Book Bound isn't for me for these reasons, But it might be for you.

[Joy_Boy_96]

Book Bound is an adorable little game with a charming art style and vibrant colors that immediately draw you in. The concept is simple and cute something I’d normally enjoy, but after trying this demo, Ive realized this game isn’t quite for me. While the whimsical aesthetic and bookstore premise are delightful, several issues hindered my enjoyment.

To start, the controls feel finicky and unintuitive. For example, clicking on a shelf often doesn’t work if a customer is standing too close, which led to many moments of frustration. I also kept accidentally adding books to my cart when I just wanted to view them. The quantity indicator is small and faint, making it easy to miss how many books I’d selected, which added unnecessary stress to what should have been a relaxing experience.

Another issue I encountered was the repetitive book covers. Some books look the same, making it difficult to distinguish between them without constantly checking the titles. This broke the flow of gameplay for me and made it harder to get into a good rhythm. Additionally, the build menu system felt clunky. It closes after every action, whether you’re buying a shelf or moving objects. Want to buy multiple shelves? You’ll need to reopen the menu each time. This design choice feels arbitrary and unnecessarily complicates what should be a straightforward process.

While I really wanted to like Book Bound, its current state feels overly complicated and unintuitive. The gameplay mechanics, while possibly aiming for uniqueness, end up feeling more frustrating than fun for me. I hope the developers can refine these thing as the game has a lot of potential. For now, though, I won’t be purchasing it at launch. That said, I can definitely see how others might find joy in its charm, so it may still be worth a try for fans of cozy management sims!!

[bit66.games]

Hey, thank you for your feedback. I see what you are saying and I am continuously gathering feedback from posts like this or my discord to make the game better.

Here are a couple of changes that have already been added:
- Continuous build/move/delete furniture function
- A much larger variety of book covers