Spiders is an interesting developer, to say the least. Their previous games- Mars: War Logs and Bound By Flame were clunky, unpolished messes that, despite their faults, still had endearing qualities that gained each of them cult followings. Next up from Spiders is The Technomancer- an apocalyptic action-RPG set on mars with cyberpunk overtones. It’s their chance to do a proper current-gen title right and shine in the hopes of pulling in a more main-stream audience. With its release, the question is can they pull it off?
As a quick sidenote, let me interject a few words on my love for Eastern-European games. From Stalker to Cryostasis, from Mars: War Logs to The Witcher… I have huge affection for games from the region. There’s just something about the charming levels of jank, poor translations, and crazy storytelling that just sucks me in almost every time. Plus, there’s the part of me that holds out hope for another classic, such as Call of Pripyat or The Witcher 3. I’ve always believed Spiders could be one of those developers to break through with a title that’s truly sublime, and not just appreciated on a kitsch-level.
Technomancer is (maybe???) set in the same universe as War Logs, and puts you in the role of Zachariah, a young Technomancer (think space cop with Jedi/cyber-punk-ish powers) in training who gets in way over his head. There are dialog trees, stats that alter based on how you play and invest skill points, and combat is in the vein of the Arkham games or the Witcher series. It’s because of the skill and timing required in combat that I’m labeling this as an action-RPG instead of just a full-on RPG. The game branches depending on your actions and choices, and the ending reflects all of that as well.
The game excels at ambiance. Your surroundings drip claustrophobia, dread, and oppression. There’s never a moment where you feel at peace- even in your own quarters. The various ways in which you can complete quests are also a welcome change of pace from the standard of “go here, talk to this NPC, go here, kill this thing, rinse, repeat.” The visuals, while not amazing, hold up better than either War Logs or Bound By Flame. For the first time in a Spiders game, the world feels cohesive… dark and bleak, but cohesive none the less.
Sadly, with the good comes a whole lot of bad. As with most Eastern-Block games, the dialog is often laughable. The combat system is clunky and difficult to manage- hits never feel like they really connect, the timing on dodging always feels random, and enemies love to swarm. What makes this an even bigger issue is a camera that never really works with you, even when you’re target-locked on an enemy. Also, get used quickly to the fact that there’s no auto-save system. You’ll be manually saving like crazy, as there’s several combat segments that are harsh, cheap, and unforgiving. Forget to save even once, and you’ll be playing the same segment over and over… and over.
As the saying goes, it takes a mother to love a face like this. There’s a certain mystique and charm to Technomancer that you won’t find in many other titles out there. If you can look past it’s many flaws, there might just be a game in there for you to sink your teeth into. If a polished, refined experience is what you come to expect from your games however, this one’s just going to infuriate you. Buyer beware, but I still recommend checking this one out.
The technomancer game for PS4 is absolutely stupid and the people who have made the game do not know crap about making games fun and enjoyable for people.