for boss battles and other challenges.
Each level rewards you with loot and money, and you get *something* even if you fail the level. You collect weapons, armor, and trinkets for your various characters that give them boosts and boons. As you level up your base you also get access to item crafters. It’s a decent addition to what could easily been a repetitive hack ‘n’ slash experience.
That’s not to say you won’t be repeating levels and grinding for gold and materials. There are about a dozen levels at launch to play through, but luckily each one is a pretty unique. You may be rescuing prisoners to boost your numbers in one, and the next you could be thwarting an evil cult’s ritual. Each level is broken up into a hand full of rooms and many of them have secret, optional areas you check out if you want some extra challenge of loot. They also offer a large variety of color palettes and architecture, which looks great against the detailed, colorful characters.
All in all, Blightbound is a solid co-op focused dungeon crawler. It has enough unique aspects to set it apart from others in the genre, and is fun for both casual and competitive players. If you’re worried about not being able to find someone to play with, you should know that it has crossplay matchmaking between PC, Xbox, and PlayStation, so no matter where you play you should be able to find others to delve with. You can also play with bots too, which are pretty good at their jobs.
