14 DAY TRIAL // I’m a boy made of bread wielding a sickle made of metal to strike a creature made of wood. I need to wiggle my controller’s stick quickly to deliver my attack, reaching the all-important green zone of a gauge. My character deals enough damage to kill the enemy, which means my buddy has to deal with just one other to clear this group and, hopefully, level up.
The problem is that we’ve used all our will points, so any attacks we can conjure are limited. To replenish, we need to defend. I do that and gain one point, then switch characters and do it again. I also use this opportunity to eat a croissant to get some health back. We finally have enough points to attack and I use the tail strike to deal with my final opponent.
There are other opponents lurking in this forest glade but enough jumping will mean they never catch up with the group and cannot trigger an encounter. Some solid mushroom jumping gets my small group to a ledge. A look at the map suggests that the big royal city isn’t far away. Let’s find out how the citizens and the queen are dealing with the recent magical assault.
Born of Bread is developed by WildArts Studio Inc., with publishing from Dear Villagers. I played a preview version on the PC. The game will also arrives on the Nintendo Switch, the PlayStation 5, and the Xbox Series X and S. The title mixes platforming adventure and turn-based battles.
A master baker creates a bread being, named Loaf, just as time-traveling supernatural beings are attacking a kingdom in search of magic stones. It’s a good premise for an adventure, especially one that’s self-aware and sometimes breaks the fourth wall. The writing manages to mix humor and information in good ways, although the shouting might be a bit much for some players.
Born of Bread asks players to move the hero’s group across the world, finding other characters to interact with and points of interest to explore. There’s a bit of platforming but nothing too complicated (make sure to avoid water). A map makes it easy to find the connection between levels.
When enemies appear, the game shifts to a battle space and a turn-based structure. The player’s party has to manage health and two types of mana points as it launches attacks, defends, uses items, or uses a special move. Depending on the weapon used, players will strike the entire opponent group or just one.
Each attack also involves a Quick Time Event. Wiggle the stick for the sickle or push the button when a meter reaches the green zone. Engagements in the preview were brief so the QTEs didn’t have time to become frustrating but the developer might want to tone down their use.
Born of Bread mixes 2D and 3D elements. The bread protagonist and all other characters are bi-dimensional, with some nice details and plenty of character. The camera is fixed but the world is 3D, with some exploration options and secrets. There’s no voice work but the soundtrack is carefree and jaunty, complementing the colorful universe well.
Conclusion
The battle system is easy to understand and has plenty of space for interesting interactions and choices. The big problem is that every player's action also requires engaging with a QTE. This can quickly become annoying. Born of Bread could streamline combat, especially against weaker opponents, before the full experience arrives.
A preview key was provided by the publisher
