Born of Bread has left me feeling nostalgic and warm. It’s a throwback to the classic 2D RPGs I played in the early noughties, with a 2.5D twist.
From developers WildArts Studio, the game follows the exciting story of Loaf, a boy made of bread. The premise alone sounds adorable.
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Kneading the Dough (Story)
The story begins in the Royal Kingdom. As the royal Baker is requested to try a new recipe, it results in creating a sentient golem — or to put it simply, a bread boy.
Once you are welcomed into the world, Papa Baker is quick to adopt you as his own and lovingly names you Loaf.
While the Baker is taking in his new pride and joy, something sinister is happening to a group of archaeologists. The archaeologists, also known as the Knowledge Guild, have gone digging in the wrong tomb. Their seemingly innocent exploration mission has unleashed an unruly gang of demons on the world.
These demons are after the precious Sun Crystals, and will not stop until they find them.
This is where the adventure begins.
As Loaf, you have taken on the heroic responsibility to find the Sun Crystals and save the kingdom. Luckily for Loaf, he’s not alone and makes several friends along the way. On your journey you meet a variety of quirky characters, discover new environments and enjoy a doughy pun or two.
The game offers a fun feeling with its bright colours, odd enemies — and even Disney references!
You can tell the story doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is not always a bad thing.
Your journey sees you travel through forests, tombs, towns and farmland, offering an abundance of exciting themes in each one.
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There’s plenty to find along the way, including hidden treasures, side quests and different types of enemies.
Each biome is as vibrant and colourful as the last, even the dungeons give off that whimsical feeling.
Bake the Bread (Gameplay)
Born of Bread is a platformer at heart, just watch out for water — bread and water don’t mix. This quickly became frustrating for me, I fell into many bodies of water! It takes a big hit to Loaf’s HP.
The gameplay is quite simple. In the beginning, you wander around and hit objects with a soup ladle, your first weapon in the game.
The enemies are quite common, so if you enjoy combat you will be challenged plenty. However, if you’re quick on your feet you can avoid combat altogether (if that is more of your style).
Its platforming mechanics are a fun way to explore further into the next area or to reach any hidden treasures in sight. Overall the gameplay formula is simple and easy for any player to pick up and understand.
It’s important to note that this game does not have an autosave function. I learnt this the hard way when I thought passing checkpoint balloons meant I was in the clear. As someone who always forgets to save in any game, this was very frustrating. Please, if you’re planning to play this game, remember to constantly save!
Turn up the Heat (Combat)
Born of Bread features turn-based combat, not too dissimilar to Paper Mario. During battle, Loaf uses either WP or RP to attack. These stats can be upgraded and different types of weapons use one or the other.
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Each weapon has a different type of execution; press the right button at the right time, like a QTE (Quick Time Event), or joggling the joystick if playing with a controller. The movement variables make each weapon feel unique.
On each turn, you have the option to Attack, Defend, Use an Item, Special Attack or Flee — all these options become available on your team’s turn.
In my playthrough, I found focussing on upgrading WP was the best practice, as the majority of my attacks and weapons used that element most.
Word of advice: Pay attention to your stats!
Early game, you come across a Dragon named Dub who acts as Loaf’s Technical Support. Throughout the game he offers you advise and even livestreams your combat.
You have the option to read the chat and see what your fans are saying, and can monitor the viewer’s happiness level. This is an odd aspect of the game and honestly feel like the game would go well without it as I found no real benefit to the chat commentating my combat.
Baked and a Little Crispy (Graphics and Performance)
Graphically, Born of Bread is full of charm. Exploring the world was like diving straight into a story book. I instantly felt 10 again, playing cartoon-like RPGs on my old brick of a PC.
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But it wasn’t all perfect.
In some scenes, if I accidentally moved Loaf into an awkward position there was a flashing glitch. I also occasionally found myself disappearing and reappearing. I’m unsure of the trigger, but there were a few instances when I “died” and it would stay stuck on the Game Over screen. This forced me to completely close the game and restart it.
It’s a dampener on any immersion. But all of that said, it thankfully didn’t take too much away from my experience.
Born of Bread is a fun, vibrant and wholesome RPG for players of any age.
This was a real doughy treat to play! Despite some minor bugs, the game creates a sense of silliness in the best of ways.
Quest Daily scores Born of Bread:
7.5/10
Quest Daily was granted a review code by the publisher for the purpose of this article.
