Bound

Bound (2016) is a traversal game where you play a dancer in an abstract world who must take on metaphorical monsters to protect her mother in the real world. Play involves moving through the world making baletic jumps and leaps from platform to platform. It stands out for the unusual traversal and how it mirrors the dancer's fractured combative relationships with their mother.

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You play an unnamed ballet dancer who must traverse surreal, dreamlike environments that collapse and coalesce in response to your presence. Dance moves embellish your movement and have the practical benefit of repelling enemies that block your path.

As you progress you are rewarded with glimpses of the dancer's real life. She is pregnant and you discover the conflict in the dances comes from her parents' unpleasant divorce. As you dance, you process these emotions and come to terms with expecting your own child.

The result is a game, as David Heineman describes it, that's as much about people as it is about dancing. It escapes having a clear hero or villain, instead being critical of the whole cast from time to time. By the end, we have danced our way to understanding the pain and beauty of family relationships. Through movement, we find a way to persevere through conflicts and flaws.

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Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Bound 10 months ago. It was re-examined by Thom Robertson and updated 5 days ago.