A hero bun or a hero bun?! 

Born of Bread puts us in control of Loaf, a flour golem who, with his skills and those of his friends, will face beings from other eras while exploring a colorful and very charming world. 

Produced by WildArts Studios and published by Dear Villagers, the game arrived on December 5 and is available for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, and Switch. 



Warm bread and a good story never hurt anyone

Born of Bread places us in a childlike world full of humor, recapturing the essence of good old Paper Mario. Here, we see dimensional creatures invade the planet in search of the Sunstone Shards, artifacts of power that allow these villains to do as they please. While they set off on their evil mission, in another place, far away from there, a baker ends up bringing to life a more than special bun, Loaf.

Loaf is a flour golem, a sentient creature capable of making its own decisions and exploring the world. Like a child, Loaf finds himself in a new world full of adventures to follow. Together with his "father", Loaf takes the first steps in his life as an explorer.

At one point, they are both surprised by this dimensional gang and are forced to confront them. But in a fight that is lost before it even begins, Loaf and his father are defeated and thrown into a distant forest. There, our hero Loaf must face creatures and challenges as he searches for ways out of the place.



It's on this quest that he meets his first partner, Lint, a nervous raccoon, but capable of digging holes that generate new paths for us to follow. 

This is the narrative essence of Born of Bread. As we set out to contain this new threat, we discover new friends who join our group to increase our power and make the journey more fun. 

With light and humorous dialogues, the game becomes a pleasant experience, good for children and adults alike. Focused especially on entertaining children, the game doesn't offer us a dense narrative, but it's pleasant enough to keep us engaged in the story.

However, the excess of text and the slowness of some transitions break the rhythm of the game, which ends up making it boring over time. Gradually, you stop caring about the story because it gets in the way of the gameplay. And if there's one thing that rules a game, it's the gameplay.



And speaking of gameplay...

Born of Bread's gameplay is a bit undercooked, to be honest. The game has interesting features, such as turn-based combat involving cards and minigames/quick-time events, but it kind of shatters expectations of the game because at first glance, Born of Bread is an action game where combat takes place in the setting itself. 

In addition, Born of Bread has a lot of screen transitions and pauses that are longer than they should be, which makes the game even more lost in its rhythm. While exploration is fluid and intuitive, combat and other interactions slow down the pace, which made my experience rather tedious. 

The game also has a very confusing camera positioning system. Several times you'll be unable to see the scenery because your teammates are covering your view. Other times, you simply won't be able to see certain places because the camera doesn't cover the scene properly. 

The gaming experience is also impacted by unresponsive menus and clear bugs. Sometimes, I tried to access a certain item but couldn't select it because the game wouldn't show me whether it was available for selection or was already under my control. Other times, when trying to use a healing or power recovery item, if all my characters were already at full life or energy, it wasn't possible to return to the menu to cancel the action, which kept me stuck in the game, forcing me to restart it every time. 

When playing with the joystick, one of Loaf's abilities, which requires action with the analogs, seemed less than optimal.



Warm graphics

Visually speaking, Born of Bread is a very pleasant game that recalls the experience of playing Paper Mario. Colorful and sweet, the game builds a light and very cozy atmosphere, with well-produced scenery in a 2.5D art style.

The characters are endearing and have pleasant personalities, even if they aren't that striking. But I think it's hard to connect with them because of the dragging narrative, which gradually makes us care less about the story.

Loaf is a well-loved character with the potential to become something greater than he is today, especially because of the gameplay and narrative issues that prevent the character from growing. I suggest that the game be re-examined, especially about the game's pacing. 



The soundtrack is pleasant and nostalgic, featuring childish and original elements that allow the player to get used to the setting. The effects are also pleasant and complement the game experience well. Although simple, the soundtrack manages to produce feelings and engage, which is fundamental in games that appeal to children.

For this review, Born of Bread was played on PC via Steam.

Thanks to Dear Villagers for providing the access key that made this content possible.