Songbringer (2017)

Songbringer is an action-packed sci-fi RPG that combines swordplay, hidden secrets, dungeons, fierce bosses, and much more. In this game, you take on the role of Roq Epimetheos, an accidental hero with a knack for music and a love of adventure. Roq travels across the galaxy aboard his spaceship, Songbringer, alongside his trusty companion, the skybot Jib. They seek out verdant planets free from the watchful eyes of galactic law enforcement, seeking fun, music, and excitement. However, when Roq stumbles upon an ancient nanosword hidden deep within a cave on the planet Ekzera, he unknowingly awakens an ancient evil. Despite this dark twist, the nanosword proves invaluable—it hums with power, waiting to be wielded.

Meet Jib, the Skybot

Jib wasn’t always a robot. Once, he was a human boy living on the skycity planet Yuerder. With a strong interest in artificial intelligence and programming, Jib eventually chose a career in this field. On his deathbed, he illegally transferred his consciousness into a skybot, severing the connection with his original human form to prevent any mind overwriting. As a skybot, Jib can scan fallen enemies to discover hidden loot and even gain new abilities, such as stunning foes. Jib is typically controlled by AI but can also be played by a second player in local co-op mode. Despite being a robot, Jib is obsessed with mustaches, something he can never grow as a machine.

Procedural Generation: A Unique World Every Time

When starting a new adventure, players are prompted to choose a 6-letter world seed. This seed is crucial for procedurally generating the game’s world, overworld, secrets, and dungeons. The same seed always creates the same world, regardless of platform, allowing for shared experiences and competition among players. You can challenge yourself by playing on an unfamiliar world seed or aim for speedruns by revisiting familiar ones.

Open and Non-Linear Exploration

The world of Songbringer is entirely open and non-linear. You have the freedom to head in any direction, exploring the vast terrain and uncovering dungeons in any order. The game doesn’t force you to pick up the sword right away—giving you the freedom to approach challenges at your own pace. Throughout each world, there are nine dungeons to discover, each with its own unique features. Some dungeons are integral to progressing through the game, containing important puzzles and items. Others are hidden, offering side quests that unlock new abilities. Some dungeons are especially challenging, filled with powerful enemies, mobs, and bosses that will test your skills to the limit.

Secrets and the Power of Cacti

The world of Songbringer is full of mysteries waiting to be uncovered. By consuming cacti, Roq gains psychedelic powers, allowing him to perceive hidden secrets and treasures that are otherwise invisible to the naked eye. These secrets may include rare items, powerful artifacts, or essential resources. Some items can even be combined to create unique artifacts. For instance, if Roq finds a blink orb and a fire cube, he can bring them to the droidsmith aboard the Songbringer ship. The droidsmith can combine these items into a fire orb, granting Roq the ability to teleport forward while turning into a fiery projectile.

Progression Without Experience Points

Songbringer eschews the traditional experience points (XP) system commonly found in RPGs. Instead, progression is achieved by defeating enemies, defeating bosses, and obtaining lost technological relics. This allows for a more action-driven progression model, where the focus is on combat and exploration rather than grinding for levels.

Leaderboards and Global Rankings

Upon completing a quest, several factors are used to calculate your overall score. These factors include the time it took to complete the quest, the percentage of the map explored, the percentage of items collected, and the game mode chosen (regular or permadeath). Afterward, your score is added to a global leaderboard that tracks players based on the world seed. The leaderboard is regularly updated, with new world seeds being added, and you can view the most popular or freshest seeds. If you want to compete in a specific seed, you can override the automatic cycles to view it.

Songbringer is a fresh and fun take on the action RPG genre. The procedural worlds keep things interesting, and exploring dungeons and uncovering secrets never feels stale. Combat is simple but satisfying, and the mix of puzzles, bosses, and hidden treasures gives the game plenty of variety.

The story is light and playful, with quirky characters like Roq and Jib adding charm. The game’s open structure lets you tackle challenges in any order, making each playthrough feel unique. The leaderboard system adds a nice competitive edge without forcing you into repetitive grinding.

Overall, we recommend Songbringer for anyone looking for a short but engaging RPG adventure. It’s easy to pick up, fun to explore, and full of surprises. Definitely worth your time if you enjoy creative worlds and simple, rewarding gameplay.