I played only about 7 levels into the game and the game itself was ok, but one mechanism killed my shoulder and I had to give it up. it is this stupid mechanism where you have to keep holding the right mouse button in order to aim a weapon. In the course of a few hours this caused severe muscle pain in my right arm and I suffered from substantial pain for the next weeks, got syringes etc. I dont understand why it was not possible to automatically show the crosshair when you pull a weapon instead of forcing someone to keep the right mouse button hold down for minutes? Maybe I am more sensitive to this than others but it ruined the game for me , as well as my health for the next month. It's a pity because I would have liked to finish it, but I immediately deinstalled the game after that and wont play it ever again (maybe with joysticks).
I have played now five Spiders games and I enjoyed most of it, with Greedfall the newest and best. Bound by flame is not bad, and I played as a rogue with the crossbow and two daggers, stealth killing and some skills from the flame skill tree. I had read that playing a warrior can be difficult, so I chose otherwise. It is crucial to get a feeling for dodging because the time window for evading a hit and starting a riposte is narrow and it's not always easy to avoid being hit. So I played on easy and it was difficult enough sometimes nevertheless. Later, I could have switched to Normal for most fights but facing the same kinds of enemies all and again was kinda boring, so I left it on Easy difficulty. This also made the boss fights easier. Letting your ally do the melee and using the crossbow and some traps was a good strategy for boss fights. The companions were not so vivid and interesting as in Greedfall or The Technomancer, though. Everything good until the last boss fight (The ice lord Blackfrost is not the last one!). This was ridiculously difficult and even on easy I stood no chance. I read that it makes things easier if you bring dozens of traps and crossbow bolts, and I had a lot of the latter but very few traps left. There are many players who cannot beat the last boss. It is a pity you can't finish the game because when I play on Easy, fights should be easy, as a last resort if harder difficulty levels are too difficult. I refused to follow the demon and finished the game as a human with no possession but then the flame skills are rather weak. It is more an add-on really but very helpful against some opponents. I don't think I will play a second run as a fully possessed demon but who knows. Romancing is weak and felt more satisfying in Greedfall.
I have played now Greedfall, The Technomancer, Mars: War Logs, Bound by flame and just finished Of Orcs and Men, in this order. Mars: War logs was the weakest of them. Game mechanics felt rather old fashioned and there is a lot of backtracking, and the same enemies respawning every time you leave an area is quite unnecessary. For a Spiders game, the characters were, with the exception of Roy, rather dull. Play time was rather short, but for 5 Euros it was ok. I wouldn't play it again but I do not regret the time, it was entertaining enough.
Just finished the game on Easy level, I had heard a lot about how broken some fights were but in the end, with a good build guide, it was easy enough. I had already played the two Styx solo adventures before and loved them. Styx is my favorite gameplay character ever, with his funny and sarcastic way. The orc Arkail is a worthy companion. I followed a build guide which favors mostly defensive gameplay with high stamina and deflection for Arkail, although you still need some offensive skills because in those few fights where Arkail has to fight alone, he needs to deal at least some damage to come by on his own. Styx is the main damage dealer and has good skills for melee fighting and ranged stance. But having enough hit points (I had 300 in the end) and enough Dodging saved me in some fights where he was on his own. The story was good as always in a Spider game, with Greedfall my favorite in terms of story and characters. Styx and Arkail are an uneven couple but very funny in their dialogues. Their enemies are rather dull on the other hand. At the beginning, it took me a while to get going in fights because you have to use the strategic overview to calm things down and get used to managing two characters at the same time. Also, the game control with the mouse was too sensitive and unsteady. After I got the knack of the fighting, though, things turned out more brightly and I started to enjoy the game. In the end, I won the fights rather easily. Not being able to save in between some fights is annoying, and some cut scenes come too sudden, but overall I enjoyed the game. Took me 26 hours to finish it. I have now completed all Spiders games I know of from this one upwards and I like them. And hey, for less than 2 Euros ...?
I have just reached level 20 and I am positively surprised by this game. I didn't expect too much because of some reviews but i am happy to have bought the game. Sure, its mechanics are not as sophisticated as The Witcher games (though a lot of features have obviously been borrowed from it), and it is not open world, but what this game truly shines at is the original setting, the intelligent story and quests (even the side quests are meaningful and well written), and the amicable party members and their great voice acting. I simply feel good in the company of these "people". The colonialization background of Teer Fradee is interesting and still a current topic. I play de Sardet as a gunner, with a light one-handed weapon (a rapier or saber) and armor that suits his diplomat style. The guns and rifle skill is extremely versatile and useful, especially in combination with Science 2 which allows you to craft your ammunition. So I always have enough ammo with me. The rifles break armor better, so against opponents with high armor, I always use rifles. Always pick guns with a high fire rate. I have followed the weapons coating tree which is good, ant the bomb skill is extremely useful to break armor and to weaken crowds. It does not take too much effort to refill the fury bar to maximum during fighting, and you can always drink a fury potion to do so. Overall, the skill trees are just right for me, they allow for some differentiation of your play style but are no too complicated. The difficulty level at Normal is just right for me, with a bit of a challenge but no frustration (and the difficulty level can be adjusted at any time of the game). continuing in part II
It is a good game with a good story and an unexpected ending. The game play reminded me of the later parts of Deus Ex or the Dishonoured series which I liked a lot. It is challenging but allows for a good choice of difficulty. I was first reluctant to invest more into the alien skill tree because of the "problems" with turrets but this proved to be no big deal. The alien skills helped me a lot and were fun to play. Definitely a recommendation.
I have just finished this game as a blue wing. I played it on normal difficulty. My team consisted of Yoko and Katharina (the scientist from Magellan). The fights were not too difficult, as long as you look for good weapons or upgrade them. Picking locks is a very useful skill, as is influence and Tech/Science, whereas hacking is ok but there are few opportunities where you need a high level. Of course, evading fights is easy, and I like games with a good stealth option, but going stealth was the weakest part of the game and somewhat disappointing because it is so easy and sometimes comic when you walk in apparent good visibility in a well-lit room and your opponents don't see you walking just a short distance away. So this mechanism feels rather ridiculous. It is also annoying that you can enter forbidden places in stealth or picklock safes but the owner will realize it and come running to you even if you have left the crime scene. So you have to make lame excuses and say you repent your crimes and can still keep everything. They should improve this. Dialogues, too, are not too well-carved out. You can annoy another person and they will still say "Nice to meet you", no matter how the conversation was going. Overall, I don't regret playing this game, the main setting is convincing and different, and I don't need games with boss fights where you need 20 reloads to succeed, it is more about exploring, but the game is not too sophisticated. They should improve some of the game elements to make it a good game.
