Developer: Spiders
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
Release Date: May 9, 2014
Platform: PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Genre: Action RPG
MSRP: $49.99
Bound By Flame is a charming action RPG that melds signature mechanics found in such fan favorite franchises as Dark Souls, The Witcher and Dragon Age, melding third-person sword-and-sorcery action with a deepening plot across a fantasy-infused world. Unfortunately the game does suffer from a series of drawbacks, many of which are noticeable in the first ten minutes of gameplay, including poor lip-syncing, a strange mix of 3-D and cell-shaded graphics, and awkward combat.
Rather than completely mire the game’s progress, these drawbacks can be overcome with perseverance–and it is only with dedication can we look past the more ugly elements and see the game shine.
Spiders isn’t about creating a sprawling fantasy universe complete with deep lore and myth; instead Bound By Flame tells a poignant story that only skirts the rim of deep high fantasy themes. It is undoubtedly a flawed experience, but these flaws somehow give the game more charm.
While Bound By Flame does emulate titles like The Witcher and Dark Souls in some ways, it doesn’t try to mirror them, instead setting forth its own crafty mix of RPG elements to become something all its own.
The dreaded Ice Lords are cutting swaths across the cities and villages of Vertiel, leaving doom and destruction in their wake. Armed with their dark magicks and their death-defying Deadwalker Army, the frozen spawn threaten to annihilate all life (much the same way that the White Walkers threaten Westeros).
The war between the dead and living is become more desperate and more dire, and in a daring gambit one faction of wisemen known as the Red Scribes invokes an ancient ritual in an effort to stifle the Ice Lords. The ritual goes awry, and Vulcan, a sellsword mercenary, is accidentally imbued with an ageless power that will turn the tides of war forever…
*Game Mechanics
Bound By Flame makes use of a bevy of familiar RPG sentiments that gamers will recognize right away. That *being said, there are a few things that take some time to adapt to–the awkward and clunky combat is a great example, along with the cumbersome Tactical Menu.
Gamers can navigate across a variety of menus to sort their items, craft battle gear, assign skill points, follow quests and of course check out the in-game map. Non-combat is punctuated by interactive dialogue sequences akin to Skyrim, but the lip-syncing is done quite poorly, making these conversations a bit tiresome–if not adding a bit of charm.
Combat is a bit odd, and looking at the screenshots or in-game footage, you’d expect the game to play much like The Witcher with its third-person action. On the surface it is quite like any action RPG: hack and slash an enemy till its dead and reap the EXP–but it’s more needlessly challenging.
Combat is further set back by the camera angle, which is zoomed quite close to our hero’s back. We can’t zoom out at all, so getting used to this rather close third-person view is tiresome and begrudging.
In an effort to bring a new dimension to combat, Spiders allows us to switch between two combat stances–Ranger, the stealthy agile stance that*uses fast two-handed daggers; and Warrior which uses slow/powerful two-handed swords. Both of these stances have their own advantages and mixing things up can be supremely beneficial to later battles.
At the start it doesn’t feel natural and makes fighting enemies much more complicated than need be. Acquainting yourself with each stance as soon as possible will help you out, especially when you identify which one you’re more comfortable with. Sneaking is optional with the Ranger stance and can deal tremendous damage bonuses to unaware foes.
A lot of the problem with combat is understanding the differences between using your Circular Attacks (which charge up) and your Quick Attacks, which make up most of your swings. Both stances have their own defensive measures–Ranger will leap backwards whereas the Warrior stance will parry an attack–and button mashing is extremely ineffective.
The Tactical Menu is a great addition in theory, but in practice it’s inefficient. Similar to the active skill wheel in games like Mass Effect, the Tactical Menu slows time down so that players can select powers/abilities in battle. Powers, potions and traps can be assigned to each of the four face buttons (Square, X, Circle and Triangle), but the real problem comes with the limitations of having just four quick-set options–especially if you’ve option to mix and match all three skill sets.
Combat is aided quite a bit by the inclusion of followers, which are NPCs that can be interacted with and assigned combat roles on the field. There are a variety of followers to choose from, including magic-wielding spellcasters and gruff sword-slashing fighters, all of which are beneficial in any fight.
The ability to use both magic and blade is another saving grace of combat, and allows players to spice things up at any given time. The twin-stance mechanics are strange at first, but once mastered players can dispatch even the toughest of foes with relative ease. There is also a nice array of enemies to take on throughout the varying zones, from chrysalids in the forest thickets to the hobbling deadwalkers–and even the towering city-smashing Juggernauts.
The standard EXP progression system is intact in*Bound By Flame, and leveling up will unlock two skill points to spend on your trees. There are three main skill trees all of which have their own passive abilities that apply to activated skills. Another problem with the game is that it takes some experimentation to see what is effective and what’s not, and peppering skills across the trees isn’t advised unless you’re sure you know what kind of character you want.
Crafting is one of the game’s most distinct and likable features. Any item–whether its just a quarrel of crossbow bolts or a sparkling legendary chestplate–can be crafted from gathered materials. In some respects the game uses a form of alchemy: that is any raw material can be “made” outside of a town using commodities such as gold.
Apart from making and breaking down gear, crafting also lets you imbue your items with customizable qualities. Higher leveled gear will come with clean sockets that can be socketed with add-ons with various magical properties. These add-ons require some of the same raw materials reserved for general crafting, and the better enchantments need higher-tier materials.
Questing is pretty straight forward and follows the linear path of most RPGs: complete one area, move on to the next, interact with NPC’s to get quests, and complete the quests for rewards. There are a number of side-quests that can be solved as you see fit, as you’ll be given options to certain outcomes. The results can be varied; sometimes you’ll gain a new follower, other times one of the main characters will die, making for a dynamic “choose-your-path” type of mechanic.
Conclusion: Too rushed
Bound By Flame isn’t a bad game; not entirely. It’s an interesting adventure that has a plethora of hallmark RPG elements set in a fantasy world. That being said it doesn’t necessarily break any molds and does indeed suffer from a few major flaws, but it has its own rustic charm nonetheless. Some of these drawbacks are obvious design errors and can’t be remedied with time and effort on the player’s behalf, whereas others–such as the awkward battle system–can be overcome with perseverance. At first the game feels clunky and rather cumbersome, but given a bit of time Bound By Flame can really grow on you.
The whole game feels rushed, as if it’s unfinished, and thankfully many of these design flaws can be helped by updates. In some ways it feels like an indie of sorts, but there are other moments where it shines and makes you think twice about judging it too hastily. It’s an RPG that makes you think and pay attention, and in some respects that makes it a welcome challenge.
The unwelcome challenges, though, are those associated with the awkward targeting system and tactical menu. We can see what the developers were trying to accomplish, though, and in that vision we understand how the game was meant to shine, even if we only see faith moonlight where there was meant to be a glare.
Overall the experience isn’t something you’ll remember for the next few weeks, and it can be a hit or miss type of deal. There are moments where the game seems rather silly–take the needlessly crass interactions between the characters–yet it is an absorbing experience that plays into the archetypes set forth by popular ARPGs. Spiders hasn’t created a masterful title that offers hundreds of hours of gameplay, but that’s okay: Bound By Flame is a decent enough ride while it lasts and touches upon some very original elements along the way.
+*Duality of good and evil
+ Interesting fantasy elements
+ Variety of weapons and armor
+ Weapon customization
+ Dynamic skill trees
+ Innovative crafting system
- Combat is clunky and difficult
- In dire need of update fixes
- Bad lip syncing
- Graphics don’t feel next-gen
- No zoom-out function
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