is certainly janky/low-budget, but it has heart. Some of the dialogue cracks me up: "Hey, did anyone see what I just did to that HUGE FUCKING MONSTER? Nah...we're just gonna go have lunch. Really?" I like the soundtrack, reminds me of Mass Effect 1; the voice acting can be hit or miss, but not bad.

I definitely wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but if you can overlook flaws and need an RPG fix, Bound By Flame has it's charms. I'm enjoying it so far.

What are you playing on? How's it holding up technically speaking?

PS4; technically I'd put it on par with the first Dragon Age/Mass Effect ;)

I'd probably give this game a go if I found it at a cheap enough price. It could be a bit of popcorn fun.

Hows the combat? I enjoy more instant feedback controls like that of Amalur or Brutal Legend or even Oblivion/Skyrim over the point and click/action queue games like Dragon Age or the Kotor games.

Hows the companion AI? Are they just fodder, or do they actually do decent while in combat? And do you only get 1 max with you?

Also also, is it straight linear level progression with action set piece after action set piece, or do you get to a relax a minute in cities/shopping areas?

@ethanielrain: So whats up with the mechanic of friending, bedding or murdering people you encounter? Is it just a button prompt? And how do the different classes pan out?

I'm currently playing Nier and as much heart as that game has and an interesting story, it is draining. I wouldn't mind some mindless hacking and-a-slashing on the side!

So... texture pop-in and an inconsistent framerate?

I hope there's a Quick Look for this game.

I'm pretty curious how this game will review.

I hope it's at least passable, because I'd love to play something else on my Ps4.

I've checked out some videos on YouTube - there are already full game walkthroughs.. - and the combat seems a little wooden. Very stiff animations with very little response from the enemies. Haven't played it but it just seems like it should be faster than it is.

So strange its out on the PSN store, but disc version is not out until Friday. Skeptical of getting the digital version.

@sterling: I thought that was weird too, and also weird it makes it look like Wolfenstein is actually out even though its not untl the 20th

Is the voice acting as bad as the most recent trailer seemed to indicate?

Oh... That game's out now? I thought it was out later and was preorder...able.

I don't understand the excitement for this game considering it's from the developers of Mars: War Logs.

@ntm: The physical release comes out on Friday and I'm sure you can still pre-order it. For some reason they decided to release the digital version about three days ahead of schedule (likely so it could be released during the PlayStation Store's typical update day)

Some people prefer a clunkier game

Like me, I enjoy them more than the more 'polished' AAA games

SPIDERS!!

@somedelicook The combat is probably the weakest part of the game. It's similar to LotR: War In The North; simplistic combos with some spells & abilities. It is more or less "instant feedback" like Amalur...just not very good. The companions have been pretty useful so far, and the game gives you pretty good control over how they act (I've stuck with a healer so far though). The game is linear, but it has "city" areas...that's the strongest part of the game IMO. The characters are great, everything from people who will straight up tell you suck their balls to princesses that speak all noble in the third person.

@humanity So far I've only had straight dialogue choices for NPC's. Seems like that's getting a bit deeper, in terms of romance/killing people, but I haven't reached that point yet. And ya, the combat is the weakest part of the game. You aren't restricted to one class, you can switch on-the-fly and put points into all of them...like switching "stances" basically. I'm committed deep into rogue ATM so can't comment too much on the differences between them.

@yummylee I guess it's been a while since I've played those games :) The graphics are on par with them, but it runs just fine. The only thing I've encountered is a split second hitch-up here and there. Load times are fast, 2-10 seconds.

@altairre The voice acting is hit and miss. When it's bad it's really bad, but when it's good it's really good. The characters are actually the best part of the game IMO.

I've played ~6 hours straight, the game reminds me of the first Dragon Age & Mass Effect a lot. Big flaws - especially the combat - that are obviously a byproduct of a tiny budget. But the characters are great and refreshing, music is good and the story isn't bad (if contrived/clichéd). I'm shocked how much I'm digging it, can't remember the last time I played a game for so long in one sitting ^_^

I think it's just the characters. Having a mercenary talk all salty and dirty like they really would ("The Gods have always fucked me, but now they're going in deep") is a nice change of pace for me. I do find myself dreading the combat sections though :/

I'm downloading it now. I'll add my 2 percent once I've played it. As of now I'm going to watch some ebony porn, youtube vids, read the GB forums, and relax from working all day.

You've come to be one of my favorite posters recently, so I'm looking forward to your 2 percent <3

Not liking what I'm seeing from you guys about the combat, which is what you'd think would be the game's biggest draw. Was hoping for something fast-paced and arcadey like Kingdoms of Amalur. Bad voice acting and plot would not bother if the gameplay was good..see Just Cause 2 for an example of how it's done.

I am liking it quite a bit, very much in that charming yet janky game kind of way. I think a good way to describe the gameplay is to call it "Dragon Age 1.5". I can see the game wearing itself out pretty easily but at the same time it seems to be a decent game to chill out and listen to a podcast while going through some random quests.

I was going to buy this without knowing anything about it, but $50 is steep for an impulse buy. I've never heard of the game until today. I'm hoping they do a Quick Look.

Maaan, I was kinda hoping that this game wouldn't have bunch of swearing in it...and not that I'm all censorshipy, but it wasn't exactly handled all mature-like in War Logs, even if they later on re-recorded most, if not all of it.

Mass Effect 1 soundtrack comparison sold me. I love action-rpgs so it was the feather that broke the camel's back. Downloading to ps4 now.

Stop comparing it to ME1, you're making me want to buy it...

Comparing it to the best Mass Effect game is pretty high praise.

Maybe I have bad taste in games, but I kinda like this game. Here's abit of my first impressions so far...

- Voice acting is decent, but the dialogue can be pretty silly at times. Its not a bad thing, just feels random at times. Like the part where your character was like ''did you not see me fry that huge fucking monster just now?''

- Combat can feel janky and doesn't feel responsive as it should be, but I like how you can switch styles on the fly. Depending on the situation your combat style can give you an advantage or disadvantage.

-Story (though cliche) seems interesting enough so far. Basically your character pretty much becomes a jinchuuriki (If you watch Naruto you know what I mean). After some sorcerers fucks up some ritual that ends up summoning a powerful demon, and he ends up getting imprisoned into your body. I don't know what the fuck is with this Demon's vocabulary. He's all up on that ''thou he should use my power because its the shit'', but anyway your going to have to battle this evil beings called the ice lords, who's a big threat to the world because their evil and want more power.

-Upgrading system seems deep enough for this game, and I like how you can craft items, armor parts, weapon parts etc...

-Though I'm not too far into the game. The level and enemy designs seems decent so far.

Anyway, I have a strange feeling I'm going to spend alot of time with the game. There's a good amount of obvious issues going on, but at the sametime it has a charm that I like about it. Overall I'm enjoying this game more then I thought I would. I don't know if I can recommend this game because its not for everybody. If it was about 30 bucks or 20 I would say go for it.

I think I'll go grab myself a copy tomorrow, got a feeling that I'll like it.

Comparisons to the first and best Mass Effect and Dragon Age might just sway me toward buying this.

I wonder how many people are going to buy it based on these comparisons. And then be very disappointed. I think comparing it to those games may be a little much.

@falserelic: Is there any MP element to it or is it all single player? It looks like a 40 buck game to me, if I can find it for that price I might give it a whirl. It could be fun.

I wish there was a demo. It seems interesting but if I'd much rather have a sense of everything with a controller in my hand.

Just single player.

I'm really sketchy about buying this game. I really enjoy rpg's, but I enjoy them primarily for the diverse combat and well told story with a more serious tone. Then again i'm aching for an rpg, especially on my ps4. My ps4 has been a coaster since infamous.

@ethanielrain:

Yeah the dialog is funny and seems to come out of nowhere. I am playing as a girl, I always do even though I am not one :) The time when the word d**khead came out was pretty funny and seemed out of that type of game except this one that is. I second what you said as well. I am about 12 hours in and aven't put any points in Pyromancy or let the demon possess my at all yet.

Yeah I haven't gone the demon route at all either yet. I'm going to give a 2nd playthrough as a female & full demonic possession :)

Sounds like a Spiders game all right. I kinda wished it didn't have this.

I just spent a couple of hours playing the game, plus an hour and a half last night. It's definitely growing on me. The gameplay reminds me of a cross between Kingdoms of Amalur and Dark Souls. You can easily switch between fighting styles like you would in Amalur. I.e. between "warrior" (fighting with a sword) and "ranger" (dual wielding daggers). But you need to pay a more attention to the enemy attacks than you did in that game, learn their patterns. I doubt it's as difficult as Dark Souls (I haven't played much of DS), but it's certainly not easy. I've died more times than I care to admit in my three and a half hours so far. Of course I'm not terribly good at games, but still.

I'm also liking the writing far more than I expected. They do a pretty good job of giving the characters different personalities, and there's some amusing dialogue. Yes, there's swearing, but so far only from the characters you would expect (e.g. the mercenaries). So far I don't think it's gotten out of hand. It might be slightly heavy-handed, but it does help make the different characters distinct. And I do appreciate a generic fantasy RPG where I can actually tell the NPCs apart.

Game reminds me more of the first Witcher in its jankiness of the combat and the dialog. Looks good though on PC

So is it less janky than something like....Divinity 2?

Its definitely less janky than that. The combat however isn't easy, and you need to micro your companion a bit (you can order them to defend/attack/heal)

This game is mad hard for me because you rely on parrying attacks and I get bored of that shit. One hit two hit, parry, one hit two hit, parry, one hit two hit.......

And I die QUICK. If I'm not careful I get wrecked easily, and thats with a healing companion and using potions etc etc. Luckily, the game auto saves like crazy.

@ethanielrain: I changed the title of your thread. In the future, please don't use vague clickbait titles. Thanks.

I'm not going to lie: this seems like a game I will get for $10 in 6 months and either enjoy or mock relentlessly. Given the rather... drastic spread of review scores, I'm not going to take a risk at full price.

I've played through the prologue and a little further (about an hour).... and I'm really digging it. Has a slightly cell-shaded look that I like. I'm enjoying the combat - but wish you could adjust control layout - it would be really easy to basically set it up with Dark Souls settings. I get a kick out of the characters too - funny in a ham fisted way (lots of swagger). As others have said, music is pretty good too.

Not going to be for everybody - but if you like action rpg's you could do a lot worse. Its not often I really enjoy a game I didn't see coming. Also, I'm thrilled to be playing something on my PS4 again.