Among the many games that have inspired numerous indie titles over the years, the Paper Mario series stands out as a prominent source of inspiration. And it’s not hard to see why, as the mix of 2D and 3D graphics with timing-based combat and a storybook feel makes for this irresistible blend that easy leads to many spiritual successors (helped by the fact that the actual Paper Mario games have still been in a slump). One such successors was on display at PAX East 2023, and it may just be a contender for one of the most enjoyable ones yet. That would be Born of Bread, developed by WildArts and being one of the clear highlights of the Dear Villagers booth (especially as the other game I checked out, their newly-announced ballooning adventure Passing By, was promising but too early in development).
Appropriately enough for game inspired by a series with a storybook atmosphere, Born of Bread also draws inspiration from one of the most famous fantasy stories ever, the Adventures of Pinocchio, by starting out with our hero, a young flour golem named Loaf, being magically born to a royal baker. Unfortunately, the queen doesn’t take kindly to a literal dough boy being created in her midst, and not helping matters is a the sudden attack by a group of demonic-looking enemies. After getting blasted out of the castle and into the woods, Loaf and his dad now have to find their way back to the city, joined up later by a young raccoon who’s been lost for a while.
Combat-wise, Born of Bread plays exactly like you’d expect a game like Paper Mario to, with turn-based combat where your attacks are amplified by successfully completing a proper button press or mini-game. The same goes for defense, except you have to properly judge when to press the button to block based on timing alone, going by the enemy’s animation. And defense is important here, because time it perfectly, and you gain back Will Points, which can be used towards certain attacks. On top of that, attacks also have different elements to them as well, with the proper one dealing even more damage to an enemy weak to that element. So there’s a nice level of strategy and challenge on display here.
Any good RPG also needs a well-crafted world to explore as well, and even with just the woods to check out in the demo, Born of Bread succeeds in that area as well. Aside from being impressive on a visual level, you quickly discover quite a few secrets to hunt for, such as various loot or dolls to return to a mysterious lady that you have to listen for. A good chunk of this requires a nice blend of platforming and skills that our characters can use in the overworld, both of which are nicely showcased as you hop around and have your buddy dig through obstacles. Part of the area was blocked off by some sort of gang, though, suggesting that we’d be coming back later to deal with them as well.
The demo ended with a successful return to the city, but now with Loaf’s father being arrested for the chaos that they’ve created. That’s quite the impressive hook, and so far that seems be only a portion of the story, as well as only a bit of its cast. Born of Bread may not be the most unique successor to the Paper Mario throne on the surface (though some of its more unique features, like an in-universe Twitch chat that can lead to unique rewards, weren’t available yet for the demo), but it has enough charm, humor and clever twists that can make it more than a worthy contender to check out when it arrives this summer.
