SRPG Ledgerbound is a maturely humorous take on the epic fantasy adventures that permeate the subgenre. Workaholic insurance adjuster Rayna is content with getting overtime and reading smutty novels in the rare instances when she isn’t in the office. She also enjoys “talking” with her best friend, a Hat Rack with a heavy accent. Naturally, Rayna’s not at all prepared for the three legendary heroes of the realm’s quick defeat at the hands of a returning ancient evil, let alone when an investigative visit to the site of their unfortunate demise accidentally imbues her with powerful Elder Magic.
Afterward, Rayna must embark on a world-saving quest, if only to prove that the legendary heroes were insufficiently prepared to battle the aforementioned ancient evil and therefore deny their loved ones’ life insurance claims. Can Rayna manage to save the day when the heroes failed? If it helps, she’s joined by a band of highly eclectic, hapless misfits who include Rayna’s spunky dragon HR rep, the thirty-third feline prince of the realm, an anxious fire mage prone to spontaneous combustion, and a cave-dweller with a bag full of seemingly infinite rats and memory loss issues.
Ledgerbound is a well-rounded, comedic SRPG that those gamers who don’t mind occasionally raunchy humor and the dropping of several f-bombs might be keen to try out, particularly if surprisingly endearing found family stories and a smidgen of romance/relationship-building is up their alley.
I laughed loudly throughout my time playing Ledgerbound, largely because of the party’s reactions to the story’s crazy shenanigans. The dialogue is tongue-in-cheek, populated with memorable characters who’ll grow on you past their quirks. I must admit I probably related to Rayna more than I should have at times. She’s a great protagonist with a well-written and well-conveyed personal journey as she adjusts to matters beyond simply existing through work. The narrative is extremely choice-heavy, with a lot of your decisions when interacting with characters, including from a potential romance or hook-up angle, coming back in surprising ways in later scenes.
Because of this, bonding with party members is a narrative highlight of the game. Ledgerbound’s relationship-building aspect is incredibly detailed and surprisingly nuanced, with both mature content and a surprising amount of actual romance and heart should you decide to approach it from that angle. I honestly enjoyed interacting with the characters so much that I had a hard time choosing which love story to pursue. However, the enemies-to-lovers slow burn between Rayna and Cazian ultimately swayed me. Friendship and platonic love amidst the party was also touchingly celebrated.
Since bonding with characters during camp sequences between fights is a key component of the game, I enjoyed the way Ledgerbound implements bureaucracy. Time management during camp is crucial. Most actions, including conversing with characters, cost time and can also raise Rayna’s burnout meter. Fortunately, the game sprinkles ways to mitigate burnout throughout. Rayna can not only converse and bond with party members, but also undergo HR-mandated training and retry story battles to obtain all battle objectives, which in turn pleases “the Shareholders” and unlocks further scenes or rewards.
Depending on how well you do during fights, you gain swag that you can then equip onto party members for extra stat bonuses and effects, as well as liabilities that you sign off on that can also be equipped to provide both passive and active perks/abilities during combat.
Of course, as entertaining as the time management and VN story sequences during camp are, Ledgerbound is first and foremost an SRPG. In battle, Rayna and the rest of her comrades fight on a gridded map where you move the party forward to combat enemies. Depending on job class and skill sets, attack ranges vary. Each character also has an elemental affinity that makes them stronger or weaker against an enemy’s affinities. Certain squares on the battle map are imbued with an element too, and characters with the matching element are strengthened by standing on it or weakened if they’re of an opposing element.
Battle objectives differ from the “defeat every enemy” variety to “move to the designated spot” types. There are also several optional battle objectives that further reward you for conquering them, such as keeping everyone alive or defeating a specific character when they’re standing on a specific element spot. The variety of objectives helps each story battle feel unique. Since Rayna’s an insurance adjuster, should a party member fall in combat, you have to fill out the appropriate injury HR form when back at camp before you’re able to talk to them again.
Graphics-wise, Ledgerbound is a colorful game with expressive, detailed character art in both battles and its VN story scenes. The UI is well-suited not only to the game’s bureaucratic tone but also to the fantasy feel it’s aiming for. The script is well-written and largely error-free, with updates implemented to improve its presentation further. The voice acting is also phenomenal, with the omnipresent narrator and the party members in particular providing stellar deliveries. Ledgerbound‘s music (composed by Diego Chi) and sound effects suitably fit as well.
There’s no manual saving in Ledgerbound. Instead, the game relies on constant autosaving, so you have to live with your choices in any given playthrough. While I understand the intent behind this, I inadvertently made a mistake that left me unable to go back to see an optional story scene, so I can imagine it might impact a player’s potential enjoyment if they do something similar. Some of the optional objectives can be exceedingly hard to accomplish, while others are quite easy, so a better balance would’ve been ideal. I also think someone’s enjoyment will rely heavily on their individual sense of humor and tolerance for raunchier jokes/curse words.
Ledgerbound is a delight to play if you’re the target audience. The characters are colorfully memorable, with personal stories that develop and grow believably throughout the game’s narrative. I love how well-rounded the SRPG mechanics are, as well as how the time management and relationship-building aspects are implemented throughout. It might not be for everyone, but Ledgerbound can be genuinely entertaining if, like its cast, the game’s allowed to grow on you.
