Bastard Bonds

About

Bastard Bonds is a single player tactical role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Bigfingers and was released on June 15, 2016. It received positive reviews from players.

"Bastard Bonds" is a tactical RPG set on the criminal-infested island of Lukatt. As an outcast, you must gather a band of misfits, make tough decisions, and navigate over 200 locations with high-end pixel art. The game offers in-depth character customization, including sprite mod support, and more than 1000 character sprites, providing over 40 hours of gameplay. Justice may have failed, but in this game, you have the chance to take control of your own destiny.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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89%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,172 reviews

gameplay120 positive mentions

grinding42 negative mentions

The game features a unique character creation system that allows for extensive customization, including the ability to create and recruit your own characters.
The combat system incorporates a risk mechanic that adds depth and strategy, making battles engaging and challenging.
The game has a rich world with interesting lore and a variety of characters, providing a sense of exploration and discovery.

The tutorial and explanations of game mechanics are sparse, making it difficult for new players to understand how to progress.
Combat can become repetitive and lacks complexity, leading to a predictable strategy that diminishes the challenge over time.
The user interface and pathfinding can be clunky, causing frustration when navigating the game world and managing party members.

gameplay
394 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
61%
9%
The gameplay of "Bastard Bonds" is characterized by a mix of simple yet addictive mechanics, with a unique risk system that adds depth to combat. However, many players find the gameplay repetitive and poorly explained, often requiring external guides to fully grasp the mechanics. While the game offers engaging tactical elements and character customization, it suffers from a lack of clarity and balance, leading to a mixed reception regarding its overall depth and enjoyment.
- “On one hand, the gameplay is simple fun to the point of it being addicting. I like the design of the world and the creatures, the characters, and what writing there is.”
- “An easily addictive gameplay loop, with a lot of flexibility in party loadouts and combat approaches.”
- “The gameplay is deep and satisfying, as is the relatively extensive character customization, all wrapped up with an intricate story where your decisions do, in fact, matter.”
- “Poor, lazy, terrible gameplay and I love XCOM, but something about this game is seriously broken.”
- “Gameplay is repetitive and shallow, not to mention poorly balanced, plus the AI is pretty uncreative.”
- “The actual gameplay leaves a lot to be desired.”
story
360 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
63%
3%
The game's story is a blend of humor, seriousness, and engaging character interactions, set against a backdrop of a prison island where players navigate relationships and quests. While the narrative offers intriguing lore and character depth, many players feel it lacks a cohesive overarching plot and can be sparse, often requiring guides to fully experience all story elements. Overall, the storytelling is praised for its creativity and charm, though some find it simplistic and wish for more character development and clearer progression.
- “Just got both endings, almost all character quests and interactions, and damn... this was an amazing ride.”
- “What I got instead was a beautifully crafted story full of wit, interesting yet deceptively simple gameplay, and basically infinite replayability.”
- “The story and lore behind the island is deep and interesting; it motivated me to explore every nook and cranny of the island.”
- “Story: has a lot of potential, but it's not realized.”
- “The lack of a more character-driven story (which I thought was one of the main features, or at least I felt like it was promoted as one).”
- “Unfortunately, the story doesn't change at all.”
graphics
160 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
58%
6%
The graphics of the game are predominantly pixelated, with many players appreciating the charming and detailed art style, which evokes a nostalgic feel reminiscent of classic titles. While some find the visuals simplistic and lacking in animation, others highlight the unique aesthetics and engaging atmosphere that enhance immersion. Overall, the graphics are a mixed bag, appealing to fans of retro art while potentially alienating those who prefer more modern visuals.
- “The art style is extremely distinct and enjoyable, both in the cutscene views and in the normal pixel views.”
- “The pixel art style is amazing, with great detail on everything and the layering capabilities when you make your own characters allow for extensive customization.”
- “The graphics are very well done and great, the music is fun and interesting, and the gameplay was engaging.”
- “Fun game, annoyingly bad graphics make it hard to see things.”
- “Graphics in the game are on the simple side, they are nicely drawn but lack true animation (animation in this game is static sprites given a wobble effect).”
- “Very basic concept and disgusting graphics.”
music
84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62%
34%
4%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its quality, emotional depth, and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere. While some noted a lack of variety in the soundtrack, the compositions are described as fitting and reminiscent of classic RPGs, contributing significantly to the game's charm. Overall, the soundtrack is considered one of the standout features, elevating the gameplay experience.
- “The music is right out one of the best parts of the game, the soundtrack feeling like a PlayStation era RPG title that went crazy cranking up all the bells and whistles they couldn't do yet for the SNES.”
- “The game has a nice consistent aesthetic and feel alongside excellent music.”
- “I love the art style, the atmosphere, and the music is really good.”
- “It's got 1 battle theme and maybe a handful of songs for what feels like a pretty long game honestly.”
- “The music is a solid B, with some tracks being a little simplistic or grating after long hours of play.”
- “- the music is not very varied.”
grinding
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is often described as tedious and time-consuming, with players feeling that it detracts from exploration and enjoyment. While some appreciate the balanced build-up and challenge it provides, many find the repetitive combat and slow leveling process to be a chore, especially when managing multiple squads or trying to recruit characters. Overall, the grind can feel excessive and lacking in purpose, though it does contribute to the game's memorable tactical elements.
- “After looking online for the full world map, I got discouraged from continuing; 208 locations and most is just slow, tedious combat. I will not do that.”
- “Finding out all those people I passed up on the way to the port needed to be recruited... tedious beyond words.”
- “You get a lot of experience for first clearing a location, but repeat visits seem to give a lot less experience, so grinding in this game is very slow.”
replayability
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
56%
9%
Overall, the game boasts high replayability due to its engaging story, diverse character recruitment options, and multiple endings, encouraging players to explore different strategies and narratives. While some players noted repetitive elements, many found the depth of lore and character interactions sufficient to warrant multiple playthroughs. The combination of customization and varied gameplay experiences contributes to its strong replay value.
- “What I got instead was a beautifully crafted story full of wit, interesting yet deceptively simple gameplay, and basically infinite replayability.”
- “Also a perk for this game is it's super replayable; I'm on my second run already!”
- “The writing's good, the character recruitment system is great, and there are enough hidden interactions to make it replayable on top of that.”
- “The game is already repetitive enough (especially if you abuse the tank tactic, where enemies only attack the closest character to them), and there's virtually no real replay value to the game at all, but this really just puts the icing on the cake.”
- “There are alternate endings as well, to enhance replayability.”
- “The characters in the second half of the game are conversely the more interesting ones; if the dev tweaks that to make it a bit easier, I'd be grateful, and it'd certainly help replayability.”
humor
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by a blend of raunchy dialogue, sympathetic characters, and unexpected moments of levity amidst serious storytelling. While the adult themes and pixel art nudity may not appeal to everyone, many players appreciate the clever writing and comedic elements that enhance the overall experience. The game successfully balances humor with engaging gameplay, making it memorable despite its challenges.
- “The dialogue is funny and the characters are sympathetic and touching, more than you'd expect for an ostensibly lewd game like this.”
- “Add on to that the orc Nazar sweet romance, spicy hookups, and overall funny dialogue, and the game really shines.”
- “The raunchy humor and casual pixel art nudity may not be for everyone, but I found myself enjoying Bastard Bonds immensely.”
character development
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
34%
12%
Character development in the game is noted for its potential, with players expressing a desire for deeper exploration of the characters' stories and relationships. While the character designs are visually impressive and reflect the developer's unique style, many reviewers feel that the actual narrative and character growth are somewhat lacking, leading to a sense of missed opportunities. Overall, the game offers a fun tactical experience, but the depth of character development leaves room for improvement.
- “Bastard Bonds hits all of the things I like in a game: there is an abundance of exploration, a few hidden (but not obtuse) secrets, relatively quick maps/zones, strategic combat that doesn't require me to think ahead 25 turns, flexibility in character development, simple mechanics with the old-school attitude that you have to figure things out for yourself rather than be given an explanation.”
- “The designs are so detailed and well-worked, and what little story and character development it has is quite good.”
- “Excellent character development that is just deep enough, a fun combat system, emphasis on rare but valuable equipment, and a pretty cool town building element combine to make a great tactical RPG.”
- “The explanation of how combat, strongholds, character development, and so on needs some more work.”
- “One per character was really disappointing and considering you get the bond scenes quite quickly, there's not a lot of character development over the long length of the game.”
- “Also, the character designs give off a feeling like they're realizing the developer's fetish - lots of extremely burly, strangely proportioned, nearly nude flirtatious bear-men made up my party and populated my stronghold.”
atmosphere
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
20%
13%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with reviewers highlighting the impactful soundtrack, beautiful art style, and engaging writing that collectively enhance the immersive experience. Players appreciate the ability to build and organize camps, which adds depth to the atmosphere, while the overall aesthetic and lore contribute to a captivating environment. The combination of these elements creates a finely-crafted atmosphere that resonates throughout various locations in the game.
- “The atmosphere and art style rock.”
- “This game is beautiful not for tactical battles, but for atmosphere, interesting lore, and locations.”
- “Atmospheric, finely-crafted, always sets the tone well, and very fitting aesthetically.”
- “So much testosterone in the atmosphere!”
- “I feel the soundtrack really delivered on the atmosphere of the island as well as its various locations.”
- “It really added to the atmosphere of the various locations.”
emotional
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features surprisingly emotional and sympathetic characters, with humorous dialogue that adds depth to its lewd premise. Players appreciate the heartwarming narrative of a ragtag group saving the world, complemented by fitting music and pleasant pixel graphics. However, some reviewers express a desire for more romantic subplot options, as the existing one feels limited despite its heartfelt nature.
- “The dialogue is funny and the characters are sympathetic and touching, more than you'd expect for an ostensibly lewd game like this.”
- “Solid RPG with a Diablo-esque feel, great characters, and a sweet, heartfelt plot.”
- “If anything is of note that I wish there was more of, I wish there were more options for romantic subplot, as the only one in the game, although heartwarming, did feel really small in the grand scheme of things.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The stability of the game is inconsistent, with some players reporting significant pathfinding issues and game-breaking glitches that can disrupt gameplay, while others have experienced a smooth experience without any bugs. Overall, the presence of glitches seems to vary widely among players, affecting the enjoyment of the game.
- “Pathfinding is really buggy and glitchy for allies and enemies alike.”
- “The gameplay and combat loop are pretty fun, but you'll occasionally run into game-breaking glitches. You'll eventually realize the hardest enemy in the game is not the wild dogs, or the bandits, or the tentacles, but the glitches themselves.”
- “Then it glitches for stupid reasons; for instance, one of my party members died and I couldn't select an action.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization allows players to create highly effective party compositions, making the maximum party size of four feel sufficient and diminishing the incentive to recruit additional members. This focus on optimization enhances gameplay but may limit the appeal of expanding one's kingdom.
- “The game features a kingdom-building component, but with a party size limit of 4, once you have four unstoppably optimized killing machines, it becomes difficult to find the incentive to expand your numbers.”
- “There is a kingdom-building component as well, but with a party size limit of 4, once you're rocking four unstoppably optimized killing machines, it's hard to see the incentive in expanding your numbers.”