Info about Heartbound:

Official game description:
Heartbound is a non-traditional role-playing game about a boy, his dog, secrets, and sanity.  
*   Follow Lore and Baron on their adventures through time and space.  
*   Handle combat through a series of unique mini-games with varying objectives.  
*   Change the story through exploration and interaction with the world.  
*   A massive series of optional cryptographic puzzles that can be solved as a community.  
*   Varying environments with unique pixel art, an inspired soundtrack, and tons of extra socks.  
*   That awful feeling when you do something terrible to someone who loves you.  
*   More gags than you can shake a stick at. Binder can lend you one of his if you don't bring your own.  
*   Advanced sadness.
Heartbound does not use the traditional systems of Levels, Experience, or Consumables. Everything is skill-based and combat can change based on your relationships with others or things you have done. Weapons can be found throughout the world and they augment how much damage you deal in certain situations.  
Every enemy you encounter has unique mini-games that you will not see anywhere else in the game. There are no random battles and a number of encounters are avoidable based on how you progress. Combat never ends in death and defeating someone allows you to see their memories from their perspective. What you do from there is up to you.

Release date: 24 Dec, 2018

Categories: RPG, Single-player Story, Choice-based Narrative, Multiple Endings, Exploration, Puzzle Solving, Mini-game Collection, Real-time Combat


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Exceptional Art, Music & Story (weight 0.75): Players consistently praise the game's unique and charming art style, detailed pixel art, and captivating character designs. The soundtrack is frequently highlighted as outstanding, contributing significantly to the game's atmosphere and emotional depth. The story is described as interesting, deep, and emotionally resonant.
- Promising Potential & Enjoyable Demo (weight 0.23): Many players were hooked by the demo and found the early access content promising and enjoyable. They express excitement for future updates and believe the game has significant potential to become something truly special.
- Choices & Replayability (weight 0.11): A major strength is the game's branching narrative, where player choices significantly impact the story, dialogues, and environments. This leads to high replayability, with players enjoying discovering new paths and outcomes in subsequent playthroughs.
- Long Development, Still Incomplete (weight 0.09): While many enjoyed the game years ago and appreciate its growth, there's a recurring sentiment that the game has been in development for a long time and remains incomplete. Some players note that despite its potential, the lack of finished content is a drawback.
- Deep Emotional Immersion (weight 0.08): The game creates a strong sense of immersion, with interactions and decisions impacting the personal gaming experience. It touches on deeply emotional subjects, often making players feel invested and even bringing them to tears.
- Engaging & Humorous Dialogue (weight 0.07): The game features witty and humorous dialogue, especially when interacting with objects and NPCs. This, combined with funny character expressions, provides enjoyable moments and adds to the game's charm.
- Charming & Memorable Characters (weight 0.05): The game's characters are frequently described as fun, unique, charming, and memorable. Their designs and personalities contribute positively to the overall experience.
- Fun & Innovative Combat (weight 0.05): Players found the combat system engaging, fun, and fast-paced, often noting its rhythm-game-like aspects. Other mechanics, like gun customization, were also appreciated.

Common complaints:
- Poor Story & Writing (weight 0.96): The narrative is frequently criticized for being confusing, shallow, and poorly written. Players find the story unengaging, with inconsistent pacing, underdeveloped themes, and a lack of emotional depth, often feeling like a forced attempt at profundity.
- Unengaging Characters (weight 0.91): Characters, including the protagonist Lore, are widely seen as bland, unmemorable, and lacking development. Players struggle to connect with them, finding their motivations unclear and their interactions superficial, which hinders emotional investment.
- Lack of Content & Gameplay (weight 0.9): Players consistently report a severe lack of engaging content, with the game often described as a 'walking simulator' or visual novel. Despite years in early access, the game offers minimal gameplay, puzzles, and combat, leading to a short and unfulfilling experience.
- Uninspired Undertale Clone (weight 0.81): Many reviews highlight the game's strong resemblance to Undertale, but criticize it for failing to capture the charm, depth, or unique qualities of its inspiration. It's often labeled as a 'rip-off' or 'wannabe' that misunderstands what made Undertale great.
- Stalled Development & Abandonment (weight 0.8): A major concern is the game's prolonged early access period (7-10 years) with very little meaningful progress or content updates. Many players believe the game is abandoned or in 'development hell,' with the developer prioritizing streaming over game completion.
- Developer Focus & Trust Issues (weight 0.19): Players express significant frustration with the developer's perceived shift in focus from game development to streaming. This has led to accusations of broken promises, misleading updates, and a general loss of trust in the project's completion.

Gameplay feedback:
- Limited, simple gameplay (weight 0.14): Gameplay largely consists of walking, talking to NPCs, and exploring environments, with minimal combat. Puzzles are generally easy, and the game is often described as a 'walking simulator' or linear narrative adventure rather than a traditional RPG. Many players noted the lack of complex gameplay mechanics.
- Story-rich, character-driven narrative (weight 0.12): The game is primarily a 2D RPG with a strong emphasis on its story, characters, and dialogue. It features a quirky, lighthearted tone interspersed with serious emotional and psychological themes, often drawing from the developer's personal experiences. Player choices are meaningful and influence the narrative.
- Inspired by Undertale and Earthbound (weight 0.06): The game draws significant inspiration from Undertale and the Mother series (Earthbound), both in its core structure and aesthetic, including a similar heart motif. However, it deviates from traditional RPG gameplay found in these inspirations.
- Early Access and incomplete content (weight 0.06): The game is still in Early Access, with players noting that it is not yet complete and lacks substantial content. This includes an unfinished story and limited gameplay, leading to concerns about its release timeline.
- Branching paths and multiple endings (weight 0.06): The game offers numerous choices and branching conversations that lead to different routes and endings. This design encourages multiple playthroughs, as player interactions and decisions significantly impact the game's progression and outcomes.
- Promising but unpolished combat (weight 0.04): While combat mechanics, involving real-time dodging and counter-attacking, show promise and interesting design, they are noted as unpolished. Enemy attacks vary and become more difficult over time, requiring different dodging strategies.
- Lore's quest for dog's soul (weight 0.04): The central plot revolves around a boy named Lore, who is searching for pieces of his talking dog, Baron's, soul to bring him back to life. This forms the core motivation for the player's journey.
- Deciphering unknown languages (weight 0.02): The game incorporates an element where players must decipher unknown languages, presented as English text with altered letter symbols. Hints for this deciphering can be found on the game's website, adding a unique puzzle element.

Performance notes:
- Frequent crashes and errors (weight 0.03): A significant number of players are experiencing game crashes, particularly on Steam Deck, and encountering specific technical errors that prevent gameplay. This indicates a need for stability improvements.
- Good technical polish (weight 0.02): Players generally find the game to be well-optimized and technically polished, indicating a stable and smooth experience for many users.

Recommendations:
- Do not buy in current state (weight 0.54): A significant number of players strongly advise against purchasing the game in its current Early Access state, citing it as incomplete, not worth the money, and a waste of time. Many express regret over their purchase and suggest waiting for a full release or avoiding it entirely.
- Try the free demo (weight 0.08): Players frequently suggest trying the free demo to gauge interest and determine if the game aligns with their preferences. This is seen as a way to experience the core gameplay without committing financially to an unfinished product.
- Recommended for specific genres (weight 0.07): Some players recommend the game for those who enjoy story-driven RPGs, point-and-click adventures, or games with meaningful choices and replayability. They highlight its appeal to fans of titles like Undertale/Deltarune.
- Excited for final version (weight 0.05): A segment of players remains optimistic and excited for the game's final version. They look forward to seeing the story progress and hope for a complete and polished experience.
- Uncertainty about completion (weight 0.04): There is significant concern among players regarding the game's long development cycle and the likelihood of it ever being fully completed. Many express doubts about seeing a conclusion to the story or consistent updates.
- General recommendation (weight 0.03): A very small number of reviews offer a general recommendation for the game, expressing enjoyment and a desire for more content. This feedback is limited and less specific.
- Understand Early Access (weight 0.03): Some players emphasize the importance of understanding what Early Access entails, viewing it as patronage rather than a finished product. They advise against buying if one dislikes the nature of ongoing development.
- Watch YouTube playthroughs (weight 0.01): A few players suggest watching YouTube walkthroughs or let's plays as an alternative to purchasing the game, especially if one wants to understand the game without spending money on an incomplete experience.
- Ignore review bombs (weight 0.01): A small number of players advise others to disregard negative 'troll' or 'review bomb' comments, suggesting that some negative feedback might not be constructive or genuine.

Other player notes:
- Perpetual Early Access (weight 0.39): A significant concern is the game's prolonged Early Access status, with many players noting it has been in development for 6-10 years without a full release. This has led to frustration, with some feeling it's a 'glorified demo' or a 'promise' rather than a playable product, and has even deterred them from buying other Early Access titles.
- Review Bombing & Developer Drama (weight 0.33): Many players believe the game is being unfairly review-bombed due to controversies surrounding the developer's personal views or online drama, rather than the game's actual quality. This sentiment is often expressed by those who bought the game years ago or are fans of the developer's other content.
- Support for Developer (weight 0.28): Many players initially purchased the game to support the independent developer or a creator they admired. This support often stemmed from enjoying the developer's content or believing in the project's early promise.
- Hope for Future Updates (weight 0.22): Despite the issues, a segment of players remains hopeful for the game's future, expressing excitement for upcoming updates and the eventual full release. They are looking forward to the story being finished and are willing to wait for a potentially worthwhile experience.
- Undertale Comparisons (weight 0.12): Many reviewers note strong similarities between the game and Undertale in terms of style, vibe, and mechanics. Despite the developer's insistence, the inspiration is evident, leading some to compare it unfavorably to the finished and similarly priced Undertale.

Emotions:
- Disappointment (weight 0.32): Players are primarily disappointed by the game's unfinished state, prolonged Early Access, and lack of substantial content or updates over many years. This leads to unfulfilled expectations regarding gameplay, story depth, character development, and overall quality, often making the game feel like an extended demo or a 'walking simulator' rather than a complete RPG.
- Frustration (weight 0.21): Frustration stems from the game's long development time with minimal progress, leading to an incomplete and unoptimized experience. Players are also frustrated by poor writing, tedious puzzles, unskippable dialogue, and a perceived lack of developer focus, sometimes feeling scammed or unable to get refunds for an abandoned product.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.1): Satisfaction is driven by the game's strong artistic elements, including beautiful sprite work, engaging music, and unique visual style. Players also appreciate the interesting story, nuanced characters, meaningful choices, and overall positive atmosphere, finding enjoyment in the playable content despite its early access status.
- Excitement (weight 0.05): Excitement is generated by the game's potential, intriguing story, and complex storytelling with branching paths. Players are eager for future content, monthly updates, and the full release, looking forward to exploring deep lore, discovering new content, and experiencing the game's unique vision.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.04): Players enjoy the game's initial sections, visuals, and music, finding the overall experience fun and engaging. The humor, characters, and story contribute significantly to their enjoyment, along with well-designed mechanics and mini-games.
- Hope (weight 0.03): Hope is maintained by the game's potential for improvement and future content, despite slow development. Players hope for better writing, completion of the story, and the game becoming a unique, finished product, with recent updates sometimes rekindling this optimism.
- Joy (weight 0.02): Joy comes from the fun and relaxing gameplay, beautiful art, and unique experience the game offers. Players are delighted by the good story, engaging characters, humor, and the overall emotional rollercoaster the game provides.
- Boredom (weight 0.02): Boredom arises from the game's lack of substance, repetitive gameplay, and unengaging story. Players find the endless dialogue, too much walking, and simple content tedious, making the game feel like a chore rather than an interesting experience.
- Regret (weight 0.02): Players regret purchasing the game, especially due to its unfinished state and the inability to get a refund. This regret is amplified when they feel they've wasted money on an Early Access title that has not progressed as expected or has been abandoned.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Anger is directed at the game's poor quality, unfinished state, and perceived developer dishonesty or abandonment. Players feel scammed and insulted by the lack of progress and the developer's actions, viewing the game as a shameful product.
- Appreciation (weight 0.01): Players appreciate the game's art style, music, and story, as well as the development team's efforts. They value the developer's prompt responses, passion, care for players, and stances on issues like piracy and localization.
- Admiration (weight 0.01): Admiration is expressed for the developer's character, the game's beautiful pixel art, dialogue visuals, and promising story. Players are moved by the narrative, details, music, and the overall creativity and atmosphere of the game.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion stems from the game's unclear direction, identity, and originality, as well as random or incoherent story elements. Players are often puzzled by the narrative, lore, character motivations, and forced binary choices.
- Skepticism (weight 0.01): Skepticism revolves around the game's future development and the likelihood of it ever being fully finished or properly released. Players doubt past promises of consistent updates and worry about the game being rushed or abandoned.
- Sadness (weight 0.01): Sadness is felt due to the game's abandoned state, unfulfilled potential, and slowing development. Players express sadness over having to leave negative reviews and are sometimes emotionally affected by specific plot points, such as a dog's death.
- Concern (weight 0.01): Concern is raised for the game's development, longevity, and potential, especially regarding its unfinished state and perceived issues with DRM or review bombing. Players worry about the game being a scam or the impact on those who paid for an incomplete product.
- Anticipation (weight 0.01): Anticipation is focused on the game's full release, completed areas, and future updates. Players eagerly await the finished game and the progression of its story, looking forward to future emotional experiences.
- Support (weight 0.01): Players express support for the game and its developer, encouraging fair evaluation and backing positive actions. This support is often tied to the game's perceived value and the developer's efforts.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.01): Nostalgia is triggered by the game's old-school feel, retro style, and resemblance to older RPGs, particularly SNES titles. Players recall past enjoyment and fond memories associated with similar games.
- Love (weight 0.01): Love for the game is expressed due to its engaging stories, replayability, and the developer's work. Players often fall in love with the game after experiencing its demo or initial content.}