Game Info
GAME NAME: Paperbound
DEVELOPER(S): Dissident Logic
PUBLISHER(S): Dissident Logic
PLATFORM(S): PlayStation 4
GENRE(S): Fighting
RELEASE DATE(S): March 31, 2015
Paperbound is a gravity-defying combat brawler that was created from the mind of a Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare developer who joined the team at Dissident Logic to create this local multiplayer fighting game. You can play up to 4-players at once or you can face off against AI bots so that you still will have a challenge even with the absence of human competition.
The objective of the game is to be head as many people as you can in the game, so in other words an ultimate death match between you and three of your friends. Now instead of the classic arena brawler games that we know like Super Smash Brothers or even PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Dissident Logic took a whole different approach. They made it so that you can invert gravity with your character so you can either get away or attack from a different angle. At first, it took a lot for me to get the hang of the gravity switches since I haven’t played anything like it and I died the first few times trying to get all the controls down. Once you get it down though and you pick a map that you are seasoned on, it’s game over for your opponent.
For your weapons you have a pencil for your melee, and and ink bomb and scissors to throw at your enemies. This game features a lot of different maps that can range from Labyrinth to what looks like an eyeball with the pupil moving all around, which I thought looked freaky and cool at the same time.
The game features a mode called free-for-all that has classic versus but with a twist. In free-for-all, the player must obtain the highest score to reach what is called a “frag threshold” and escape before any of the other players reach your score and get out before you do. There is also a classic survival mode and a mode called long live the king, where you score points by staying alive as the king. Paperbound also has team-based battle options which have the same modes except for one and it’s called “capture the quill” which is the same as capture the flag.
The controls, like I said, took some time to get used to for me and when I started a match with AI bots there was chaos all around the screen. I had to play a few matches just to get down the controls. You press the L2 button for you to arm yourself with the ink bomb and you use the right stick to throw it, while inverting gravity is a simple button push. You only have one pair of scissors so if you throw it and miss, you have to hope you can get it back before someone uses it against you. This is similar to Towerfall Ascension and your missed arrow attempts.
There is no story to the game which is perfectly fine since its a brawler game anyway. Since most of my friends I play online anyway, I thought adding in the AI bots was a great idea and the fact they are pretty hard to beat I found this game very fun and challenging. It is best enjoyed with four players for sure but the excitement will only last for so long because there isn’t too much depth into it.
The soundtrack has a medieval theme to it, giving it a “great warriors are preparing to do battle” feel to it, which is actually true. Also while you’re battling the tempo turns up and has some awesome music to fight to. The sound effects in the game are actually really good with every swing you take with your pencil to the scissors being thrown has “clink” sound to it.
The Recommendation
If you are looking for something that you and your friends can pick up and play real quick and are on a budget financially then I would definitely pick this up. It may not be a big AAA fighting game you are looking for but with how well it plays it really is a no brainier on picking up Paperbound and going a few rounds with your friends or the AI bots.
