The Technomancer Reviews
Derivative setting, dull NPCs, and clunky combat make The Technomancer an exemplar of lost potential
Your enjoyment of The Technomancer is going to depend on whether you're willing to overlook the things it doesn't do so well. The story is fascinating, but you have to deal with characters that are dull and not worth remembering. The combat system is rather deep, but you'll have to be much more proficient due to the lack of intelligence displayed by your AI companions. Finally, overall dull look and bad audio choices detract from the elements that genuinely look good, such as the skin on each character. Like Spiders Studio's previous works, The Technomancer will find an audience among those who don't mind sampling from the ambitious French house, but others may want to play other available action RPGs before trying this title..
Whilst it’s commendable that there are technomancy skills as well as three fighting styles at your disposal… the fact that the combat is so clunky and frequently unbalanced means that it’s best to just settle on one at the outset and stick with it
While The Technomancer is not the first and won’t be the last title to have a different price tag based on platform (PC vs. consoles). At a cheaper price point on Steam (and just about everywhere else that sells digital PC games), the game’s jank can almost be forgiven at the lower price point, especially when coming from a small independent studio. Sure, there are parts of the game that I do not enjoy, but when you compare this to many AAA and full-priced games that have come out recently, The Technomancer includes much more bang for your buck. On console, however, that is another story altogether. As a full-price $59.99 game, I find it a bit harder to recommend the game on consoles until it can be purchased for a discounted price.
Rough around the edges, but still a fun romp for those looking for varied RPG settings.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Developer Spiders’ Technomancer had the potential to be a great role playing experience if it weren’t for its many problems. The combat, while plentiful and entertaining when using technomancy, feels stiff with an over reliance on dodging and ineffective stance system.
Although almost every aspect has been done in more depth elsewhere, its narrower scope allows the game to stand up well as a title for players to just sit back and enjoy without being overwhelmed like the big budget titles have the propensity to do.
The developer's ambition to make a triple-A title without the resources of a larger studio gets the better of them.
All in all The Technomancer is a fun little adventure which will definitely grow on you. It’s from the school of RPGs which are engrossing despite their laundry list of flaws. There’s much to be said for a small team like Spiders chipping away at a hideously involving and expensive genre, and for that they should be congratulated. It doesn’t have the polish of a Mass Effect 3 or Deus Ex: Human Revolution, but The Technomancer sure has a lot of heart.
The Technomancer isn’t necessarily a bad game, it just isn’t a good one.
'The Technomancer' is not without its merits, but can’t quite find a place for itself in the RPG/action field. It is clear what Spiders was trying to do and I don’t fault them for it - their creation has the potential to be something special. In this current form that’s all it is though, just potential.
I honestly believe that the team at Spiders wanted to deliver the very best game that they are capable of producing and sadly I think that is exactly what they have done. The Technomancer is not a bad game, but it is devastatingly mediocre.
The Technomancer is the equivalent of a cheesy 90's sci-fi action flick mashup; think Steven Seagal's Under Siege meets Jesse Ventura's Abraxas: Guardian of the Universe all set in the dusty red planet of yesteryear's classics like Total Recall or Dune. For as grand as that sounds, fans of past Spiders titles may be a bit disappointed in the lack of varied gameplay between titles. Others that are new to the universe may be a bit let down by the lack of depth, yet carried along by a decent supporting cast, an interesting and fun if trope-y story, and stellar world-building. While Technomancer may not be deep, overly fulfilling, or entirely sophisticated, it does contain an abundance of charm. Charm not unlike your favorite campy films of years gone by.
And every now and then, the feeling of playing a classic BioWare RPG from a decade or so rises to the surface.
The team writes intelligent, worthy scenarios and narratives, and then they do the best they can to build gameplay to support that concept. Spiders never quite gets there with executing to vision, but I don’t mean this as a backhanded complement; I genuinely appreciate what this team does, because it’s unique and interesting and I wish more developers had the gumption to try something like The Technomancer.
The Technomancer is a jack of all RPG trades, master of none.
The Technomancer isn’t anything to write home about, but if you’re willing to overlook its flaws, this is Spiders’ most compelling world to date. Their vision of Mars is one that would be worth exploring even with its rough edges, if not for the sheer imbalance of a combat system that persistently drags the experience into the dregs of frustration. Spiders isn’t short on interesting ideas, it’s just the execution.
It�s far from great, but sometimes just being good really is good enough.