Hi! At n² studio, we've been building, Leybound: a small co-op hunting game in the spirit of Monster Hunter, played from an isometric view, where you and up to three friends track monsters across a world held together by ley magic.
The free playtest is live, and you can play it right in your browser, no download: 👉 https://game.n2studio.net/
How a hunt goes
- Take a contract, or set out on an expedition from the haven.
- Find the monster: read its tracks, keep out of its sight and come at it from behind or the flank (it really does hit harder from there).
- Break its horns or tail, carve what it leaves, and bind gear from its parts at the altar.
- On expeditions, each zone's guardian seals the ley paths onward. Beat it to open them, rest and bank your haul at a waymark fire, and decide as a party whether to push one ring deeper or head home. Faint too often and you lose part of what you carry.
What's in the playtest
- Three classes: the Warden (blade and shield), the Seeker (bow, tracking, flares) and the Leywright (staff, heals and support)
- 7 monsters, from the Bramblehorn to the Stormheart and the Leywarden, each with breakable parts and its own bestiary entry
- A hex leymap of zones in many biomes (snowfields, ash wastes, crystal fields, fens, autumn woods…), with an outpost (Emberwatch) and its own prices
- 34 pieces of gear to bind, plus elemental infusing
- Chapter I of the story, told by the people of Waystone Haven
- Parties of up to 4 with a 6-letter code or open parties anyone can join, party votes, chat and trading
- Browser, Windows, Linux and Android (APK), all playing together
We're already building these:
- Subclasses earned through mentor trials: Bulwark, Trapper, Ashen Avenger, Stalker, Cantor, Riftbinder, each with its own resource and playstyle
- Apex monsters with new moves: shockwaves you have to dodge through, venom pools, monsters that burrow and burst up under you, and a second phase at half health
- Heavier combat: knockdowns, monster combos, hit-stop
- Small wildlife (hares, crag goats, frost foxes, ley wisps…) and calm pursuits like foraging, fishing and new Hearth dishes, for when you'd rather not fight
- Tougher multi-monster contracts, and the rest of the story
What we'd love from you
We're a tiny team, and this playtest is about learning what works. If you try it, we'd really like to know:
- Was it clear what to do in your first 10 minutes?
- How did the fights feel? Too easy, too punishing, unclear?
- Did anything break? In-game there's Menu → Report a problem, which sends us the details.
Comments here, on the itch page, or on our Discord are all welcome: https://discord.gg/Ec9fQT7WG5
Thanks for reading, and happy hunting! 🏹