Nightbound is a cozy apocalypse until the sun goes down

Picture this: the end of the world has been and gone, and you’re alone in a house while a deadly plague of zombified plant life invades every night. And then, out of the blue, another person finds your house, believes it to be abandoned, and breaks in to find themselves some food. That’s the very beginning of the story of Nightbound.

Nightbound, by Crooked Cats Studio, is a game that feels like it’s split into two halves, but those halves work perfectly in sync with each other to create something unique and, honestly, pretty incredible. Remember in Shrek when Fiona says, “by night one way, by day another?” That pretty much sums up Nightbound. 

The end of days

The end of the world in Nightbound comes with the Bloom, a strange plant-like zombie or alien species (honestly, it could be either) that seems hell-bent on ending all human life. They come out at night, so survivors can wander and explore during the day, and that’s how Jun ends up inadvertently breaking into Loren’s family home. 

Loren has been single-handedly protecting the home ever since the Bloom took over, and when Jun breaks in to steal some beans, she’s not exactly happy about it. I can’t blame her; even at the end of the world, I think my introvert side would be pretty upset if a stranger suddenly invaded my space. Still, what begins as an accidental home invasion quickly becomes so much more: the start of a beautiful friendship. 

Of course, things don’t exactly run smoothly, and Loren doesn’t immediately open her home to this random dude who waltzed in. She offers him one night, then another, then a few more days to fix up the van that she hopes will take her north to the colder climate, where the Bloom are said to be unable to survive. 

In the light of day

I love the daytime in Nightbound, mostly because of the cute little activities you can do with or for Loren. You play as Jun, and you’re free to explore Loren’s house, water her plants, cook her dinner, and otherwise just get to know this new space that has apparently become your safe zone.

While exploring, you’ll come across a few unexpected minigames that, when played, help to build the trust and friendship between the unlikely new friends. There’s a ball-throwing game that gets them laughing, but it’s the cooking that’s my favorite. I am a fan of rhythm games like DDR, so when I realized cooking came with a side of that, I was sold. 

The day doesn’t come to an end until you choose to rest on the couch until nightfall, when you need to be up and ready to fend off the Bloom creatures that invade the house. That’s when things in Nightbound shift, and the strangely cozy vibes of the day are quickly forgotten once darkness sets in. 

What hides in the dark

Every night in Nightbound plays out through turn-based combat in which you control both Jun and Loren. You have 3 CP that can be used to move them or attack, but you need to be careful; if you run out of stamina, you might find yourself in some incredibly sticky situations. 

Both Loren and Jun have guns with apparently infinite ammo, something I’m infinitely grateful for in any game that has that as a feature. Each gets two shots per turn when you control them, and while Loren does some major damage, Jun has the ability to upgrade his weapon using resin won through the nightly battles, so he eventually overtakes her as the main damage dealer. 

On the plus side, both Jun and Loren do damage even when it’s the enemy's turn. As soon as an enemy gets within a certain range of either character, they automatically pull their weapon and shoot, which provides a lovely little bit of bonus damage but isn’t always enough to get you out of a tight spot. 

Surviving the apocalypse is hard work

I was feeling pretty proud of myself after the first night, to tell you the truth. I got through it relatively unscathed; Jun and Loren were developing a bond and the house was more or less in one piece. But then the second night came, and I realized that the first night had been treating me with kid gloves and merely providing a tutorial. 

The difficulty of the second night absolutely skyrocketed compared to the first. Suddenly I had mortar shells directed at me every turn, spores that were growing gradually as the battle went on, and far more enemies than I knew how to deal with. The second night took me three attempts, but we got there in the end, and I celebrated. 

When the third night hit, that’s when I knew I was in trouble, because there were new flying bugs, and nobody likes flying bugs, especially not ones that are actively trying to kill you. And to top it all off, as if things weren’t bad enough by this point, the Bloom are smart… They started sneaking up behind me. Remember when I said Jun and Loren shoot automatically when the Bloom get in line of sight? 

Sadly, neither of them has eyes in the back of their heads.

I’ve completely fallen for this game of two halves, and I can’t wait to see what else Nightbound has to offer when it is released. The full game is set to come out at some point in January 2027, so not too long to wait. Until then, you can go and play the demo on Steam right now.