GVGINU This isn't a review. Razor is not white knighting SJWs and Feminists and he didn't call his fanbase misogynistic, white male nerds who love porn and beating up women.
The hypocrisy that surrounded this game's reviews reminds me of the "professional reviewers" who compared the $15-dollar downloadable game Call of Juarez: Gunslinger to Red Dead Redemption. I almost fractured my skull with the sheer impact of my facepalm.
Yea, me as well. Reviewers seem to have a very limited frame of reference, (a skeptical man would suggest that this is because they don't play video games) causing them to compare games that are nothing alike. Funnily enough, all of the reviews that brought up the comparison failed to mention how much better the combat in Gunslinger was, perhaps because it lacked Rockstar's trademark "Don't worry, we'll do all the aiming for you" mode.
My girlfriend picked this one up, was definitely worthy of purchase. You don't see too many games like this anymore, sure the spoken dialogue is cheesy, but it only adds to the charm. The last time I remember games like this being so available was during the PS2 era. That seemed like the last time developers were trying everything and tons of cool games were produced. Now it just AAA or don't even bother.
If only Bound by flames remove all fantasy elements. Gameplay and graphics. Replace it sound track with a 8-bit tone generator. And change it story to be about a pan demi-sexual trans-racial otherkin coming out of the closet and being depressed. The mainstream video game review sites would showering it with Game of the Year awards by now.
The issue is that middle-market games too often try to be AAA games. They bite off way more than they can chew and attempt to produce a 40 hour cross-platform $60 game on a shoe-string budget. The ones that do succeed are those wise enough to find a niche of their own, like D:OS or Euro Truck Simulator 2. More middle-market games should search for this comfortable half-way point of ambition between "my indie game is so arty, it's a 2D platformer yadda yadda" and 'press X for mo-capped cutscene' AAA, where they make a focused, polished game that's fun and unfettered by greed or pretentiousness in achieving that goal. The death of the middle market probably has something to do with the rising cost of game engine and graphics (a small team can't write a competitive engine in a few months anymore) and the fact that the number of these niches has reduced. Many of the good ideas of games past have been snatched up by big companies (and dumbed down to appeal to an audience large enough that you'll inevitably get the dumb fucks saying 'lol i'll just play skyrim if i want X') or done so many times before that they'll always be compared with previous attempts. Hence this will be unfavourably compared to Skyrim, Dark Souls, the Witcher etc. As you say it's also press bias. The recent Zoe Quinn scandal has shown how the well-known bias of the gaming press isn't just in favour of those who pay them money. The AAA games get good scores due to money, the Indies get them due to Twitter friendship and the writer's desire to be part of their clique. The middle-market is caught between a rock and a hard place and gets shat on by IGN etc, so they can balance out their otherwise over-generous scores.
ALJustice0 I guess it's an inevitable consequence of the growth of the industry and market. AAA is such a mess of bland, committee designed crap that feels like it's ticking boxes to make everyone happy- it rarely offends people, but nor does it deliver much fun. A lot of more mature gamers have to play AAA games on hard, mod them and impose restrictions on themselves to get anything resembling an immersive, challenging experience. And the Indies don't usually have the resources to develop anything immersive and deep. There's no middle ground. It's sad. Middle market games, for all their lack of polish, at least feel like a group of real people made them and put their hearts into them, but these intangible feelings don't mean much for most people. The other thing is that newer middle market titles are AAA-ised by greedy publishers as soon as they are successful. See Dark Souls. I reckon the only middle-market IPs that stay that way will be the Kickstarted ones.
What irritates me the most is that, once word of mouth gets this game around, everyone is going to start acting like they actually enjoyed the game as opposed to regurgitating what the reviews have to say, a la Deadly Premonition and NIer.
And what of those that do authentically enjoy these games? Are they lying to themselves as well? Am I lying to myself because I genuinely enjoyed Deadly Premonition?
Honestly guys I'm jumping back in time here with this comment cuz I'm in 2021 and the games has been reliable it released the last three years probably for years since at least 2018 have not been finished they've been junk no stories just terrible
It seems you are more in love with the idea of what Bound by Flame represents as a middle market game then what it actually is. I've seen this before where you use a game most considered to be shit as a platform to vent your anger at the journalists and while I can agree that sentiment I think you missed the mark. Game of Thrones RPG as an example was a good game with an excellent story that was very much proclaimed as shit by the media and players when it was one of the best stories I ever saw in a video game. But Bound by Flame is just terrible in that it promises you the moon and then fails to deliver. Look I have a love for games like this, it's why I like the Witcher 1 and 2. Why I support Kingdom Come: Deliverance and why I play Wargame: Red Dragon, all middle market games ( and yes Witcher 2 was middle market until the enhanced edition came out then it turned AAA ). Bound By Flame has good things: The crafting, the weapon sheaths ( HOW MANY FUCK AAA GAMES DOES IT TAKE TO IMPLEMENT THAT BIOWARE? Let's not even talk of the Witcher ), the influences from Black Company. But it's a repetive grind with respawning enemies, fetch quests, uninteresting characters and a terrible story. I've seen games with similar budgets do things far better. I am not impressed by this game.
+Serious Gaming Game of Thrones? Excellent story? Utter claptrap. Bound by Flame easily has a story that rivals Dragon Age: Origins and/or Mass Effect. The writing? Charming, in that nice, early Bioware manner.
I'd agree with some of your complaints (most-of-all respawning enemies) but he's admittedly overselling it as an investment. GoT RPG had a shit, retarded storyline so bad I stopped playing. "Hello guy I've never met before in my life, let me tell you who I'm protecting and what our plan is. What's that? My drink's poisoned? Who has ever heard of poisoning someone's drink before!?". Martin self-inserted as a guy who gets to look at tarbaby pussy. Explains his Tiger 2 tank-thick plot armor for Danny.
Yeah Bound by Flame was ridiculously ambitious but the only other team this small (20 odd people) I can think of that isn't making blocky sidescrollers is Piranha Bytes and people praise their broken bits of crap no end. Bound by Flame was decent, Technomancer was really quite good and if this trajectory continues Greedfall is going to be excellent.
Murada Did you just decide to throw Dark Souls under the bus, because it is popular? Dark Souls has no quests, therefore it doesn’t have fetch guests, so that criticism doesn’t apply. You don’t need to grind in Dark Souls and I am pretty sure no one grinds in Dark Souls. And the enemies respawning has a reason, it isn’t just the developers being lazy. Bound by Shit had a budget roughly the size of Demon’s Souls and Demon’s blows Bound by Shit out of the fucking water.
Ultimately. what made BbF a great game for me, was the fact that it was a fantasy RPG with actual fantasy in it. None of that feudal who-gets-the-throne-and/or-fancy-title heraldry lecturing (a la Song of Ice and Fire) and none of that epic story development crammed in the last fifth of the game to promise some epic fantasy in the next installment (Dragon Age 2, the Witcher 1&2). In any case, you can play as a dude (or dudete) with huge horns, and can set your greatsword on fire. A greatsword on fire, people!
I love Spiders' games. I think it's a fucking shame that they get pretty much universally shat on by mainstream review sites - I (and likely most of the other viewers here) could give two shits what most of them have to say (for reasons that have been enumerated and elucidated on countless occasions here and elsewhere) but it doesn't change the unfortunate fact that they undoubtedly impact sales; and I want to see Spiders do well. I just played through The Technomancer recently and loved it. It, like Spiders' previous endeavors, was certainly not perfect with some amount of jank and the occasional lack of polish, but it was still a great time. I'm actually amazed at how much they were able to pull off with so little. Thanks for another spot-on review Razor. God fucking speed!
Razorfist, haven't you heard? The Middle Market is back! Divinity: Original Sin Wasteland 2 Unreal Tournament (yes, it's from Epic, but being made on a modest budget with the community) Planetary Annihilation Satellite Reign Broken Age (though that was kind of a flop) Xenonauts Age of Wonders 3 Insurgency Hawken Loadout Devs are in a position with licensed engines and digital distribution to make games on a budget greater than indie while still retaining some of the scope and production values associated with "AAA" (I hate that term, it's goddamn meaningless).
Dont forget Transistor and um... that game that looks like XCOM but with the guys who made Mark of the Ninja, Invisible Inc.? It's just that it's hard to define the placement of these games nowadays as indie companies that were previously considered indie now have better funding. Just look at Mount & Blade: Warband.
I wonder and I'm basically asking an open-question at this point, would Shadowrun: Dragonfall be considered an indie game? Or the Banner Saga? I legitimately don't know what the middle-market is anymore with the wide-range and variance of games at present.
GothaBillsAndDeath To me, it's hard to truly & accurately classify a developer/game as indie vs middle market. I think the main point to take away though is that only a few years ago most non-"AAA" devs were truly indie, and made almost entirely 2D platformers of some sort. Now we're seeing smaller companies go into all sorts of genres, and it's fucking awesome.
DrearierSpider1 It's a glorious renaissance! Sure you'll get crap here and there, but there are some good gems out there that made me revamp my top favorite lists.
The prevailing attitude seems to be 'if it's not on console, it doesn't count.' While I don't think Razor holds that attitude, I'd like to see him comment on the examples you've presented.
I'm playing through Mars: War Logs right now and I'm impressed what they could make with the budget they had for the game. I can't wait to start this game as well.
While I really did love Witcher 3, I agree with you that this game was actually pretty enjoyable. I went into it without too many y expectations, and I ended up loving it more than more recent RPGs like DA:I or even Skyrim. Then again I have a soft spot in my heart for the middle tier games out there, like Alpha Protocol, Technomancer, Folklore, and Majin & The Forsaken Kingdom. There's a certain charm to them, and it feels like the smart ones make up for their lack of graphical fidelity with engaging stories or top-notch gameplay. Hell one of my favorite RPGs to come back to from time to time is Kingdoms of Amalur, a game I believe is superior to Skyrim in just about every way.
Kingdoms of Amalur is amazing, and one of those games I can go on for hours about to friends who haven't played it. I'm playing it again on the Xbox One with backwards compat and it's like I'm reliving it all over again.
@@xxXXRAPXXxx fair point. It was just an oddly huge hot button issue in my gaming circles for me to proclaim Amalur better when everyone else I talked to about gaming was acting like Skyrim was the Second Coming and couldn't stop sucking Todd Howard off.
I thought Bound by Flame was a valiant attempt given their budget, and I agree we need more, but come on... The combat was pretty bad. At best, it was incredibly repetitive. I really wanted to like it. It's the exact type of game I want to support. That said, about half way through, I just couldn't force myself to continue. It's not a bad game, it's just ruined by it's combat.
Well, I've never been convinced by the bad reviews of this. Now I'm sold and plan to play it on PS4. I want to support more than just Indies and Triple A's. This is a good candidate for that.
I loved this game once I got past the voice-acting. (Two Worlds' voice-acting was just goofy, like the story. Not terrible.) And, maybe it's the difficulty level I was playing at, but this game does seem geared toward tactical combat. Resulted in me being skewered quite a few times, but hey.
Same here. Although once I got the rhythm of any real big fight, I was practically untouchable. My only real problem I had with the game was the lack of a proper ending. After I beat the final boss(I opted to minimize the Demon's influence), it just....ends. I had a massive case of story blueballs. What I was thinking when I finished it was, "Where's my epilogue dammit?" Still enjoyed the game though.
I'm going to have to check this game out. I'm so fucking sick of the AAA trash that we get these days. Everyone around gets excited for the next Destiny, or Bloodborne, or whatever the fuck is being advertised the hardest, and I'm just sitting around with my 3DS in hand, letting loose a giant sigh followed by an audible "meh".
Oh man oh man, I have just discovered you! The only channel where I can watch a cool video game review - or a Dark Throne documentary)) You've got yourself plus one subscriber. Don't listen to critics - you're doing a good work here. Keep it up and bang your fucking head!)
Bound by Flame isn’t the only RPG that fell under mostly everyone’s radar. The White Knight Chronicles Duology is a JRPG that’s sort of like Power Rangers or Kamen Rider seeing how the main characters have to ability to transform into giant robot esc knights to fight giant monsters. Like Bound By Flame, White Knight Chronicles has character creation system where people can make their own characters and project themselves into the game. Problem is that the Avatar character doesn’t do a lot in the main story as he/she is just a background character in most cutscenes. Plus White Knight Chronicles doesn’t have a romance option mechanic like Dragon Age, Fire Emblem, Mass Effect, Persona, Divinity Original Sin and Baldur’s Gate has seeing how the Avatar can’t romance characters such as Leonard, Yulie, Kara and Caesar.
I've ordered this thanks to this review (also, a friend of mine endorses this game as well). I actually quite enjoyed Mars: War Logs too. Great review, as always!
No, the problem with BbF is not being a middle game IT'S BEING FUCKING UNFINISHED The story just abruptly stops, which shows why the could get all those features with a low budget, because they didn't finished the fucking game.
Bound By Flame is a great fucking game & it's nice to see it getting some love. I got this game the day it launched & couldn't believe how hard reviewers were on it. Not only did it have a tiny budget & no major publisher backing it, but it even launched at $40 on the PS3 & 360 and $50 on the PS4. I wrote a product review of it on Amazon that mirrored the theme of this video -- I titled it "Don't list to professional reviewers."
Running a *little* low on my checking account for two more days, but I'm buying this right away because of your recommendation. Psyched to be surprised.
Thank you, this is the first vid of yours I've seen and I appreciate your counter view of the big company reviews that magically agree with each other on almost every game.
I love this game! And I don't understand why so many people say the combat sucks and the game is so hard, it's tricky for the first like, hour or so, then you learn how to use everything at your disposal, and then it pretty much feels like the difficulty level of any game on normal mode. I got this game for super cheap and I almost feel bad for doing so because there is a ton of fun and charm to be had and enjoyed in this absolute gem!
I enjoy these videos due to the fact I get to hear the a raw and straight forward review. Also I get to learn some new words I never knew before. Thanks you Mr.Fist for being my best English teacher ever!
I have been so hesitant in buying this game since I really needed to fill in the RPG gap on my PS4. Tired of the indie mess they keep putting out on PSN every month, not to say some of those games aren't good, but damn they get old. Thank you Razor you always stick to the truth and keep it real.
I bought this game, it's not bad. It's entertaining enough. The controls could use some good tightening up. The voice acting and dialog is as bad as Razorfist says it is. I would not count the flame tree as a third combat option because if you try and go the "mage" route though this game you're not gonna have a fun time; the flame tree is more about what you do in between swings of your sword or daggers. The partner AI is crazy bad and after a while you just concede to the fact that they are really there to absorb blows then to help out. The story is okay if not entirely predicable and your big choices actually do effect the game. With more polish this game really could have wowed more people then it initially did. I do hope they make a sequel some day.
Hm, I've heard of this game. TB did a short on it, mostly stated you have to be careful with what gear you have to use, but again it's just a first impression show. I'll talk to some friends about the game, and if they think it's nice, I'll probably pick it up on Steam.
Nice, my new copy just arrived in the mail and like Duke Nukem Forever, you have persuaded me. I dig Mars: War Logs because, like you said "It's low rent charm" and am looking forward to Technomancer. . I'm happy to support Spiders, the middle market, and you.
I would like to hear what Razor thinks of Spider's latest game, The Technomancer. From what I've seen and heard, it's a lot like Bound by Flame. The combat system, at least, is very much the same.
"The Witcher" is a series i never played a single game from because it never really grabbped me to begin with ; and on the other hand i have played Mars Warlogs which i was gifted by a friend , but i always found myself thinking "is this+better graphics how it feels like to play "The Witcher" ? Trading better story+graphics (which i'm sorry but"The Witcher"simply has over "Mars War Logs" or "Bound by Flame" which seems simply bland and generic even if you take in account the source which you claim it plagiarized) for a more in depth crafting system ....? I guess in the end it does come down to personal preference but now even i must admit , to put it bluntly , that if the average person saw "The Witcher", "Mars Warlogs" and "Bound by Flame" sitting pretty on a shelf all in the same price range and only had enough $ for one of them ; 8 out of 10 would go for "The Witcher" not just because of name recognition but because it looks just a cut above bland . As for the "happy middle ground" the game finds; i find it's more "meh" than "happy". "Bound by badass"? More like bound by unrealised potential which is a pity because you can almost see the game it could've been.
Have you played Mars: War Logs? It's was another underrated RPG released last year by Spiders. It's like The Witcher 2 meets The Chronicles of Riddick meets Dune. I haven't played Bound by Flame yet, but I'll certainly grab it until the end of 2014.
Actually, another middle market game that got undeservedly ignored (as far as I could tell) was Of Orcs and Men. It had some problems and was clearly on a budget, but dear GOD it had so much heart and was so much goddamn fun. ...At the very least it seems to have done well enough to get a stealth-based sequel, so I guess I shouldn't complain. It's so stupid that the gaming media doesn't so much as give these middle market gems the time of day. >: ( ...Yeah, I think I'm going to have to get back to writing my blog and spotlighting these kinds of games. They need more attention.
The crafting in this game is pretty but no matter what you attach to weapons and armor enemies will always be able to kill you in two or three hits and your weapon damage will always be negligible. During the latter parts of the game where you will be required to face multiple enemies will large powerful aoe attacks the game quickly becomes a terrible chore. Unless you max your fireball then you are god. matter of fact there is only one viable class in this game and thats pyromancer and no amount of side boob or gratuitous use of the word fuck is going to make up for that.
I was actually surprised how decent this game was. It was pretty rough around the edges, but I did have some fun with it. My biggest issue was that the enemy design got really frustrating later in the game. I was the rouge/thief class and there were enemies in the catacombs (or whatever dark, dead body filled place it was; I played the game when it came out earlier this year) that were a royal pain to take down, though I admit I can't quite remember why. It's the part of the game right after the long snowy section, with the cursed king or what have you. Not a fantastic RPG, but it had some neat ideas and I think it would at least be worth throwing some money at the studio, to see what they could do with more funds and development time. Though as per usual I think Ragaholic is a bit too hard on the gaming press. Whatever, I still like his stuff. One thing I might want to point out (though you might already know this Razorfist), is that while Brandon Jones reads all of the reviews for Gametrailers, the reviews are written by different people, which might explain the difference in the opinions being expressed in regards to linearity as it manifests in FFXIII and Bound by Flame. I suppose it could be argued that an editor for the site should keep track of this sort of thing, but they have been doing video reviews since the second Brothers In Arms game came out, so that might be nigh impossible at this point. Just a thought.
I wish I could talk like Razor, I would kick ass in arguments. I know he writes them first, so even he can't talk like that on a whim. Dennis Miller can, but he doesn't have Razor's speed.
If you can tolerate RPGs with a little jank as long as they do what they set out to do, I think you'd enjoy Bloodlust Shadowhunter, which is an RPG made by a single man over the course of several years. It has plenty of jank in it, to be sure, but as an RPG experience, and especially as a dungeon-crawling experience, I think it's a fantastic title that sounds up your alley. Just a suggestion.
Your gaming tastes are close to mine and so whenever you give a thumbs up to such an undiscovered game, I feel happy that I have another awesome game to play during this dry spell!
I also liked Spiders other RPG Faery Legends of Avalon. I was actually caught up with the story, world and characters. What sucks is it ends on a cliffhanger and there's still been no announcement from Spiders for episode 2.
I don't understand the negativity surrounding this awesome game. I can see that this being a mid-budget game interferes with the "publisher-paying good reviews," but even some user reviews bash this game. Don't understand why, as the battle system feels great, the story hooked me, the leveling system is up my alley, and the voice acting ain't bad. Actually, I liked all Spiders games I played -- The Technomancer, Mars: War Logs, Faery: Legends of Avalon, and this. Next? Greedfall.
This is probably one of the few honest reviews on this game that I've actually watched. I really enjoyed Bound By Flame, despite some of it's flaws namely elements of the combat system and the voice acting.
That is the (well, one of the many) problem with the industry. It's very hard to bring up a new brand to the table. Then we complain we have Battlefields, CODs and Asscreeds several times a year. These companies seem they don't know how to create one from nothing, and when they do, they just hope to sell. And they do it the other way around with already known games, they can just announce it's coming out in one trailer, but no, they fucking advertise the shit out it as if we don't already know its existence. God fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffucking speed Razor, I'll give this game a chance.
About the soundtrack: I'm not sure if you already knew this, but it was composed by Olivier Derriviere (I think that's how you spell it). The same cat that composed the scores for both the ObScure games AND Alone in the Dark 2009. Speaking of which, could you possibly do an Alone in the Dark retrospective sometime in the near future?
Has anybody told you how eerily similar you sound to the training instructor from MechWarrior 2 in audio-only reviews like this? You should call the audience, "Wetnose" sometime. That would be hilarious.
All right, all right, you sold me. Bought it on Steam AND I paid full price. I hope everyone is happy. More seriously, great review RF, thanks for bringing this game up. It's just the kind of game I'd like.
this game reminds me of zelda and dark souls, blocking is important, even on the normal setting this game can be tough, i love games like this! yeah the dialogue is like bulletstorm meets two worlds, but i love having the ability to switch weapons with a button custom pyromancer skills and a borderlands skill system. this game is fantastic so what if the dialogue sucks? everyone likes resident evil and house of the dead,
I remember playing this game, I only picked it up because I was looking for a "new" rpg to play, and at the time it was a dry period for any RPG's, least for me any way. So I played it and was very much impressed for the first few hours but then it just cuts it self short turns very frustrating and repetative and you can CLEARLY see that its a very tight budget game at that point. so my point is.. if this game had at least twice the budget we would be seeing sequals and hype trains rolling right about now.
We may not see eye to eye in some reviews and opinions, but I always opened up to games you are really positive about, like Brutal Legend and Deus Ex. So thanks for that Razorfist. I've been on the fence about this, but now, considering the low price, I need to get this. I've been doing an amateur game (and movie review), and I've got a new adition for the website now. I'm leaving a small mention of you, so thanks (the site is in portuguese for now, btw, so there's that little problem).
Your insistence on the plagiarism aspect is hilarious considering that both materials have nothing in common when you get down to the detail. If the Witcher is plagiarism, then Moorcock has royalties to give to the Scandinavian myths from which he got his ideas and the other works in the genre that came before him. Both are barely even the same character.
When you 'get down to the detail', Denis Leary never stole Bill Hicks' jokes either. Same premise, different punchlines and delivery. 'Getting down to the detail'... is another way of saying 'getting as specific as I need to in order to excuse the obvious similarities'. But take away all the plot points that are similar (and they are *myriad*) and just focus on the two core things: The *name*, (The White Wolf) the tone (Elric was the first sardonic, world-weary and flawed fantasy hero, remember - a trait that wasn't terribly common in the genre even by the time Sapkowski penned the first Witcher novels in the '80s)... and the *appearance*. If I released a new comic series about the ongoing adventures of 'Gonan the Barbarian', a buff, brown-haired dude in a loincloth, wielding a big, fuck-off sword...? That would be plagiarism. It wouldn't last three issues before the rights holders of Conan were deflowering me in court. And what would you have to go on? A *name*. And an *appearance*. I could change every solitary thing about the character and world apart from those two things... and no one on the planet is going to believe me when I tell people "Conan isn't an influence". And the act of DENYING that influence... is where the act is elevated from 'being inspired by'... to 'full-on plagiarism'. ...and that's something Andrzej Sapkowski has done - consistently - since the 1980s. Never *once* giving Michael Moorcock credit for inspiring his character or series - despite the fact that he has repeatedly acknowledged its existence in essays. But suddenly, because people enjoy a fairly mediocre RPG with tits in it, we have to break each story down, plot-point by plot-point, and if even ONE THING doesn't match, then it's grounds to dismiss any accusations of plagiarism? No. How about we hold The Witcher to the *same standard to which we would hold anything the fuck else*?! How about we not make excuses for lifting from a seminal work of fantasy - and more importantly *repeatedly refusing to acknowledge that it was EVEN AN INFLUENCE* - simply because we happen to enjoy a video game? How about that?
You only make sweeping generalizations and nothing more in your accusations. There is a difference when one takes a story and creates something around it with it's own identity, something that is clearly what happened with the Witcher, and when one copies word for word, action by action, character by character like the author was Carlos Mencia or Nick Simmons. Your boycot towards CDProjekt has as much validity as Moorcocks own accusations of infringement towards Sapkowski.
The Rageaholic so they have white hair, a chromatic animal knickname that’s common as coffee drinking, a sardonic world weary flawed anti-hero being a new thing (lol, seriously not new and not uncommon). Are they very similar? In broad sweeps yeah sure, so what? Similar in style isn’t plagiarism. What Batman writers did to the shadow is plagiarism. What you accuse happened between the pol and moorcock, at best it’s snubbing one source of inspiration. This is about as plagiarism as the Master chief is a copy of a 40k space marine...no wait like the shadow and batman that was actual copying. Starcraft and 40k, we can all see the similarities and they are myriad enough that inspiration is a definite. Is it plagiarism? fuck no, not unless you draw your power to gain erections from hyperbole is that a fair accusation.
This was an amazing game that ran out of budget by the final act. The final chunk of the game is empty, bare and incomplete. It’s 2/3 of a complete game, but those first 2/3 are utterly packed with creativity and charm and are definitely worth playing.
It's like he's saying what we're all thinking. Now review Technomancer and Demonicon: The Dark Eye. Bioware was the largest self-publishing developer in the world before their owners sold them to EA, which gutted them and now wears their skin as a mask. Today's nearest equivalent would be CD Projekt Red which's why rumors they'd sell to EA horrified everyone. Blizzard and Bethesda game studios have both grown greatly, the latter into one of the 3 biggest publishers, but they're both owned by greater entities (Activision and Zenimax) so they'll never has as much creative control and artistic auteurship as CD Projekt. Indie games like Minecraft and Undertales have taken off by varying means but it's a long way to a hundreds-of-millions AAA budget. The good news is gamers are relying much less on the mercenary publicists which call themselves "journalists". Good times will come again.
I don't know if you've already done a video about this or not,but what do you think of the fact that gamers are killing the industry. Since every game that comes out has so much of it already spoiled or revealed by people that there is nothing to really get excited about when you actually get the game. Not to mention stores breaking street dates weeks in advance at times so some idiot can post everything about the game. I'm just finding it harder to get excited anymore since I have to do a media blackout just so I can be surprised about upcoming games.
Bound By Flames is a very flawed game but it is a charming one. The writing was bad but that probably had to do with the development of the game and not the writers themselves. I will certainly cherish it and hope there will be other games like this one.
I enjoyed it quite a bit, I even liked it more than Orcs and Men which Spiders also made, it's shame middle market games like this are dying out, most of last, last gens greatest games were middle market.
been eyeballing this game for a while now , low on funds atm tho , but this definitely bumps it closer to the top of my want to buy list , so few good looking games coming out the rest of this year ( to meet my tastes) its sad.
Pretty sure there was a 9/11 reference somewhere in there. Moving on: Pretty much, this is how I feel about any game that comes up with either a fresh idea or concept. Then, takes the back seat due to a triple A game that previously came out or came out around the same time. My example would be Quest 64 always being compared to LoZ OoT when released. Though I liked LoZ OoT, I put more hours into Quest because it felt that I was truly accomplishing something when it came to combat and exploring. The battles are a bit more tactical and you had to stand in the correct positions to get the correct strikes based on your magic and levels you're using. While also having the ability to dodge your opponent's attacks or magic spells. Giving you the fair chance of getting out of the way. It can come off-topic but what I was trying to say is that most of today's gamers pretty much go for the "mow down enemies start to finish -> end game here" or "watered-down plot-driven/convenient/completely exposition story-based" games than games that can have thought-provoking ideas, high learning curve mechanics and more originality to it than just being "another RPG clone". Gotta give credit to a game that actually tries. Hell, I love Five Nights at Freddy's which is another example of how to do survival horror right. It's not the scariest game but I like that it builds paranoia, tension and suspense while managing your power. Another game that puts the survival horror genre in the right direction. FNAF and BbF are definitely be games of their genre that should never be overlooked. Sadly, the problem is also that not everyone wants to do something new. Look at SF4 and see how well that's doing. :/
handsomebrick It's like "yes" and "no". I believe there are companies (that respect their audience's intelligence) that want to branch off and create new IPs but are faced with consumers who don't want to move forward and stay in their comfort zone. Look at the backlash a new take on a Zelda game bring from fans. I'm all for something new in a series or a completely new series of games. Speaking on that, I personally would like to see another Streets of Rage/Bare Knuckle game. I don't mind if it has a new roster of characters. I've been wanting for the longest that the SoR characters should be added to installation (or new installations) of Virtua Fighter games. Especially, if it's a VF6 game. Sadly, (competent) devs and companies are pressured by their own consumers due to that "comfort zone": "Blargh! This game is too hard", "This game didn't tell me this was going to happen!", "That's a puzzle?!", "I HAVE TO THINK!?!?", "What is character development?" This is just a few most companies face. For Street Fighter 4's official release, I was looking forward to seeing Ken's son, Mel, replacing his dad as the new shoto fighter with his own style. I was looking forward to an older and mature/seasoned Sean. At least SF3 came up with a new cast of characters. But, SF4 stayed in that "comfort zone" and Raz0rFist already touched that in his SF4. I actually was waiting for an USF4 review but..yea...it would follow his SSF4 joke. I believe devs really want to do something new to a franchise or make a new franchise. It's usually the company itself that doesn't allow it. That new Strider game sucked ass. Sure, every youtuber playing it saying things like "It's the return of Strider and it's great!" commentary is everywhere. I've played the game and my expectation got lower. Good thing I didn't pay for it. There is no real challenge. The bosses fail in comparison to you even when you are over-powered. Random enemy fire is not challenging just because their shooting at me while I'm scaling a building. That's not a challenge. Fun is not me winning. I want to feel like I've accomplished something when I play through a game that gets progressively (and respectfully) difficult. Just because an enemy does 7x damage on you does not mean it's "hard". That's just frustration and I hate any beat'em up hack'n'slash that does that. My idea of stronger A.I. is the enemy changing up their patterns and getting close to you. Challenging your own skills that you've been honing as you played the game. You should feel like you want to play at a higher difficulty setting because you'll get newer enemy settings and behavioral patterns. When was the last time you said in a game "I didn't know that thing can do that?!?" due to you playing on Medium Hard to Extreme difficulty. When a enemy's a heavy-hitter then I'm already expecting that they dish out more damage. If they're bulky, then I will assume it has more stamina/HP. Now, devs and companies go "Make the enemies do 7x damage and the bosses do 22x the damage if the player gets hit". Another I would add are "bullet storm" games. Because of these games, we've built almost god-like (in which I'm saying loosely) reflexes and speed because there's so much shit coming at us. I thank playing games like Contra, Aero Fighters, Metal Slug to name a few but there are still games like that but they tend to get very little attention because not everyone many want to be bothered with things that want them dead in 2 seconds. I still play games like Magical Drop and I have the same reflexes and speed since I was 10 playing that game. Some consumers feel that they want to be overpowered and conquering. Not the other way around. So, this can push the devs and company to "give in" and botch up the game you once held so dearly to your heart.
Hey Razorfist, this has nothing to do with the current video, but what is your opinion of the Dark Mod? Of course it is the obvious successor to Thief, more so than Dishonored and Teef could ever hope to be, but does the absence of plot or narrative ruin it for you, or do you find enough enjoyment in other areas to praise it?
I haven't played this yet, but I'm looking forward to it. Meanwhile, I've also been playing Divinity: Original Sin, and it's great! Old school RPG with new innovations.
The idea of this game is extraordinary and its ambitions are high, but I played Mars: War logs. Great customization, crafting is like a dream, the A.I. partners are useless, and the enemies are damage sponges. Don't forget to upgrade your stances so you can stagger enemies when the game feels like it. I should have known but I still bought it at $12.
This game is basically the kid of Witcher and Dark Souls. Unfortunately I'm currently hunting for a walkthrough right now, due to the Dark Souls moments
I'm loving the little gem that is Bound by Flame. I got it on sale and didn't bother to boot it up until last month and this game is surprisingly deep. Fuck professional critics. Until they enjoy games more than they enjoy condescending to the masses for the right price, I refuse to listen to them.
Aaahhh, Razorfist's reviews always leave me in a good mood. :) I think what may have sold this to me is that I saw an NPC use the word "godsdamned". So they have multiple gods who might all have some actual IMPACT on the world? Speaking as someone doing the very same thing in my own RPGs, I like that idea. Imma go consult Steam to see if they have this game. If so, I'm picking it up once I land a part time job this semester.
Bound by Flame seems promising. I know that youtuber Rhexx did a playthrough of it, and now this vid has convinced me to buy it sometime in the future.
I shelved this game after 30 minutes because the setting was far too familiar and the story didn't have much of a hook (in my own subjective opinion). I agree that the gameplay was interesting, but when I play RPGs I want to be immersed in that world and the world of Bound by Flame just wasn't that interesting in 2014.
Started playing it (on your recommendation)... and its exactly like you said : RPG version of Deadly premonition! Still too early for me to judge though.
