ELDERBORN is a Metal Action Fantasy Slasher with brütal FPP melee combat and souls-like/RPG character progression. In the times of legend, the barbarian tribes need a new dark messiah. The player becomes a merciless slayer who will uncover ancient secrets in the city of doom, and forge their own destiny. This ambitious indie game, five years in the making, combines old-school single-player feel, a classic heroic story, and modern level of skill-based challenge. All this and more creates an action-packed, lore-filled, engaging adventure that will last 8-10 hours in a single play-through. Prepare for: Skill-based, souls-like melee combat in first person perspective, complete with 11 varied weapons to master Character progression and skill system that allows you to play the game in your very own way A hand-crafted, mysterious, and dangerous world to explore – catacombs, ancient, monolithic city, and more
Game Discussion
Steam User 8
ELDERBORN is kinda like Dark Souls and DOOM had a little badass low-poly baby raised by an indie studio that provided metal music and monster energy drinks instead of milk. And it's simple. You charge in with a sword, hacking through enemies like you're auditioning for a Viking metal band, with the combat satisfying enough to be borderline therapeutic. The story? It’s there, but honestly, who cares when you’re too busy cleaving las esqueletos and smashing sh*t? If you’ve ever wanted to feel like the world’s angriest barbarian with a little buzz and a caffeine high, this is a game. 8.5/10 would swing axe again.
Steam User 7
Fun combat, nice difficulty, keeps you on your toes. The main story is a tad short, around 5-6 hours on normal difficulty, but there is a new game+ which opens up some new areas and enemy types. The combat is fun enough to make replaying it not a big deal.
Steam User 7
ELDERBORN is a fun, short hack n slash! Has cool weapons, good controls, only downside is that it's super short
Steam User 3
Short, sweet, and shockingly well-tuned, Elderborn's sheer confidence and charm are more than enough to make it easy to recommend, even if some odd design choices clutter the edges.
Elderborn feels like it might owe Robert E. Howard some royalties, but we'll give it some slack. Set in an unidentified age of swords, sorcery, and bloodshed, the player is cast as a nameless barbarian who is tasked with entering the sealed city of Jurmum for reasons that are initially unclear. Mechanically, the first two thirds of the game are a treat, a heavy metal, high-octane dungeon crawl. Navigating traps and monsters alike, the player begins to piece together the sordid history of the necropolis and their role in the destiny of this place.
Mechanically, I'd say that the game feels oftentimes like a first-person Dark Souls, but that's reductive. Combat's light-attack, heavy-attack, and parry combos are certainly reminiscent, but there's no real stamina bar to contend with and combat is often as stylish and brutal as it is fast-paced and a tad jank. The kick move is the culmination of these points, being at tactically useful, not quite as responsive as I'd like, fun to use, and wickedly funny all at once. It feels extremely good to play, but when the game eschews its tight dungeoneering for combat arenas, the influence of more modern arena-based shooters becomes evident. In this way, Elderborn feels like a game trapped between the design ethos of yesteryear but the game genre conventions of today.
That's not a mark against it though; like I said, Elderborn feels great to play. The levels are sprawling and reward exploration, a great way of pacing out the more intense pace of moment-to-moment combat. Accompanying this is a dynamic, heavy metal soundtrack that is, in a word, awesome. Seriously. It's the real star of the show here. If nothing else, you owe it to yourself to give it a listen.
That said, I've got gripes; nothing deal-breaking, but they're worth noting nonetheless. Some of the enemies, namely the scutum-bearing undead, are a pain to deal with, and the game almost has too many weapons for all of them to be useful. The XP/Skill tree in the game is a little under-baked, not always explaining how different stats impact play, as well. However, I really want to call out the game's ending for being, while not inappropriate for genre, a bit of a let down. I couldn't shake the feeling that the game's third act was cut short; due to development time constraints or budgetary constraints, I cannot say. The last act of the game pivots away from dungeoneering entirely for a variety of combat arenas, and doing so feels unnatural and stilted in a way the rest of the title didn't; combined with a somewhat weak narrative denouement that I won't spoil here, and I'm left feeling like Elderborn couldn't quite stick the landing.
That said, I think it's hard not to recommend Elderborn, even with its rough edges. As indie games go, Elderborn isn't interested in wasting your time, and the design on display is solid indeed. Just think of it like the video game equivalent of one of the lesser Conan the Barbarian - short and sweet but maybe not likely to stick with you long afterwards.
Steam User 4
I only got a bit over an hour in this game, just finished the first world.
Would I recommend this game for 12,49€? Mmmmmaybe.
It is not a very deep experience, but the combat (the main mechanic of the game) is fun and satisfying.
The OST is okay, graphics are meh. Level design is a bit boring as well, but it does its thing when the main aspect is combat.
I got the game on sale for 2,49€. So if you are into fun gorey combat (like Dark Messiah, for example), this game definitely is worth the full price. I'm enjoying it quite much!
Steam User 3
might be the only first person souls game on steam that i am aware of and have played but i decided to try it out since it was dirt cheap for the summer sale. safe to say, it's badass. the combat is fun, the environments are cool, the music is awesome (probably my favorite part), and the combat flows well. it brings plenty of souls aspects together while also seeming to take some inspiration from the doom games in the way that it's layed out, as well as how the enemies attack and what not. the story is ok, nothing too crazy but you can find some lore scattered around that provides a little more depth of what's going on. overall, the bosses were fun and it was a fast paced blast to playthrough and once again, a first person soulslike game which is uncommon and unique. if you're into souls games, this one isn't long and it's unique in the genre. the music is awesome to blast at full volume and overall the game is a gem! recommended, especially on a deep sale.
Steam User 7
Cons: Cartoony, Warcraft-like look
Monster design is meh
They say its in style of Robert Howard, but I wasn't aware he did shrooms. Its really far from Conan and Kull though.
Pros: Its cheap, especially on a sale
It goes well when you are drunk or tired and just want to relax and slash monsters
Combat is alright, very basic, but solid
Kinda nostalgic, reminds of early 2000s games in terms of both game design and model quality
Its kinda good for moments when you look at your library and think "I'm tired of all these games, what should I play."