My feet in the warm, wet sands of the sea shore, a soft breeze beckons my eyes to gaze upon a cloudy horizon; it was sunny and warm only moments ago, and I have missed the rain clouds swooping in as I day dreamt of days gone, of what could have been but wasn’t, of what transpired but shouldn’t have.
In my real life, I have had many of those moments as I questioned by own life, my actions, the actions of those around me and at the crossroads I have stood in. I have, ever since I was a child, envisioned myself in the third person – as a different character in a different world – and imagined what would I have done, how I would have faced my demons – be they in any form they may – and how I would have overcome my fears. I would have then drawn from that imagination, and acted upon them in real life. Bound, the newest title from Polish indie developer Plastic Studios, is a thematic exploration of human emotion, our travesties, and how we overcome them, packaged in a surreal, beautiful universe that is unlike any other.
“Dance as the narration of a magical story; that recites on lips, illuminates imaginations and embraces the most sacred depths of souls.”
― Shah Asad Rizvi
One is to approach Bound as one is to approach Journey, and more recently ABZÛ. There is a little more “game” elements to Bound than either of the other games, but, ultimately, Bound is an emotional experience that could best be described as a mix of Gone Home and Journey taking place in a psychedelic dystopia.
In Bound, you star as “Princess”, a ballerina who lives in said psychedelic, colourful universe. Two other characters are prominent: Queen, the Princess’s mother, and Monster, a fiend that has apparently invaded and is wreaking havoc in the kingdom. There is also The Saviour, who does not play a crucial role in the mechanics of the storyline but does in the overall allegory that Bound tells across its chapters. Without having to go into spoilers, the characters in this theatrical dance play a crucial role in the real life you as you go through the game.
Mechanically, there is not much to the game. You spend most of your time as Princess running through colourful, shifting corridors and paths, climbing ladders and sliding elegantly down ribbons. There is a lot of platforming in some of the sections, and Princess is more than capable of traversing them provided the camera does not interfere; I only found one platforming segment particularly frustrating only because the camera was uncooperative, but, thankfully, any failures on your part result in Princess warping back to the last platform, so there is never a real sense of danger in the game.
The chapters in the game can be experienced in any order, and each has a certain prominent element that acts as an obstacle. Overcoming that challenge makes you immune to it in other chapters, so the order in which you play them opens up different paths in each depending on which challenges you have managed to overcome. It adds replay value to the game, not that the world itself is something you would want to visit only once. The chapters are also quite short, each requiring around 20 minutes to finish.
One cannot talk about the gameplay without mentioning Princess being a ballerina, as virtually all her movements are a dance. It’s absolutely delightful – even magical – to look at her simply move, let alone pull of one of the tiny move set. It’s unfortunate that her dance moves are so limited and provide no function at all, bar one which summons a flurry of ribbons to act as a shield. Nevertheless, function is not truly necessary for Bound when you look at it from an emotional-exploration point of view. You might only feel it limiting only because Bound is more “game-y” than, say, Journey or ABZÛ, which are more focused. That said, since there is no real function to her move set, I would have loved to see more of it, as some of the larger areas give you an irresistible urge to just be free and dance. The fact that Bound manages to instil this feeling is telling on how well it manages to evoke emotions.
Perhaps the best mechanic there is in the game is the photo mode, which is not only more exhaustive than any photo mode in other games but also because of the incredible environments you find yourself in. The levels in Bound are extraordinary to look at from an artistic point of view, and the elegance of Princess juxtaposed against the colourful, erratic, shape-shifting polygons and cubes that make up the world provides a plethora of photographic opportunities. It certainly lets your imagination go wild, and as you frame and create a mood for your image, you also set the tone and emotion you’re projecting to that particular segment. Most surprisingly, though, is that once you complete the game, you can apply the any of the plethora of filters, grain and light effects through photo mode to the entire game, giving you a completely new gameplay experience all over again.
Bound is a rare game that touches upon real emotions in a grounded – if predictable – story through allegories. Just as we projected our fantasies as kids into drawings to depict our emotions, Bound realises those drawings into a full blown universe. By the end of the game, you’re left with a powerful choice that encompasses your entire experience, and how you interpreted the symbology and art in the game and how you reflect on your own real life experiences will guide you into making the right choice for yourself. Judged solely by its game mechanics, Bound lacks the diversity and variety, but approach it with an open mind and you will find yourself immersed in an emotionally impactful experience.
