Hello friends! Welcome to Born of Bread, a home-cooked turn-based role-playing adventure full of fun characters, charming stories, and fresh, interactive combat. Beings from another age are causing havoc across the land and their mischief comes as a great threat for everyone. The unlikeliest hero, Loaf, a golem born of bread who possesses a never-ending childlike wonder, finds himself and his newfound friends in the middle of a drama that’s thousands of years in the making. Adventure awaits!
Born of Bread centers around our doughy protagonist Loaf, a flour-based hero with many abilities that can aid him in his efforts against those pesky trespassers. Loaf was initially called Chap, and he was designed to be a living cardboard cutout! His appearance went through a few iterations, but I always tried to keep his design very simple and recognizable.
Although bread is tasty on its own, it requires other ingredients to make a sandwich, Loaf needs companions to really get cooking. It’s up to you to build up a party of allies on Loaf’s quest to stop the unruly invaders wreaking havoc about town.
His friends include Lint the racoon, a neurotic aspiring writer with a penchant for digging who can attack with his tail and manuscripts. Lint was the first buddy I designed! We wanted a partner character that lived in the forest, and I initially explored a monster look, but we ended up really liking the idea of a raccoon character.
Yagi, a talented goat martial artist who can materialize ethereal platforms by meditating and land flaming strikes on enemies. Yagi was the last buddy to be designed, and he took the least amount of exploration! We wanted a goat warrior inspired by shonen protagonists, so a few silly sketches later, Yagi was born.
Chloe, a young aspiring detective with a lantern that can burn obstacles and who can use her deduction skills to inflict status ailments. Chloe was one of the hardest characters to design. She started out as a mouse, then a cat, then a snow person, etc. Once I landed on the humanoid snowfling idea, her hair became the next big challenge.
Utilizing the skills of Loaf’s companions is key to success against the invaders, with each of them bringing their own special ingredients to the mix. As well as interacting with the world using their talents to aid progression and overcome obstacles, they’re also a huge help to Loaf in an involved and interactive turn-based combat system, often levelling the playing field when Loaf would otherwise be outnumbered. You can choose the order of attack for your party and use their unique moves, with precise timing during various minigames needed to really get the most out of your attacks. For basic moves, like walloping a foe with a ladle or tail, you’ll need to hit a button the moment a needle crosses the green part of a meter to deal extra damage. More powerful blows, like using the dreaded Druidic Sickle, require you to rock the joystick as quickly as possible to fill up a meter for maximum damage. These cost Will Points, however, so use them wisely. For rare emergencies you can deploy Special Attacks using rare Resolve Points. For example, Loaf’s Roast special will prevent him from taking any damage at all. Simply hold X to heat up – but be careful not to overheat. Nobody likes burnt toast after all!
Just as important as a good offense is a strong defense, and you can mitigate damage by pressing X the moment an enemy makes contact with you. Quick reflexes are also crucial to kicking off combat encounters, as a good smack to an enemy during the game’s exploration phase will ensure that you get to take the first turn in battle. Great players will also do well to keep in mind the type matchups, as each enemy has their own strengths and weaknesses.
Any chef worth their salt will tell you that presentation is extremely important and Born of Bread delivers with a clean and cartoonish art style, complete with colourful visuals and beautiful backdrops. The 2.5D aesthetic transforms a run-of-the-flour-mill side scroller into one with depth and verticality – Loaf and his friends are able to explore areas much larger than they first appear.
The world is full of useful items too, such as apples, chocolate cakes and croissants used to replenish Hit Points, Will Points, and Resolve Points during your breaks between fisticuffs (don’t think too hard about the fact that Loaf is eating baked pastries).
You won’t have to wait long to see what adventures Loaf and his buddies have in store, as Born of Bread emerges from the oven December 5 on PS5. Bon appetit!
