Once I sat all the way down to play Bounty Star throughout Summer time Sport Fest, I used to be bought the moment I noticed this was a Wild West-themed mech recreation with massive Cowboy Bebop vitality all a couple of very unhappy outdated bounty hunter named Clem. I am undecided I’ve ever seen a set of vibes so laser-targeted towards me, particularly, and by chance the precise gameplay looks like a style mix simply as compelling.
The motion in Bounty Star takes place throughout a collection of missions with particular maps and enemy layouts. The stage I performed was fairly open-ended, providing a wide range of methods to strategy your targets – essential, since simply sprinting straight in will rapidly go away you surrounded by extra dangerous guys than you may take care of, particularly when you issue within the patrolling enemies that may wander in to offer you a nasty day.
Fight is good and weighty, and whereas it may be a cliché to say it jogged my memory of Darkish Souls, FromSoftware’s personal Armored Core makes a pleasant comparability level. It’s important to commit to your melee assaults, no less than for those who’re utilizing the default sword, nevertheless it’s very satisfying as soon as it lands. Your loadout appears to matter in an enormous means, too – I actually struggled to finish the opening mission till I swapped out the sword for a a lot sooner punching weapon and paired it with an enormous ol’ grenade launcher that simply melted enemy well being bars.
However as a lot as I loved the fight, it is the downtime between missions that basically has me intrigued. You discover a hub that features the storage the place Clem works on her mech and a little bit of outlying land the place you may develop and decide components, Stardew Valley-style. You’ll be able to then put these components right into a meal that’ll buff you for the mission forward, similar to cooking one thing up in Monster Hunter. The sport’s Steam web page additionally notes that there are “base constructing” mechanics, so it appears there’s lots extra depth to be discovered right here.
I solely bought to play about half-hour of Bounty Star, however impeccable vibes unfold over nice fight and an intriguing meta-progression system immediately had me hooked. It is rocketed up my wishlist, and I am very a lot wanting ahead to seeing how the ultimate recreation comes collectively when it launches throughout Xbox Collection X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, and PC later this 12 months.
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