Deathbound is a 'party-based soulslike,' but everyone in the party lives inside you

Soulslikes are generally solo affairs: It's you against hordes of low-level flunkies and high-powered horrors in an endless grind of brutal combat until you finally avenge your family's honor by reclaiming the Myrmidon of Loss, or whatever. (I've only played Elden Ring, so my grasp on the details is a little shaky.) Deathbound aims to do things a little differently, billing itself as a "one-of-a-kind party-based soulslike." But that doesn't mean you'll be roaming the forbidden city of Akratya with friends: You'll still be on your own out there.

Deathbound looks like a fairly straightforward soulslike at first glance, but what makes it different, according to developer Trialforge Studio, is its "unique four-hero system." It's not a party in the usual D&D sense, though. Instead, you'll absorb the essence of fallen warriors as you travel through the game, essentially making them a part of you, and once you've bonded with them you'll be able to transform between four different characters, all of who are you, at will—even in the midst of combat.

Each of the characters you swap between will have their own unique skill tree, perks, and abilities, and you'll be able to combine or chain their attacks in powerful combos. The powers of all four personas can also be combined in even more devastating "Morphstrikes" that are charged during combat.

Complicating things, the characters will have their own backgrounds, factions, and alliances, which can "significantly impact gameplay, leading to different outcomes and status effects depending on your actions," Trialforge said.

"Aligning characters from the Church of Death and Cult of Life—two opposing factions within the vessel (that's you)—will cause conflict and result in consequential combat effects. Alternatively, pairing Fallen Warriors with similar beliefs can lead to powerful combat buffs."

I was initially intrigued by the idea of a full-on multiplayer soulslike, because—and look, I'll be honest here—it means I could roam around and enjoy all the architecture and level designs and weird little things while my more skilled companions handle the heavy lifting. So I was a little bit disappointed when I read beyond the headline and discovered that's not actually what's happening in Deathbound. It's still very much a singleplayer game.

But upon further consideration, I think it sounds interesting in a different way. A lot will depend on how much depth and reactivity Trialforge gives to Deathbound's characters and interactions, but right off the top it makes me think of Baldur's Gate 2, which is packed with NPCs who interact with one another in wonderful and often unexpected ways that make each of them feel like a genuine individual. If Trialforge can bring that sort of reactivity to Deathbound, it might be very cool despite still being a solo joint.

Deathbound is set to launch on August 8, and will be available for PC on Steam, GOG, and the Epic Store. In the meantime, you can hang out on the Discord.