The Technomancer is the newest release from Spiders, an ARPG set on Mars in the midst of the ‘Water Wars’ but should we be making the extra-planetary journey ourselves?
When news of The Technomancer first arrived, I was to say the least, skeptical. Spiders’ last RPG production, Bound By Flame was, to be kind, executed poorly. Apprehension aside however, I’m still an RPG fan to my bones and am always willing to try something new, particularly when that something is packaged nicely in a darker, more brooding science-fiction/fantasy setting.
Set as a sort-of-sequel (not that you’d know it) to Mars: War Logs, you play as the title character, a fledgling Technomancer about to be initiated (well you wouldn’t expect one with all the skills already developed would you?). In this universe, Mars has been colonised by humans long ago, and subsequently abandoned too. As you’d probably expect even from present humanity, we managed to mess up a second planet, so it’s been abandoned and left in a set of totalitarian states in separate ‘biomes’ each with their own sect of Technomancers. It’s a good mix in honesty, take some Mass Effect, throw in a bit of The Witcher and tell them to re-enact Total Recall.
Straight off the bat, the Technomancer shows it’s colours as a truly action-based RPG. You’ll have three combat styles open to you and three stances within them. A long range method focussing more on the staff (think a mage build), a mace and shield option for medium distance and damage (think warrior build) and my personal favourite, a quicker, but less damaging, pistol and knife set (think rogue build). Combining these styles with your innate bio-electrical abilities to augment weaponry and straight up attack your foes you’ve got a little bit of Dark Souls mixed into the game with its time specific combat, even if it’s nowhere near as brutal difficulty-wise. The system is interesting and provides plenty of variation, but despite drawing from the well of Dark Souls, it lacks the precision you’d want in this form of combat.
Outside of combat we start to see elements of Mass Effect, but not always positively emulated ones. The non-combat quests unfortunately feel very ‘fetch and return’ and seem to be filler for the main game or to make you explore the main world hubs. Sadly this isn’t the most rewarding experience as the main hub worlds/biomes/towns are about as full of life as Mars currently is in the real world. NPC’s may as well blend in as furniture and the dialogue tends to be none too interesting and the story revelations that occur here are hardly plot twists. Dialogue and ethics here are where we see some stock taken from Bioware, the choices you make can affect your end-game in up to five different ways but the main dialogue and persuasion is based more on chance than skill with your option failing this is simply to resort to violence, ahh life on Mars. This tends to make dialogue less nuanced and as such, big subject matter is handled well into the scope, but then shoehorned into the story at the last minute. Companions suffer from this same issue as well and appear the NPCs probably should; memorable enough to catch a name, but very little substance beyond this point.
The main issue with the game however, is a problem with many an RPG in the age of improved graphic, a reliance on spectacle. The game IS designed in a spectacle fashion, detailed landscapes, flashy electric abilities and well textured. However, the same character models keep getting re-hashed and more noticeable as the game wears on making for a sticking point.
In fairness, the game does get better as time wears on, like many an RPG, the point for change and sudden development in The Technomancer is around 6-8 hours dependent on play speed. However, I don’t see this as enough of a payoff, for sure I could stare at the sun for that amount of time and it would be spectacular I’m sure to see it, and I’d see a gorgeous sunset at the end, however at that point I’ve likely done serious damage to my eyes, the wait for improvement in RPGs doesn’t always make it worthwhile. The Technomancer, in fairness, is not a bad game. Issues with spectacle and a clunky UI across the board coupled with a dull start to the game are common foibles in RPG’s, however after the opening period, interesting battles and characters emerge and the story isn’t weak. It’s an average RPG trying to be greater than it is, but the concept is fresher at least. Maybe just wait until it’s not full price or you’ve run dry from the bigger name previously mentioned?
Author: Steve, Southgate store
