The Technomancer Reviews
I highly recommend playing this game with a controller of some kind, especially if you are playing on the PC like I did, as it makes the game feel more fluid as the combat system is generally just a serious of non-sensical button mashing, think Tekken but with customisable boots.
Derivative setting, dull NPCs, and clunky combat make The Technomancer an exemplar of lost potential
And every now and then, the feeling of playing a classic BioWare RPG from a decade or so rises to the surface.
It’s hard to surmise whether The Technomancer and its faults come by way of financial or otherwise creative pitfalls, because there are some interesting and rather enjoyable moments to take out of both the game’s easy-to-access combat system and the rather nostalgic return of a colonized Mars seen through the eyes of an 80’s motion picture.
A true jack of all trades, The Tehnomancer's impressive visuals don't make up for its lack of engaging combat and inability to set itself apart from other games in the genre. It's a mashup of many other open-world RPGs that is produced by a smaller developer than any of them; it sets itself up for disappointment.
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 has frustrated me a lot over the last couple weeks, because I really enjoyed the world that Spiders created and wanted to get to know the characters more, but the constant choke points and combat inconsistencies make me want to stop playing. The story and certain characters make up for that in some way, and the romance dialogue that I pursued made up for some of the more disappointing characters. That said, I feel that with a little more work, a lot of my issues could have been fixed before launch.
The Technomancer had aspirations to become a noteworthy RPG, but fell short due to some poor decisions in key areas. Good ideas were muddled by poor execution, and the result is an experience that won’t keep players tuned in for very long.
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
The Technomancer has plenty to offer for fans looking to return to the world of Mars: War Logs but for anyone looking for a AAA experience, The Technomancer isn’t worth a $60 price tag.
The Technomancer is, after all, a video game. It had time, energy, heart and soul put into it. It never feels lazy, and it never feels like a cash grab. It just never manages to feel inspired or fun. In fact, it manages to be frustrating more than it is fun. Perhaps you'll find a nugget of charm underneath all the tedium. Unfortunately, The Technomancer only really manages to feel bland, if not devoid of life all together.
Overall, The Technomancer is a pleasant experience thanks to the great looking and intense combat. This could be the perfect game to add to your collection after a slight price drop.
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..
'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.
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.
Although The Technomancer is full of promise and seems like a pretty cool game at first, it all falls apart when you actually play it.
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.
With a unique cast of characters, shared gear, an emphasis on crafting for gear upgrades, and a deep and complex combat system The Technomancer is a surprising newcomer in a genre that is normally populated with games featuring mages, dragons, castles and the like.
Spiders Studio has escaped its own shadow with The Technomancer. While the game is not perfect, and isn't a match for the kings of the genre llike Mass Effect of The Witcher, it still can be enjoyable.
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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.