Barda challenges you to climb a mountain, tactically using the gear in your backpack during the ascent
- Barda comes to mobile as a premium game, costing $4.99
- It challenges you to climb a mountain, battling through challenges using your backpack's contents
- Despite all the stakes, it actually seems quite laid-back
Inventory management has become a key mechanic in recent years, with the likes of Backpack Battles and Overgeared Hero riffing on the concept. Barda: Backpack Roguelike (to give its full, overly descriptive name) is the latest to throw its stuffed bag into the ring. It's available to buy now on iOS and Android.
The goal in Barda is pretty simple: battle your way up an impossibly tall mountain, which is randomised on each run, making the best use of the items in your backpack. During the ascent, you'll come across various nodes, which present different challenges. To overcome them, you'll need to drag and drop the appropriate item from your inventory. And if you don't have anything, hope that your bare hands are sufficient - I imagine they rarely are.
Aside from managing your inventory, there are several of your avian characters' stats to keep an eye on. Hunger, fatigue and creeping madness are all issues you'll need to contend with, and each can affect the state of your trusty backpack.
Get carried
It appears this mountain also covers the entire world, considering the variety of biomes you'll traverse on your journey. There's everything from lush greens to frosty peaks and even volcanic areas. And that's without mentioning the mysterious runic-looking parts covered in an ominous fog.Despite all of these seemingly incredibly high-stakes, I can't help but think Barda provides a more chill-out journey than it seems. Perhaps it's the painterly art style that puts me at ease or the incredibly chilled-out soundtrack that plays throughout the trailer. Either way, I absolutely love the look of this one.
Barda: Backpack Roguelike is available now on the App Store and Google Play, where it's a premium game that costs $4.99 or your local equivalent. You can download it for your preferred platform using the buttons below.
