Bound by Flame

 PC
User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 437 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 219 out of 437
  2. Mixed: 136 out of 437
  3. Negative: 82 out of 437

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  1. masterchief247
    Oct 31, 2018
    10
    This is one of the most under rated games I have ever played. It has a romance system, choice, consequences, a good combat engine, and good story. Its actually one of my favorite rpg games ever. If you ever have a chance to pick this up cheap, don't pass it up.
  2. Luka1998010
    Jul 30, 2018
    9
    The game is good,it has potential but it lacks in story,narrative and character choices.
    The graphics are top,i love the effects.
    One part of every fantasy RPG game i am excited about is the character creation. In this game,it disappointed me a lot. There are almost no options.You can only choose from a certain number of faces,and hair styles. One of the things that is good and bad in    The game is good,it has potential but it lacks in story,narrative and character choices.
    The graphics are top,i love the effects.
    One part of every fantasy RPG game i am excited about is the character creation.
    In this game,it disappointed me a lot.
    There are almost no options.You can only choose from a certain number of faces,and hair styles.
    One of the things that is good and bad in the same time is the difficulty.
    The game is hard like dark souls at some point,even on recruit difficulty,its crazy.
    The creatures in the swamp,at the very beginning of the game kill me a lot,in order to kill them i have to be very patient and give orders to my companion in order to succeed.
    The game is very challenging.
    There is no in depth customization.
    Also,after changing the characters name,he/her keeps getting called the name that the game has set as default.    … Expand
  3. Misfit209
    Dec 5, 2017
    8
    This isn't the best game. It isn't the predecessor to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It is a good game though in the same vein as the Witcher games. It has a lot of style and pretty nice graphics for it's age. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this game. I beat it in around 20hrs, not sure the exact time. I would recommend this game for a price tag of $15 US.
  4. jseph1234
    Jun 13, 2017
    9
    I am playing this game and having a blast finding out what happens next.
    1. Dialog Choices for your character that MATTER and effect NPC interaction, Game development and outcome
    2. Great action RPG with crafting of weapons, mixing of ingredients for potions 3. NPC have depth as you get further in the game and interact with them 4. 50+ hours gameplay (I am playing "Captain"    I am playing this game and having a blast finding out what happens next.
    1. Dialog Choices for your character that MATTER and effect NPC interaction, Game development and outcome
    2. Great action RPG with crafting of weapons, mixing of ingredients for potions
    3. NPC have depth as you get further in the game and interact with them
    4. 50+ hours gameplay (I am playing "Captain" difficulty, the hardest and it is DIFFICULT!!)    … Expand
  5. natural_45
    Jan 7, 2016
    9
    I'm having a blast playing this game! The combat system on this game is awesome! To me, the combat system reminds me a little of Soul Calibur, which is an awesome thing. I gave it a 9 only because the graphics aren't PS4 quality, but that doesn't bother me. I have a bunch of RPG games that are new and I play this game way more than them. If you have a good sense of humor, you'll laugh yourI'm having a blast playing this game! The combat system on this game is awesome! To me, the combat system reminds me a little of Soul Calibur, which is an awesome thing. I gave it a 9 only because the graphics aren't PS4 quality, but that doesn't bother me. I have a bunch of RPG games that are new and I play this game way more than them. If you have a good sense of humor, you'll laugh your a$$ off at the dialouge and voice acting. Some of the stuff they say are funny. I highly recommend this game as long as you're not expecting the game to be like the bigger bugget companies. If Bound by Flame 2 ever comes out, I'll be the first in line to buy it. Great game.… Expand
  6. GennadyS
    Dec 12, 2015
    10
    This is the case when negative evaluations caused by a lack of budget. The game is wonderful in everything, and flaws SHOULD be forgiven. On the background of standard stamps many another RPG-games.
  7. WillG027
    Nov 14, 2015
    8
    I like what 'Spiders' bring to the RPG genre, and they seem to be building upon what was successful in past games.
    Like most of their other titles, the dialogue writing is horrendous, and the voice acting could be better, but it has solid graphics (good atmosphere), and a solid RPG system. Story is OK.
    Giving it an eight.
  8. Matseb2611
    Mar 23, 2015
    8
    This is the 3rd game I've played by Spiders Studios. Just as the other two, I greatly enjoyed this one. It might've only lasted for about 13 hours, and there were a few issues and grievances along the way, but all in all this was great fun.

    The story is nothing too original. It's your typical dark fantasy setting with humans facing off the armies of undead, but I was quite impressed    This is the 3rd game I've played by Spiders Studios. Just as the other two, I greatly enjoyed this one. It might've only lasted for about 13 hours, and there were a few issues and grievances along the way, but all in all this was great fun.

    The story is nothing too original. It's your typical dark fantasy setting with humans facing off the armies of undead, but I was quite impressed with the overall presentation and delivery of it. Most of the companions were quite interesting, though some of them could've been developed a bit better, and the main character and the demon inside of him were very solid in the lead.

    The combat aspect is a bit of a mixed bag. It was incredibly fun in some ways. The moves and abilities made each battle feel epic, especially with the use of superhuman dodge skill, which created some 'wow' moments as you see your character narrowly avoid an enemy swing. However, despite finding it fun, I have to agree with many of the criticisms by other players. The lack of roll command was something I could not understand at all. And the whole interruption mechanic was extremely annoying, because it was easy for enemies to interrupt you mid-swing, not to mention knocking you down on the floor and getting some cheap free hits whilst you're waiting for your character to get back up.

    The difficulty in general was way too high, even for the Easy difficulty setting. For a game that has such a strong focus on story, the Easy mode shouldn't have been this hard. This was made worse by some parts of the game having unpleasant difficulty spikes. In general I thought chapters 1 and 2 were brilliantly done and the flow was perfect. There were many sidequests, and the action bits were balanced out with storytelling.

    And then chapter 3 came along, and the game was ruined by constant non-stop battles with identical enemies and some horrible level design that forces you to walk through monotonous twisting corridors and too much backtracking. And the final boss was way way way too hard compared to the rest of the game. To make it worse, if you wish to go back and buy more stuff and grind, you can no longer do it, so you have to load an earlier bit of the game. I ended up doing that so that I could buy 40 health potions (and no, that isn't too much).

    Combat frustrations aside, the game was still fun and worth playing. The crafting system was done well, and the levelling of skills was reasonably good too. There are 3 mastery trees in total: Warrior, Ranger, and Pyromancer. You can mix and match and invest in any of those as much as you wish. I personally went heavy on the warrior tree. Too bad in the second half of the game I realised that going Ranger stance with daggers was proving to be much better (and seems many other players agree), making Warrior tree quite underpowered compared to the Ranger tree. As for Pyromancy, I found most fire abilities useless, aside from weapon enchantment with fire, which was a single most useful skill in the game.

    I'd definitely recommend this game, though BE WARNED that it is HARD and unfair, and you will be getting killed a lot even on Easy mode. If that's something you do not mind, then most likely you'll enjoy the game.    … Expand
  9. kospan
    Dec 30, 2014
    8
    Very good combat system. An interesting protagonist with double dealer personality. The interaction between the soldier and the demon is a prototype idea for RPG game.Other NPC do their job in the story giving quests and helping protagonist in combat. A good story not something of high quality.Graphics are great.
    Very good music and also very atmospheric environments and monsters.It is a    Very good combat system. An interesting protagonist with double dealer personality. The interaction between the soldier and the demon is a prototype idea for RPG game.Other NPC do their job in the story giving quests and helping protagonist in combat. A good story not something of high quality.Graphics are great.
    Very good music and also very atmospheric environments and monsters.It is a game with difficult boss
    battles sometimes.If you don't give up easily then you are defeated repeatedly early in the game then you
    will enjoy this game in later levels.A good and not boring game.    … Expand
  10. daskind
    Sep 12, 2014
    10
    i´ll give this a 10 because of all the strange votings around here - somehow you have to keep the score balanced ..

    however, i like this game. i even like it a lot. no - it is no AAA title. but the story is a lot better than most of the critics say. the gameplay is not polished, but hard and fun. frustrating sometimes, but always rewarding, when you finally master a difficult scene ..    i´ll give this a 10 because of all the strange votings around here - somehow you have to keep the score balanced ..

    however, i like this game. i even like it a lot. no - it is no AAA title. but the story is a lot better than most of the critics say. the gameplay is not polished, but hard and fun. frustrating sometimes, but always rewarding, when you finally master a difficult scene .. voice acting is ok - at least in english - the german one is horrible. however, i truly recommend this game. as i said - i give it a 10 to raise the score. in my opinion it is a clear 8/10    … Expand
  11. NaMJaG
    Sep 9, 2014
    10
    I really don't understand why so many people didn't enjoy there play, because this game has everything a good game has to have. Maybe it is short, but for me as a hard core gamer it was a lot of fun to play this game. In my opinion it is good that not every game is like a AAA title or in this case like Skyrim, It would be boring if all games would be the same.
    In short this game is worth    I really don't understand why so many people didn't enjoy there play, because this game has everything a good game has to have. Maybe it is short, but for me as a hard core gamer it was a lot of fun to play this game. In my opinion it is good that not every game is like a AAA title or in this case like Skyrim, It would be boring if all games would be the same.
    In short this game is worth the money and worth the time!    … Expand
  12. Namor1111
    Jul 12, 2014
    10
    I really don't understand people who rate this game under 5, it's a solid 8 for me.
    I'm having more fun than I thought I would.
    The highlights being the dynamic combat feel and atmospheric music.
    Well done Spiders for a solid effort with a small development team.
    I look forward to bigger and better games to come.
  13. kahow1107
    Jun 27, 2014
    8
    This game is actually pretty good. It's like a mix of Mass Effect and Skyrim but you can tell the devs are an indie group.
    The dialogue is a little awkward, the voice acting could have been done better, the customization is not very impressive. That's all the negatives.
    The game is a solid 14-20 hours of an interesting story and a fun combat system (seriously, very different combat    This game is actually pretty good. It's like a mix of Mass Effect and Skyrim but you can tell the devs are an indie group.
    The dialogue is a little awkward, the voice acting could have been done better, the customization is not very impressive. That's all the negatives.
    The game is a solid 14-20 hours of an interesting story and a fun combat system (seriously, very different combat system). The graphics aren't bad, not that anyone really plays a game solely for graphics.    … Expand
  14. Hermes_tri
    Jun 26, 2014
    9
    I decided not to inflate the scores for games to compensate for lower scores. I just give them what I thibi they worth. This game is a solid 9. Dont underestimate it - it is a quality game, you could even mistake it for bioware game. Seriously.

    See, you are a mercenary, hired to protect the group of mages performing a ritual, in the world being slowly consumed by the undead. Enjoy    I decided not to inflate the scores for games to compensate for lower scores. I just give them what I thibi they worth. This game is a solid 9. Dont underestimate it - it is a quality game, you could even mistake it for bioware game. Seriously.

    See, you are a mercenary, hired to protect the group of mages performing a ritual, in the world being slowly consumed by the undead. Enjoy fully voiced dialogues and characters of each npc, member of your company and your hero. See, as a mercenary, you talk like one, behave like one and fight like one! You feel like a "sellblade" in this game. You feel right in the game from the moment you start playing. You can alsonplay as a female, and this adds another layer to your interaction with other characters.

    Fights are glorious - you choose your stance, either tactical, powerful and on the slow side warrior - with two handed swords and axes, crushimg shields and interrupting attacks, or fast jumping in and out with crazy fast dagger attacks - choose what you like most! I advise playing the game at least twice to try these both distinct styles of play. You cN also augment your attacks with Pyromancy - think flaming weapons, fireballs and even summoning the fire spirit. Graphics are beautiful, brave devs even nailed the jungles - hardest environment to do in such games due to all the rendering on leaves and grass.

    So, if you are looking for an RPG game, driven by a strong narrative, with the fast reactive combat, crafting and loads of weapons - look no further. This game builds on the foundation laid by Spiders previous RPG - Mars: War Logs(decent game, but overshadowed by this one). Great effort. 9/10.    … Expand
  15. deathweeper
    Jun 22, 2014
    10
    This game is great, not good but great. The combat is challenging and fun. Enemies are varied and interesting. The story is good, and the graphics are pretty great other than the rare bug. The character development is a lot better than most reviews claim. The game does a really good job developing the main character and that's all that is all that really matters. It would be really boringThis game is great, not good but great. The combat is challenging and fun. Enemies are varied and interesting. The story is good, and the graphics are pretty great other than the rare bug. The character development is a lot better than most reviews claim. The game does a really good job developing the main character and that's all that is all that really matters. It would be really boring having to listen to your sidekicks life story.
    The voice acting in this game is great. Unfortunaetly some people criticize the voice acting as soon as they hear an acent even if it is done well. Other people critice voice acting immediatly just because they want to say something negative and blaming the voice actors is universal thing that they can always say is bad. So for the record the voice acting is great(lip sync is still bad), and everything is voiced so you don't ever need to read volumes of text.
    So people say that the game is overambitious but I say that it is important to be ambitious. If games where not ambitous then we would never get any good games. Overall I think the game is an 8.6/10 but I gave it a 10 to help balance the scales.    … Expand
  16. Joshdad
    Jun 18, 2014
    8
    I fail to understand why the official critics are bashing this game. It offers solid fun gameplay - somewhat reminiscent to Dark Souls series in that button mashing gets you killed fast and strategic approach reaps wonderful rewards. I am not saying this game is on par with Dark Souls (no fantasy game ever is, period!), just that it offers solid hours of fun challenge and even more funI fail to understand why the official critics are bashing this game. It offers solid fun gameplay - somewhat reminiscent to Dark Souls series in that button mashing gets you killed fast and strategic approach reaps wonderful rewards. I am not saying this game is on par with Dark Souls (no fantasy game ever is, period!), just that it offers solid hours of fun challenge and even more fun exploration with multiple hidden routes. Turn off the map to elevate the sense of adventure and excitement of the unknown, and invest some time talking to various NPCs which often lead to hilarious conversation. Oh! did I mention fun trap setting to blowing the oblivious enemies? A delightful surprise game of the year!… Expand
  17. poexania
    Jun 7, 2014
    10
    Very enjoyable game with nice graphics, a must see for rpg fans. To bad that the professional reviewers rate it so low, that may stop some people from even trying it. We need to support such rare rough diamonds or else we are doomed to play more and more simplified versions of the rpg genre.

    Pros: Nice graphics Very smart and interesting dialogues Well worked and deep    Very enjoyable game with nice graphics, a must see for rpg fans. To bad that the professional reviewers rate it so low, that may stop some people from even trying it. We need to support such rare rough diamonds or else we are doomed to play more and more simplified versions of the rpg genre.

    Pros:

    Nice graphics
    Very smart and interesting dialogues
    Well worked and deep characters(including your companions)
    Decent leveling system
    Good crafting system
    Fast, and at the same time deep and complex battle system that its not all about mashing keys
    A great variety of weapons armor etc
    Interesting quests that bounds well with the time and place of each area and with the main scenario
    Your char has to do with a number of moral decisions throwout the game
    Big booty ****

    Cons:

    Small variety of enemies
    Small variety of different environments
    Not possible to customize the gear of your companions
    The maps are a bit simple( and strictly quest oriented so the game looks a bit too linear some times(more or less like witcher 2 but better than dragon age 2).

    Influenced by:

    Witcher 2
    Mars war logs

    End of line: Give it a change    … Expand
  18. ududy
    Jun 4, 2014
    8
    A very decent CRPG. Writing and voice acting vary wildly in quality, but the main conceit with the hero's inner demon is quite well done, if not original, and combat and crafting are satisfying. Exploration could be better developed with more complex maps and movement abilities.
  19. AthanasiosT
    May 31, 2014
    8
    I enjoyed playing this very much. Nice ethical choices that lead to different game twists. Graphics and gameplay are more than decent and character evolution and abilities are very satisfying. All in all a very good fantasy action RPG.
  20. DarknessDragon
    May 23, 2014
    8
    Everything says that this game is a piece of crap, but i played it and i liked. It isn't the most original game of the market, but it has a lot of things that i liked. I really enjoyed it and i liked the abilities, and the personality of Vulcan. I prefer other games, but this game surprised me a lot, and i encourage other users to play it.
  21. Jitomate
    May 22, 2014
    10
    Completed the game a couple nights ago. Overall a pretty good game, and definitely significantly better than most of the idiot "gaming media" and a lot of these idiots in here would have you believe. Don't listen to the nonsense. Try the game for yourself, with an open mind. I did, and I enjoyed it a lot as a result.
  22. cyprian
    May 21, 2014
    8
    Good game , bad rap... definitely a well used format no argument there, but I liked it.
    It ain't no Skyrim or Witcher but should be given honest due....One of my favorite movie reviewers gave The Big Lebowski ( one of my all time favorite movies) a thumbs down when it first came out and since then I've givin' up on taking reviewers opinions as the final word don't be a sheep try    Good game , bad rap... definitely a well used format no argument there, but I liked it.
    It ain't no Skyrim or Witcher but should be given honest due....One of my favorite movie reviewers gave The Big Lebowski ( one of my all time favorite movies) a thumbs down when it first came out and since then I've givin' up on taking reviewers opinions as the final word don't be a sheep try it out for yourself.    … Expand
  23. JC_Denton86
    May 20, 2014
    10
    It's actually a very good game. Resources and gold isn't abundant so it requires some sensible management. Side quests are the most fun I have seen in an RPG. They are not boring or tedious. The combat system is probably the strongest selling point and the crafting is done quite well. Haven't finished playing yet but I can't seem to stop. And that's from someone who has been gaming forIt's actually a very good game. Resources and gold isn't abundant so it requires some sensible management. Side quests are the most fun I have seen in an RPG. They are not boring or tedious. The combat system is probably the strongest selling point and the crafting is done quite well. Haven't finished playing yet but I can't seem to stop. And that's from someone who has been gaming for years and easily gets bored by even so called triple A games. Don't know why it's got many negative reviews on other sites. I highly recommend. I created an account on metacritic just to let you guys know it's actually a very good game. Try it for yourself.… Expand
  24. aidan0
    May 18, 2014
    8
    Once you get used to the combat system, this game is a solid 7, an 8 if you get into it. I would recommend to start out at the least difficult setting to get into it, because combat can be very frustrating if you don't know what you are doing. Last boss is a troll boss, be prepared to do a 180 in how you have handled fights up till then.

    - Gender choice, big thumbs up. - This games is    Once you get used to the combat system, this game is a solid 7, an 8 if you get into it. I would recommend to start out at the least difficult setting to get into it, because combat can be very frustrating if you don't know what you are doing. Last boss is a troll boss, be prepared to do a 180 in how you have handled fights up till then.

    - Gender choice, big thumbs up.
    - This games is not a very long game I did 2 full runs (good/evil) and I'm at 27 hours (short), I did find it very fun though. Second time I just blasted passed enemies.
    - Voice acting is on par with other games (not that great), but I didn't mind it much.
    - Crafting is as it should be, it's solid.
    - The companions aren't useless, they are your tanks and healers. They make those 4 against 1 fights manageable.
    - This could have easily been a very larger and longer game, but it was worth the $40,- At least for me. Nice game, good rpg's are few and far between these days and this is one of them. I'm thinking of doing a third run. Mostly for story reasons.    … Expand
  25. Razor66
    May 18, 2014
    10
    Is it really difficult to enter the twisted mind of professional reviewer. This time I really can't understand why they felt the need to bash such a nice and entertaining game. Bound by Flame is a nice, very nice action RPG that everyone should try.
  26. jakoby
    May 17, 2014
    10
    This game is far too underrated. Sure, it isn't perfect, but it is still better than some of the 'great RPGs' like Gothic 3 or Gothic 4. The soundtracks and sound effects are great, the gameplay has its flaws, but it is enjoyable. The story isn't that special, but it isn't dumb either. 9/10 for me.
  27. Dunge
    May 17, 2014
    9
    Just like other games by Spiders, if you can get past the chunkiness of the character movements you'll find a very detailed world and that give hours of nice entertainment. Gameplay is good and and story is very complex and interesting.
  28. Stalker2033
    May 16, 2014
    9
    the game is overall is good and enjoyable but it always have annoying feeling that it could have been better . i hope they patch it soon to improve the AI or companion interaction .other than that the game is fun to play .the grapchic are very good really the game play is decent .overall its very fun game to play . its will be hard for her to be goty.. but agin who care .don't takethe game is overall is good and enjoyable but it always have annoying feeling that it could have been better . i hope they patch it soon to improve the AI or companion interaction .other than that the game is fun to play .the grapchic are very good really the game play is decent .overall its very fun game to play . its will be hard for her to be goty.. but agin who care .don't take reviewers seriously at all specially those who are from IGN. they would a recycled game like cod 9 or 10 ....but they gave games like bound by flame or outlast wistleblower dlc low score for being "repetitive" ..i guess they didnt get paid enough ...if u liked games like the witcher you will diffidently like this one… Expand
  29. ninokonan
    May 15, 2014
    10
    It is not like the professional reviews are telling! Don't trust them!
    This game has a enormous potential, it's like a jewel in these days of poor games that show us only graphics and CG.
    Well... This game doesn't have a perfect graphic, but is good enough. It's light and works very smoothly on a simple GTX 660 Ti in the ultra settings with 45~60 FPS. I have a SLI GTX 670, but i've    It is not like the professional reviews are telling! Don't trust them!
    This game has a enormous potential, it's like a jewel in these days of poor games that show us only graphics and CG.

    Well... This game doesn't have a perfect graphic, but is good enough. It's light and works very smoothly on a simple GTX 660 Ti in the ultra settings with 45~60 FPS. I have a SLI GTX 670, but i've tried to run it with only one GTX 670 and works really well on ultra settings: 50~60 FPS.

    The combat is better than The Witcher 2 and is very fun. You will never be tired of slashing your enemies.

    The storyline is what really make this game awesome, thanks to dialogues options that has an impact in the relationship with your followers and your Captain, and, of course, the Demon inside you!

    I think it's worthy for RPG lovers. This game is a great jewel and surprise me very much!    … Expand
  30. L00nie
    May 15, 2014
    8
    I hoped that this game was going to be good, but didn't dare... I was positively surprised by Spider this time. The game is not a AAA game, so if you were expecting that you need to look elsewhere. If you are a person that can look past a few tech faults like lip-sync then this is the game for you.

    The characters are fun, the voice acting is moderate but good for a game of this    I hoped that this game was going to be good, but didn't dare... I was positively surprised by Spider this time. The game is not a AAA game, so if you were expecting that you need to look elsewhere. If you are a person that can look past a few tech faults like lip-sync then this is the game for you.

    The characters are fun, the voice acting is moderate but good for a game of this caliber. The story is interesting, the impact of having a Demon inside you and how much of your humanity you want to sacrifice for power is well done, and you will die a lot more that you first thought you would. It's not evil to its players like Dark Souls, but it doesn't make it easy for you, tactical combat becomes important.

    I like RPG games and this has annoyed me in later years since there are som many being pumped into the marked and most of them are mediocre to appalling. This is NOT one of those games.
    I had great fun playing it and i think most of you will enjoy playing Bound by Flame.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

48
#48 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
66
#66 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
56

Mixed or average reviews - based on 42 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 42
  2. Mixed: 27 out of 42
  3. Negative: 13 out of 42
  1. CD-Action
    Jul 25, 2014
    65
    There is potential in Bound by Flame but I can’t review this game without using some harsh words. It’s linear and clichéd, combat should be better and many elements could be more complex. Still I believe that with more money, people and time Spiders would be able to play in the major league. [07/2014, p.54]
  2. Pelit (Finland)
    Jun 12, 2014
    70
    French indie developer tries to engage adult audience with this RPG. Too bad the world is generic and script is dull as a wooden blade. If you show a few tits and curse like a sailor, that don't translate to a game for adults. On top of that the game mechanics are dull and repetitive. You don't challenge Witcher with this kind of setup. [June 2014]
  3. Hyper Magazine
    Jun 7, 2014
    30
    Ugly, stupid and riddled with cliche, Bound by Flame has car crash fascination but little else to recommend it. [Issue#249, p.62]
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