After a years-long drought, the Mario RPG fountain is in full force. Between 2020’s Paper Mario: The Origami King, 2023’s Super Mario RPG, and the upcoming remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, there’s no shortage of Mario adventures, new and old.
That’s not to say there isn’t room for more, however. 2019’s Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling showed that an indie team can tackle the Mario RPG formula with aplomb. 2022’s The Outbound Ghost attempted a similar feat, but never found its footing due to an ongoing legal dispute between the studio and its publisher.
Enter Born of Bread. Developed by French Canadian developer WildArts Studio and published by Dear Villagers, Born of Bread is a devoted piece of homage to the Paper Mario series. Between the paper book style, timing-based attacks, equipable items, and recruitable partners, the game certainly scratches that classic Nintendo itch.
From Paper to Parchment…
At first glance, Born of Bread doesn’t have much to do with paper at all. The game opens with a baker at a royal castle accidentally bringing one of his loaves of bread to life. Once he realizes his creation, the chef lovingly names the bread Loaf and takes him in as his son.
It’s a silly premise, but one that gives Born of Bread a distinct flavor (no cooking puns intended). This isn’t a simple copy-and-paste Mario project. The game has a sense of humor all its own, which extends to its tongue-in-cheek premise and cooky characters. There’s a particular in-game focus on writing: One partner, Lint, is an author working on his dream manuscript. Various NPCs will quip about their own passion projects, from film scripts to stageplays.
The story didn’t knock my socks off. Where Paper Mario focuses on short, snappy dialogue, Born of Bread’s exchanges tend to feel long-winded. That said, I appreciate that the writers at WildArts Studio were willing to take a risk and lean into their own lived experiences when penning the game.
…And Mallet to Frying Pan
Of course, if you’re looking for Paper Mario, Born of Bread offers that in spades. The game’s visuals pop with color, and foliage in the foreground juts out like a diorama. Encounter an enemy out in the field, and you’ll transition to a turn-based combat system. A well-timed attack provides a little bonus, just as a well-timed guard will grant you some extra defense.
If you’ve played a Mario RPG, you’ll feel right at home with the mechanics. And if you’re looking for a bit of creative flair, Born of Bread has you covered, too. The main innovation here is the addition of a non-fighting partner who will live-stream your battles to the internet, a la Twitch. Complete an action requested by a viewer (e.g., use a specific item), and you’ll get a small reward (e.g., some extra MP). There’s also a rock-paper-scissors dynamic that encourages finding the optimal attack to use against specific enemies.
The combat’s nothing earth-shattering, but if you enjoy breezy turn-based battles, you’ll find a groove with Born of Bread.
Knots in the Bread
If there’s one area where Born of Bread needed more time in the oven, it’s performance. I played on Nintendo Switch and encountered a bit of everything: The game takes an eternity to load from the splash screen. Dialogue has a tendency to animate on one line, only to bump to the next. I glitched through walls, experienced frame-rate slowdown, and even noticed a sizable dip in resolution for bigger areas.
Some of these are fixable (the bugs); others probably aren’t (the resolution). As is, I hesitate to give Born of Bread a confident recommendation, simply because the fixable things still linger, weeks after the game’s December 5 release.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed my time with Born of Bread. The characters are cheery, the combat is smooth (if simple), and the dialogue, though verbose, offers just enough charm to keep the player reading. That said, it’s far from a perfect substitute for a Nintendo-level release.
We’ll see whether a patch (or a few) helps ameliorate some of its bigger technical stumbles. For now, though, Born of Bread is a competent Paper Mario-like that’s held back from truly leavened greatness.
Score: 7.0/10
Born of Bread was released on December 5, 2023, for PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. MSRP: $29.99.
A review code was provided by the publisher.
