Deathbulge: Battle of the Bands

[h1]Sights & Sounds[/h1] [h3]Webcomics? In my video games?[/h3] [list] [*] For a game as colorful and stylized as [i]Deathbulge[/i], it feels a little odd to land on the opinion that the visual presentation is the game's weakest feature. Even then, most of the game still looks excellent [*] The visual highlights are definitely the set pieces. Even though most locations seem pretty tame at first blush, further exploration shows off the devs' imagination. As an example, the first adventure area seems like yet another RPG intro forest before you find an ancient entity named Claire, enter her hairdo, and fight a bunch of antagonistic birds including a rapping duck [*] These settings get even better when you enter a boss fight. [i]Deathbulge[/i] is a game about being in rock band, so it would be a little disappointing if these lacked some fireworks. Fortunately, these musical duels aren't lacking in spectacle. The volume ramps up, the tempo increases, and the visual effects pop off as you face the game's big bads [*] So, what exactly is lacking in the visuals? Simply put, it's some of the character designs. Most of them are great. Hell, I'd even say some of the minor characters are wildly creative. But the squished noseless and earless heads with extremely far apart eyes make many of the human characters look strange and even a little ugly [*] The artstyle belies [i]Deathbulge[/i]'s webcomic origins, though I have to confess I wasn't familiar with the comic before I started my playthrough [*] The music is as good as you hope. Despite the game's title and subject matter, hearing the opening town of Bopstead's jaunty little theme makes it apparent that not every track you'll hear is going to trend towards rock or metal (though, IMO, the best ones do). Hell, relistening to the OST as I'm writing this is reminding me of how little actual rock music there is. Expect to hear a surprising amount of funk and dance inspired tracks as well [/list] [h1]Story & Vibes[/h1] [h3]Mephistophelian bargaining[/h3] [list] [*] The biggest band in the world, Pokalyps, has decreed a contest for the ages in this music-obsessed society: a battle of the bands. The prize? A lineup spot on their world tour. For guitarist and frontwoman Faye, it's too good of an opportunity to pass up [*] Even better, signing up for the contest gives entrants special powers that cause the music they play to have actual and often destructive effects on the world. It seems the "battle" is not only figurative [*] There's just one problem. Faye's band, Deathbulge, has recently broken up. Although she still gets along with drummer and wrestling enthusiast Briff, their bassist (a muscular skeleton named Ian) has fled Bopstead after an acrimonious argument [*] Fortunately, the allure of the contest and Faye's willingness to assist Ian in protecting the forest he resides in helps to mend Ian's hurt feelings, and the band is reborn [*] Unfortunately, the band's friends and fellow contestants, Platinum Scrumptious, have dug into the contest's fine print while Faye was away. It seems the battle of the bands is no ordinary musical contest. Those mysterious powers aren't just for show. In a Faustian twist, it turns out that each round of the battle of the bands tournament serves as a collection of deathmatches in which the winners move on and the losers get buried [*] With no other way out of their infernal bargain, Deathbulge set their sights on the city of Hoho, where they hope to fight Pokalyps and convince them to shred their contract [*] In spite of those associations with hell and damnation, [i]Deathbulge[/i] is predominantly a humorous, lighthearted affair. The humor hits more often than it misses, even if the misses make some moments especially corny. My favorite bit is the running gag involving how Faye kicks open every door she comes across, usually resulting in destruction or injury [/list] [h1]Playability & Replayability[/h1] [h3]A new take on ATB[/h3] [list] [*] Although there's a bit more to the gameplay than the battle system, it's not really worth recounting. If you've played virtually any RPG before, you're familiar with the idea of secret paths leading to loot and light environmental puzzling. [i]Deathbulge[/i] has those things as well, and they're perfectly serviceable. Just not terribly interesting [*] What [b]is[/b] interesting is [i]Deathbulge[/i]'s unique twist on the active time battle (ATB) system. Rather than just watching your characters' action meters tick upward before selecting an option for your turn, Faye and her bandmates function as a single unit fronted by whichever of the three characters you want to act as [*] Your action meter takes the form of a sheet music measure at the bottom of the screen, split up by bar lines. The current "leader" of the band moves towards the center, and when they reach it, they're able to act [*] The nice part is that you can freely swap your leader at any point so long as they're not knocked out. Although it seems like it would be advantageous to always have your fastest character (Faye) at the fore to ensure you're getting in more attacks, this isn't always the case [*] Firstly, your enemies also follow this system, so swapping quickly to your tank (Ian) as your enemy's action is about to happen can save you a bit of damage. Secondly, your current leader gains "hype" (MP) while they're out front, so you'll want to swap to Ian or Briff if you want to keep using their powerful attacks or heals more than a handful of times. Finally, some friendly and hostile abilities leave your meter littered with damaging status effects, so swapping in a bandmate with higher HP while your line is traveling over those segments will help you better manage your party's survivability [*] If that sounds confusing, don't worry. It's well tutorialized and makes a lot of sense after the first few battles [*] Even if fights can drag on a bit, it's hard to complain too much about the battle mechanics. Especially when it's also got a robust class system and customizable move lists that permit you to mix and match attacks from the classes you acquire throughout your journey. This opens up a massive amount of builds and synergies that make your band feel distinct [*] Despite the fact that battles can be slow-paced and that there's not very many opportunities, if any, to materially change the plot progression, this feels like the sort of game I'd like to revisit down the line. Given the freedom of builds and the somewhat short (for an RPG, at least) runtime of 20-25 hours, I would mind another playthrough. I barely even scratched the surface of the dating minigame you unlock when you reach Hoho [/list] [h1]Overall Impressions & Performance[/h1] [h3]Out of nowhere[/h3] [list] [*] I was honestly not expecting so much good content when I sat down to play [i]Deathbulge[/i]. It just seemed like a silly RPG about being in a band. I didn't anticipate the environments being so inspired, the battle system being so unique, the class mechanics being so customizable, or the humor being so consistent [*] As a first effort from a small team, it's hard not to be really impressed by this. If Steam review count provides any insight into sales numbers, [i]Deathbulge[/i] is woefully underappreciated at the time of this writing [*] I recommend keeping your eyes out for a sale and would encourage RPG fans to give it a try. Or, hell, it's only $20 at full price, and a dollar an hour is a totally reasonable value proposition. Just try it. You'll probably like it [/list] [h1]Final Verdict[/h1] [b]8.5[/b]/10. With all its merits and a style and systems all its own, this is a criminally overlooked game. I don't think the visuals will jive for everyone, but there's way more to [i]Deathbulge[/i] than its appearance. If you want to try out a new twist on an old formula and have a few laughs while doing so, you could do quite a bit worse than this. For RPG fans, wishlist or purchase with confidence