Bound

The story Bound presents is simple, it’s easy to relate to, and it’s one that’s not afraid to touch on some brutal realities. Yet, at the same time the raw emotion exhibited through the princess and her dance is enough to shine a little light in situations that can almost feel helpless.

Bound is an ugly game, but it’s the most powerful, most enchanting kind of ugly. It dares to reject videogames’ obsession with “looking good” and instead focuses on using visual design to complement the core themes and emotional hook of the game.

Bound follows the path of Journey but with its own innovations. A very intimate story, entertaining platform gameplay and an outstanding graphic design make this Santa Monica game a must-buy for PlayStation 4 players.

This is a beautiful example that “experiencing” a game is more important than the sum of its mechanical parts. While challenge and basic mechanics are merely average, the exquisite animations and the stylish backdrops turn this interactive ballet into an effective projection screen for your own emotions.

A delight. [Oct 2016, p.118]

I loved my time with BOUND. These are the kind of visual and conceptual offerings I want more of from smaller studios.

Unlike any other game on the PS4. Probably the most artfully executed game you'll experience this summer.

Beautiful, compelling and strange. There isn't a reason not to try Bound, and although its heavy emotional focus might not be for everyone, its well implemented movement and speed mechanics will surely be enough to keep even the most stone-hearted player entertained.

Bound brings a unique approach to the speedrunning platformer by putting the focus on a heartbreaking narrative and a beautiful dance mechanic to pull players through its world.

Bound it’s not only an unique and incredible experience, but proves once again the talent and creativity of their creators.

Bound is one of the most beautiful and magical games of the year. The mix between the art, Oleg's music, and the movement of our pretty ballerina makes Bound a unique experience, albeit it with simplistic gameplay.

Bound is such a poetic and different game. Sure its gameplay is minimalist, but the journey is quite dazzling.

Bound is a vague but undeniably powerful game. Its sweeping environments and spellbinding aesthetic invite you to look closer, appreciate its story, and find meaning through your own interpretation. The gameplay beneath is pleasant (if unremarkable) and dutifully supports the greater aim of giving the player something to reflect on.

Bound is easily one of the most stunning games to release on PS4, and if you’re searching for something a little different I heartily recommend it.

Bound is a great work from Plastic with a beautiful world and history.

Seeing Bound instantly begs the question, “What are you playing?” but its movement mechanics make it unsure if it wants to be an engaging platformer or a passive relaxing experience. It lives somewhere between the two worlds; never fully embracing either, but it sure looks pretty.

Bound takes you away on a dance trip to abstract locations with a mysterious background. It offers a unique twist to the classic 3D platform genre by focusing on the narrative and the visuals.

Bound is a visionary title, with a incredibly inspired art direction; unfortunately, the game has some gameplay flaws that prevent the player from fully enjoying the experience. It could have been something along the lines of Journey and Abzû, but it ends up being “just” a good game.

Underneath the distinctive surrealistic kingdom and its quirky inhabitants lies medicore platformer. That's quite okay for a game that takes a stage in such unique setting. You can feel the beauty of dancing in hero's every step. [Sept 2016]

Bound is a very good experiment on its visuals, audio and art direction; it's completely enjoyable. As a game could be better on the platforming challenges and introducing puzzles to the player.

Despite an underwhelming and needlessly confusing story, Bound's unique gameplay and fantastic art is er... bound to keep at least some souls enthralled.

A gorgeous platformer with an exceptionally unique protagonist and powerful narrative, Bound offers up all the elements of a compelling title that fits in with the growing list of games reaching for high art. It confusion about whether to fully commit to this is sadly to its own detriment though, sullying the underlying message and begging the question of what could’ve been.

It presents us with a thought-provoking canvas of color, movement, narrative and grace that, while imperfect in execution, is nonetheless beguiling and beautiful.

A decent platform elevated by stellar audio work, and a phenomenal artistic vision.

As a game, Bound is clearly flawed – its structure, however, is excellent and well realised to support multiple playthroughs with noticeably different experiences – but as an experience, as a piece of interactive art, it’s frequently sensational.

The gorgeous locales and emotional storytelling shine through exceptionally well via PSVR. With that said, it seems that virtual reality was not in the design plans from the get-go. Sure, it doesn’t get players motion sick, but there’s often a feeling of being lost when playing in VR that isn’t there during non-VR gameplay. [Tested with PSVR]

Bound's metaphorical story isn't subtle, but playing it is a meditative – if shallow – experience. [Tested with PSVR]

Bound is a work of art, carefully crafted to give players a memorable experience. If the gameplay had been more challenging, fluid, and present in the game, Bound could have been a title discussed for years. Despite this, Bound is a powerful narrative with a robust camera mode, impressive visuals, and haunting sound.

Bound is not a traditional game, but more of an artistic project. The gameplay is unique and the ballerina moves in an authentic way. But it is too low paced and doesn't deliver on important aspects. Still, it's worth a try if you are willing to dance.

Bound can invoke a lot of different emotions in few short minutes, but overall it's a beautiful artistic vision with a very shallow gameplay.

Movement here isn't just treated as a necessity of the gameplay, but as an expression of joy and healing.

While it may feel a bit too brief and its gameplay elements are largely underwhelming, Bound’s charming and intelligent story allow it to overcome its flaws in design and remain a satisfying and captivating experience.

Bound is more a work of visual art than a proper game: it deals with complex, touching issues like the strength of family ties and the willpower to chop 'em off or sew 'em up after a gash, and it offers a mesmerizing aesthetic with a colorful, ethereal level design. But the proper gameplay is poorly crafted and far from perfection. Not to mention that it will take only a couple of hours in order to be completed.

Play Bound for its incredible graphics, strong audio and an atmospheric experience, but be prepared to be underwhelmed on the gameplay front.

Bound is digital art installation. It's only in the game's final moments, when you're able to view the full breadth of the work, that it's clear this is a work of art that could not be accomplished in any other medium but this one.

Russian ballet and Kazimir Malévich polygons walk together in this journey, trying to be a thrilling, emotional and kaleidoscopic trip, although it ends up being a platform game with not so tight controls.

It’s not without its issues, but Bound presents traditional platforming mechanics with an artistic flair that really sets it apart.

Despite being a relatively-simple 3D platformer, Bound’s fantastic sense of movement and strange, dream-like world make it utterly unique. It’s a testament to phenomenal controls and sense of grace that I was able to set aside the camera and design flaws, and fully immerse myself in this strange, beautiful story.

A powerful, poignant story that utilizes a brilliantly crafted world and movement mechanic to help get its symbolism across. Its short length and lack of gameplay depth hold the experience as a whole back, however.

It's one of those games where the feelings and the visual impact are the center of the experience, above the gameplay or the replayability. And, on the artistic side, it definitely achieves some unforgettable moments.

Bound is a strange title. It's not a platform, neither a walking simulator. Is a game that values aesthetics over any other aspects, and for this reason in beautiful, different and flimsy.

Bound is trying to be a unique platformer with deep storytelling. Unfortunately neither of these parts reaches its potential. But Bound is still worth playing – especially for the stunning graphical style and the fantastic setting.

This isn't quite the indie, arthouse Ratchet and Clank, then, but it's distinctive, unusual and frequently inspired.

If you fancy a game that is a unique experience, Bound is certainly one that will get people talking even though it doesn't entirely meet all its goals.

But, despite all its flaws, Bound is undoubtedly a celebration of the female form, both physically and spiritually. And, for that, it could be said to be a game better viewed as one to experience rather than to play, and the fact that it tries to encompass so many deep psychological metaphors in the videogame format is an ambition worth praising.

Bound is a remarkable product on the audiovisual side, but the gameplay is really too thin and shallow in order to be forgiven.

Bound is a fascinating experience... at a first glance. Soon it reveals its limited mechanics.

A remarkable visual experience paired with an average game that is sometimes less than fun to play. [Nov 2016, p.74]

It’s unfortunately obvious how much Bound wanted to be like Journey, but it’s even more unfortunate that they go so close and yet failed to fully capture everything amazing about Journey.

I want to love Bound - the game has many great qualities and it's very creative - but a lot of the ideas don't come together in the gameplay.

Sadly Bound may be undeniably beautiful but in the most superficial kind of way. The problematic depiction of its overarching allegorical plot fails to provide substance to our experience and the extremely elegant animations are nothing more than a showpiece lacking any actual connection with the world around them.

In the end, its linearity, lack of gameplay diversity, and the low latency feel of your in-game actions all conspire to trip this tiny dancer up. Wait for it to become a PlayStation Plus freebie. [November 2016, p78]

Bound is undeniably beautiful, but a chasm between the player and the characters makes it difficult to empathize with them — unless you're willing and able to bridge the gap yourself.

Bound attracts attention for its visuals but the playing experience isn't as original or satisfactory as you expect at the beginning. The potential of the idea remains untapped.

For all my complaints, Bound is an interesting beast. The way it incorporates its animation style has been rarely, if ever done so well. It's well worth experiencing in some fashion, just maybe not at full price.

Bound is beautifully presented and will make you think, but its basic platforming doesn't have the legs that developer Plastic thinks it has. Fans of emotionally charged titles like Gone Home will be satisfied with what's on offer here – but those looking for a quality platformer may want to dance with something a little more competent in that department.

It’s a shame there’s not more to Bound than there is. The artists are incredibly talented people and the visuals they’ve crafted can legitimately be described as poetry in motion. Sadly, graphics can only go so far and there’s nothing of significance past them, reducing Bound to being another beautiful art-house trifle that doesn’t capitalize on its potential.

I dare say I’d have had a lot more fun watching someone else playing it as opposed to playing it myself. Simply soaking in the color and music is captivating. All that splendor, however, is balanced with equal weight by the troubling truth that it’s just really, really not that enjoyable to play.

Bound‘s vistas seem metaphorically disconnected from its backstory, which feels crudely tacked on—like a clever tech demo with gravitas shoehorned in. The pitch “a child dances to banish memory demons” sounds powerful, but the connection points are missing. There’s no sense of coming to grips with, much less banishing, anything.

Mocap team, the dancer and the choreographer did a great job, and it’s a pity their effort was wasted on such a mediocre game. [11/2016, p.58]