Bound By Flame, an RPG with darksouls difficulty combat and the coolest demon ever.

*Spoilers pop up later, will give warning*

So, let me just start off by saying, it's an indie game. It takes alot for me to not be dissappointed by a game's parts, so for all means, this will be some ♥♥♥♥ thrown at the game itself. Judging the game off its worst parts, it would be a terrible game. If, however, you're willing to not be looking for a mass media level game, which this isn't, then you will be disappointed. You run that risk on any games not made by the companies who have been doing this year after year.

Spiders doesn't seem to have been in business all -that- long. The only time I'd ever heard of them before was in Mars: Warlogs, which made me hesitant at first. The voice acting and mechanics in Mars: Warlogs, were unrealistic and clunky respectively. To point out a few things, the first few women I met in Mars: Warlogs made me want to gouge out my eyes, and the combat left me feeling like I was trying to throw a bag of meat out of the way of bullets while being constantly wrecked. Thinking back on it, its mechanics may have been better suited to a medieval RPG. That's where this game comes in.

Once again, we live in clunk city for the combat. As interesting as it was, as difficult as it may have been while still being possible, it was in the end a bit rediculous to use. It wasn't the most aerodynamic thing, and for the life of me, I could never seem to get the parrying right. Crossbows seemed vastly underpowered, and I only seemed to be able to find 3 different crossbows, though that could be because I didn't end up searching endgame corpses. The game brings this back with its magic. I loved the constant balancing between casting time and trying to formulate a plan of attack. Trying to use only one of the branches would usually leave you pretty beat. (Except the OP rangers, but they have bombs.) Balancing magic casting times and sword swings, you had to be able to think on your feet in order to dodge, block, and flame your way to victory. This aspect could be re-done so many times, its replayability is quite nice. The combat, overall, was a good thing.

*WARNING, SPOILERS BELOW*

What wasn't so good, was the storytelling and the arcs you were forced into. I realize the game has to be created around a story and allowing people to make choices causes you to have to script more, but did you really have to make sure the same events took place regardless? And then, in the end, you come down to two answers. . . based on a question you were asked near the beginning. Now, that is ludicrous for two reasons. Firstly, their question was near the beginning of the game, meaning your endings were decided right next to the beginning, with no questions about it in between. Secondly, they asked you whether or not you wanted to use a demon's power. Not only did they never ask how far you would use it, but they never warned you that you would lose all humanity. They said your souls would combine, and warned that you might lose humanity, but in the end, even with all the horns and burning skin, your character still SPEAKS human, and still ACTS human, with fire of course, but not much else. They try to tell us that we lose control or something if we take the demon path, which is BS. The way I had seen it, there honestly should've been the chance to oh. . . I don't know. . . GIVE YOUR LIFE LIKE A MARTYR? I honestly thought that was where they were going. They said that the demon could grant powers, and others encouraged you to use it. To save humanity that is. And in the end, it's like star wars, and you became the Sith. . . without meaning to in the slightest. That seems quite unfair, honestly. And yet, it caused me to play the game again, so I must be the idiot in this situation. Even after all that, and I mean, for a while, that made me mad, I did think back on it, and it does make sense. I relate it to the holocaust, honestly, because for so long, the humans in this story, much like the Jewish in WWII were hunted down, and exterminated. But what could they have lost in trying to break free? Most who were killed, to their dying breath, still stood for what they believed in, and when they died, they died in peace. Honestly, the option to become a demon shouldn't have even been an option, because that purpose the humans have, it could've become far more prominent. And that's why I find it more a broken feature than a folly in itself. It's forgivable.

The music is among some of the best I've heard lately. I want to know what language the songs are in so bad. The final battle, I lived for that moment when my heart started beating heavily, and the mirror demon began to fight our protagonist. And suddenly, it was all over. And it felt like it was over. It left no room for idiocy, though space for another game. They let you wrap up with everyone, and that feels like it was important. You could see the ending knowing everything was over.

Now, to relate this game to a mega corporation's product like Dragon Age, that'd be too harsh on this game. Currently, anyways. But it was worth a try, and I for one have been impressed by the powder master, Vulcan, and his adventure. I look forward to seeing if Spiders gets even better for their next game.

Bound By Flame, an RPG with darksouls difficulty combat and the coolest demon ever. *Spoilers pop up later, will give warning* So, let me just start off by saying, it's an indie game. It takes alot for me to not be dissappointed by a game's parts, so for all means, this will be some shit thrown at the game itself. Judging the game off its worst parts, it would be a terrible game. If, however, you're willing to not be looking for a mass media level game, which this isn't, then you will be disappointed. You run that risk on any games not made by the companies who have been doing this year after year. Spiders doesn't seem to have been in business all -that- long. The only time I'd ever heard of them before was in Mars: Warlogs, which made me hesitant at first. The voice acting and mechanics in Mars: Warlogs, were unrealistic and clunky respectively. To point out a few things, the first few women I met in Mars: Warlogs made me want to gouge out my eyes, and the combat left me feeling like I was trying to throw a bag of meat out of the way of bullets while being constantly wrecked. Thinking back on it, its mechanics may have been better suited to a medieval RPG. That's where this game comes in. Once again, we live in clunk city for the combat. As interesting as it was, as difficult as it may have been while still being possible, it was in the end a bit rediculous to use. It wasn't the most aerodynamic thing, and for the life of me, I could never seem to get the parrying right. Crossbows seemed vastly underpowered, and I only seemed to be able to find 3 different crossbows, though that could be because I didn't end up searching endgame corpses. The game brings this back with its magic. I loved the constant balancing between casting time and trying to formulate a plan of attack. Trying to use only one of the branches would usually leave you pretty beat. (Except the OP rangers, but they have bombs.) Balancing magic casting times and sword swings, you had to be able to think on your feet in order to dodge, block, and flame your way to victory. This aspect could be re-done so many times, its replayability is quite nice. The combat, overall, was a good thing. *WARNING, SPOILERS BELOW* What wasn't so good, was the storytelling and the arcs you were forced into. I realize the game has to be created around a story and allowing people to make choices causes you to have to script more, but did you really have to make sure the same events took place regardless? And then, in the end, you come down to two answers. . . based on a question you were asked near the beginning. Now, that is ludicrous for two reasons. Firstly, their question was near the beginning of the game, meaning your endings were decided right next to the beginning, with no questions about it in between. Secondly, they asked you whether or not you wanted to use a demon's power. Not only did they never ask how far you would use it, but they never warned you that you would lose all humanity. They said your souls would combine, and warned that you might lose humanity, but in the end, even with all the horns and burning skin, your character still SPEAKS human, and still ACTS human, with fire of course, but not much else. They try to tell us that we lose control or something if we take the demon path, which is BS. The way I had seen it, there honestly should've been the chance to oh. . . I don't know. . . GIVE YOUR LIFE LIKE A MARTYR? I honestly thought that was where they were going. They said that the demon could grant powers, and others encouraged you to use it. To save humanity that is. And in the end, it's like star wars, and you became the Sith. . . without meaning to in the slightest. That seems quite unfair, honestly. And yet, it caused me to play the game again, so I must be the idiot in this situation. Even after all that, and I mean, for a while, that made me mad, I did think back on it, and it does make sense. I relate it to the holocaust, honestly, because for so long, the humans in this story, much like the Jewish in WWII were hunted down, and exterminated. But what could they have lost in trying to break free? Most who were killed, to their dying breath, still stood for what they believed in, and when they died, they died in peace. Honestly, the option to become a demon shouldn't have even been an option, because that purpose the humans have, it could've become far more prominent. And that's why I find it more a broken feature than a folly in itself. It's forgivable. The music is among some of the best I've heard lately. I want to know what language the songs are in so bad. The final battle, I lived for that moment when my heart started beating heavily, and the mirror demon began to fight our protagonist. And suddenly, it was all over. And it felt like it was over. It left no room for idiocy, though space for another game. They let you wrap up with everyone, and that feels like it was important. You could see the ending knowing everything was over. Now, to relate this game to a mega corporation's product like Dragon Age, that'd be too harsh on this game. Currently, anyways. But it was worth a try, and I for one have been impressed by the powder master, Vulcan, and his adventure. I look forward to seeing if Spiders gets even better for their next game.