Bound by Flame Reviews
Bound by Flame is a generic mess
Bound by Flame is a rickety role-playing game that bites off far more than it can chew.
Bound by Flame initially seems like the type of game you would get if you threw some of the engaging and interesting game elements from The Witcher franchise in with the brutal difficulty of the Dark Souls series. In theory, this sounds like a gamer's dream come true. In execution, at least in the case of Bound by Flame, the end result leaves a lot to be desired.
Bound by Flame is not by any means bad, but it's not spectacular either, falling into the category of good but lacking some elements to make it great. The combat has its issues, some parts of the story feel a bit contrived, but for the most part the game is pretty solid.
[W]hile Bound by Flame has heart, it ends up being a forgettable dull experience.
Bound by Flame doesn't put too much weight on the important choices you think you're making, but its rich customization options and smart combat system are sure to give you that power you're looking for.
Bound By Flame is a number of good ideas poorly crafted into a final product. The story itself is rather generic, with poor dialog and voice acting preventing you from getting emotionally invested in the world. The core combat is good, but once it meets with the larger game, it begins to break down. Even an excellent crafting system can't save Bound By Flame from being a budget RPG. If you can find it for $15-20, it might be worth a go for action-RPG fanatics.
Fun combat, customization, and decision making overpower the cliché plot and monotonous enemy lineup
An embarrassment on all fronts.
Bound By Flame would be an immensely likable game, were it not for just how slipshod it ultimately feels. Its individual components are well crafted, but when brought together, the result is something that just isn't quite right.
Meanwhile, the attempts at humor and being "gritty" come off as juvenile. And in a market saturated by far more interesting fantasy adventures, we need a far less generic story to work with. There's a good game hiding within Bound by Flame. It's just not this one.
Like Of Orcs and Men before it, Bound by Flame is an uneven mishmash of decent new ideas and painfully generic genre tropes that struggle to gel, yet somehow it blunders through to deliver a mostly enjoyable adventure. Bound by Flame had a great deal of potential but it feels half-realised, and this is simply not the epic adventure we were promised.
Bound By Flame wears its inspirations on its sleeve, and its chest, and its legs, borrowing cues from pretty much every ARPG around. Its an earnest attempt by Spiders, as are most of their games, but the elements here feel slapdash and dishevelled. At best, Bound By Flame might offer a spot of B-movie-esque filler while you wait for Dragon Age and The Witcher III. At worst, it's a clunky, hot mess of a game with an over-inflated price and little to offer of any distinction.
Bound by Flame is a game that many will undoubtedly gain a huge amount of enjoyment from. Shortcomings of bad character interactions and weak contributions from NPCs are something that's easy to look past on.
If you're desperate for a game in this genre, then find a way to play Dark Souls II.
As I'm sure anyone can tell from the discombobulation of words here, I have struggled with my thoughts about Bound by Flame. I have enjoyed it, I really have, but how can I explain it to others? What about it makes it something I must recommend to all of my RPG-loving friends? The sad truth is that there is nothing extraordinary about it to tell anyone Bound by Flame should be on their must-play lists for 2014. Most of the game is very well done, but none of it is that innovative or imaginative. It's fun, but it's a slightly above average RPG.
It's not a long game by any means, requiring about fifteen hours or so depending on how much you decide to explore, but sometimes you just don't need 40 or 50 hours to kick ass and take names. Sometimes you need a set of dull armor, Vulcan's attitude, and a demon to kickstart your hunger for meatier storytelling and content delivery. Bound By Flame is the midnight snack that sates, but leaves you wanting something a bit more savory. But when the snack is this tasty, you may find yourself coming back for a second helping a lot quicker than you might think.
It's an action RPG from Spiders: awkward, sloppy, and too small for its own good, but entertaining enough for what it is.
Bound By Flame sounded promising every time we saw it... but so do most games. What we ended up with instead is an RPG trying to be as great as its inspiration but never coming close. Poor combat, poor story, and poor acting, all serve to make this "epic tale" one you'll want to skip. Do not buy.
If you've been burning with anticipation for a fantasy RPG on Sony's newest console, Bound by Flame may be worth a look – but be sure to keep your expectations lukewarm. Much like its lead character, the release is a conflicted creation that's eager to prove its worth, but fails to set its ambitions alight. Not quite a product forged in the fires of Hell, Spiders' latest isn't a bad game, but it's never going to be much more than a flicker of light in a dark age of absent RPGs.