Ritual Bound

About Ritual Bound

Ritual Bound is a horror puzzle game made in Godot by a small team: Vivian Rodríguez Saseta (writing, design and direction), Juanma Adones (programming), Aina Gelabert (art), Jacob García as DonutDroid (music and sound) and Christian Machuca as Chris Glitch (sound effects). It came out on itch.io in May 2023 and is free to play in the browser, with downloads for Windows, Mac and Linux. It can be played in English or Spanish.

The setup is short: deep in the forest the witches watch over a prison that keeps an Old Horror sealed, tonight the seals must be renewed, and there is a problem. The opening closes a gate behind you with a dozen latches that will only slow down the things on the other side.

Play happens at the ritual table. A book describes the beings of Golden Valley by their greater and minor aspects, such as Sun, Night, Air or Earth, and a binding tome explains how to seal a creature once it is cornered. You choose runes for the points of a pentagram and blend incense from a shelf of jars, with matches and candles at hand. Red eyes watch from the darkness above the book as you read.

The makers say plainly that it has no jump scares, and recommend headphones and the desktop version. The dread comes from the slow work under that gaze and from what happens when the rite fails; one player was struck by how calmly the thing explains your mistake. The art is two-tone pixel art in black, white and red. Players on itch.io rate it 4.8 out of 5 and praise its sound and the moment the runes finally make sense. It suits players who like careful, notebook-style puzzles with a threat in the room.

How to play Ritual Bound

1. Open the game's itch.io page and play it in the browser, or download it free for Windows, Mac or Linux.
2. Use the mouse for everything: click to read, turn pages and pick up objects.
3. Read the books on the table to learn the beings' aspects and how the binding rite works.
4. Choose the runes for the pentagram and mix the incense from the jars to match what the rite needs.
5. Perform the ritual; if it fails, learn from what you are told and try again.

Tips

• Keep notes; the game has a notepad in a corner of the screen, and some players only found it after writing everything by hand.
• Play with headphones, as the makers recommend; several players single out the sound.
• The makers recommend the desktop version for the best experience.
• The game lists colour-blind friendly, high-contrast and subtitle options among its accessibility features.

Questions