Gamescom 2015: ‘Scalebound’ Isn’t The Clone We Expected

At first glance, Platinum Games’ upcoming Xbox One exclusive, Scalebound, looked like it was ripped straight out of the Monster Hunter playbook. When you think of a game where you run around big environments fighting towering dragons, how could you think otherwise? Once the first extended look at the game was released at GamesCom however, it’s clear that Hideki Kamiya’s upcoming title was a completely different beast.

From the five minutes of game play footage, it’s obvious that Scalebound looks incredible. Surprisingly, the player was fighting alongside a dragon rather than hunting it, exploring the gorgeous environments while fighting off enemies. Rather than being confronted by intimidating beasts, hordes of humans did their best to take down both the player and his dragon. With HP numbers popping up throughout the screen as damage is taken from both sides, it’s clear that RPG elements play a bigger role than what we had thought.

That’s not to say that you won’t be hunting monsters though, because there were a few shown off during the trailer as well. Fighting alongside your partner, the fighter was switching between sword attacks, long range bows, and items picked up on the field. Fighting around the two dragons clashing looked thrilling, which can only be improved by the co-op that the final version is promising.

From these early impressions, it’s looking like Scalebound might be one of the Xbox One’s highlights, but did we expect anything less from Platinum? Check out the trailer below and give us your thoughts!