Bound by Flame

 PlayStation 4
User Score
5.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 260 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 108 out of 260
  2. Mixed: 70 out of 260
  3. Negative: 82 out of 260
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  1. Vandral007
    May 23, 2014
    4
    It's hard to recommend Bound by Flame to anyone but the most starved RPG fan. The graphics are pretty poor, the soundtrack in spots is downright annoying. The scripting and dialogue is average at best to hilariously bad. The world is under-realised and generic. The combat, the big sell for this game could be decent with some polish, but most fights draw out far longer than they shouldIt's hard to recommend Bound by Flame to anyone but the most starved RPG fan. The graphics are pretty poor, the soundtrack in spots is downright annoying. The scripting and dialogue is average at best to hilariously bad. The world is under-realised and generic. The combat, the big sell for this game could be decent with some polish, but most fights draw out far longer than they should with a terrible ebb and flow of attack, block for a few seconds, then attack a few more times. Stay away for now, and if you're really interested, wait until this game gets dirt cheap.… Expand
  2. danbwhite
    May 21, 2014
    2
    Bound by Flame captured by interest from the moment I saw the first trailer. I knew it wasn't going to be on the same level as Skyrim or even Witcher 2, but I was at least expecting to be entertained. The game starts off with a pretty neat sub-boss battle as you figure out controls, but then descends into awfulness. The side-quests are extremely petty and every time you talk it seems anBound by Flame captured by interest from the moment I saw the first trailer. I knew it wasn't going to be on the same level as Skyrim or even Witcher 2, but I was at least expecting to be entertained. The game starts off with a pretty neat sub-boss battle as you figure out controls, but then descends into awfulness. The side-quests are extremely petty and every time you talk it seems an 8th grader wrote the dialogue. Imagine a standard conversation going smoothly, then throwing in a "suck my balls." That's BbF dialogue in a nutshell. The combat system is terrible. Locking onto an enemy doesn't help, but in fact hinders the combat due to sporadically changing camera angles. If you fight more than 2-3 enemies, it takes 2-3 minutes because you become interrupted so easily you have to sit there and block, waiting patiently for the two seconds where you can get in one hit and repeat. A smoother combat system would have done wonders for this game. In the end, it just wasn't my cup of tea. If I'm going to have to be strategic my combat, I at least want some reward (ala Dark Souls/Dark Souls 2), not just another muddled conversation/quest waiting for me at the end. I also find it extremely funny that people are posting reviews after only playing for 2-3 hours. You can hardly learn a game in that amount of time. I personally only trust reviews from people who put in 8-10 hours because they get past the first town. I completed Bound by Flame in approximately 18 hours. I would not recommend it to anybody, unless you want to become frustrated and wish you had $50 back.… Expand
  3. Porko
    May 25, 2014
    2
    I had high hopes this would be Kingdoms Of Amalur on steroids, but it is not. The combat system is awful. Enemy's are like sword sponges. The animation is poor. The dialogue and story is embarrassingly poor. I bought this game for $110 NZ yesterday and returned it the following day very disappointed. I played for 6 hours persevering with the dream that I might start to enjoy it. ItI had high hopes this would be Kingdoms Of Amalur on steroids, but it is not. The combat system is awful. Enemy's are like sword sponges. The animation is poor. The dialogue and story is embarrassingly poor. I bought this game for $110 NZ yesterday and returned it the following day very disappointed. I played for 6 hours persevering with the dream that I might start to enjoy it. It seems like an unfinished game and I will be carefully approaching future Spider releases.… Expand
  4. amirreza1
    Jan 30, 2015
    0
    I can understand they are small studio. I want to support small studios who make difference.But the game was not good for next gen. This game could be great if it was released for iOS
  5. tdebug
    Aug 13, 2014
    0
    -76 out of 10. Success!
    No story, no gameplay, no fight technique. Idea-free game of the year. Oh wait, it competes with Killzone for PS4. Both games were definitely released in order to release at least something, of no quality.
  6. Schuback
    Sep 29, 2014
    2
    Being a huge fan of RPGs like Elder Scrolls, Dragon Age, and Dragon's Dogma, Bound by Flame was one I was so looking forward to trying with my new PS4. Of course, being developed by a small team on a small budget, I wasn't expecting it to be of AAA level. But, sigh,... let me put it this way.

    Without going into details, Bound by Flame can be summed up as a generic action RPG game. The    Being a huge fan of RPGs like Elder Scrolls, Dragon Age, and Dragon's Dogma, Bound by Flame was one I was so looking forward to trying with my new PS4. Of course, being developed by a small team on a small budget, I wasn't expecting it to be of AAA level. But, sigh,... let me put it this way.

    Without going into details, Bound by Flame can be summed up as a generic action RPG game. The story is short and lame. Character customisation is very lame. Main character is unlikable and lame. NPCSs and dialogues are lame. Choices are inconsequentially lame. Romance is lame. Gameplay and combat is lame. Every aspect of this game is lame.

    MORE LIKE BOUND BY LAME!!!!!!!!!

    And by the way, User reviews giving it a 10/10 because they feel sorry for the low scores?? Are you serious??    … Expand
  7. HungryCrow
    Aug 17, 2014
    4
    This game stinks. I give the game a 4 out of 10, and that is probably generous. I went in thinking "how bad can it be?". It wasn't long before I found out. The voice acting is unbearable and the combat is a chore. I can't even recommend Bound by Flame as a bargain bin title. It's a waste of time. You will have more fun mowing your lawn than you would playing this game.
  8. Vanpire73
    Mar 17, 2015
    3
    Even reading extensive unflattering critic and user reviews didn't stop me from putting down some cold, hard cash for this. It was a bargain-bin amount, but it still ended up being more than I wish I had thrown down. I could only muster enough courage to make it about halfway through the game. At it's finest it was a action rpg just swell enough to keep the boredom at bay. It has aEven reading extensive unflattering critic and user reviews didn't stop me from putting down some cold, hard cash for this. It was a bargain-bin amount, but it still ended up being more than I wish I had thrown down. I could only muster enough courage to make it about halfway through the game. At it's finest it was a action rpg just swell enough to keep the boredom at bay. It has a decent leveling and crafting system, but the rarely barely enjoyable combat drug it down and the horrendous writing and voice acting was pure sh*t. I got to the point where I hastily button-pumped my way through any conversation. The graphics were 2012 PS3 most of the way, occasionally hitting 2014 PS3 quality. What ultimately made me put it down for good, though, was that it seemed to have graduated with honors from the Dragon Age 2 School of Using the Same Goddamn Tiny, Cramped Location for Every F*cking Mission. Sorry, but a small team of developers with heart behind the project and my craving for anythng resembling Demon's/Dark Souls just ain't enough for a recommendation.… Expand
  9. doodmonkey
    Jul 24, 2014
    1
    The easiest thing to say about this game is that this game is terrible. One of those titles that gets slapped together for a new console release. Don't use real money to buy this game.
  10. SCLancho
    Feb 27, 2016
    0
    So far the worst game over $40 price i ever played. Graphics are great 10 years ago. Music is just inapropiate, some sounds will really destroy your brain (owl sound very 2 seconds)
    You can't load chapters. Dificulty is very low till you face the final boss, then you are **** up.
    Game is too short, you just follow corridors... DO NOT WASTE YOUR $$$!!!!!
  11. nono5551212
    Jun 7, 2015
    4
    I wanted to like this game.. I really did.. Call me crazy but I like games where I have to grind and level up.. The problem with this game is I have to look around to find bad guys to fight to level up... And half the time I find someone to fight I get killed and die no matter how I level my armor or weapons up.. Also the map designs are pretty beat... It's full of nothing but narrowI wanted to like this game.. I really did.. Call me crazy but I like games where I have to grind and level up.. The problem with this game is I have to look around to find bad guys to fight to level up... And half the time I find someone to fight I get killed and die no matter how I level my armor or weapons up.. Also the map designs are pretty beat... It's full of nothing but narrow hallways... Half the time When I am in battle I realize my computer partner is no where to be found... The story seems pretty good but the game play controls like locking or using magic is pretty beat....

    I am playing this on PlayStation Now which I think is awesome... $15 to play over a hundred games is awesome.    … Expand
  12. acid90
    Feb 21, 2015
    3
    at first playing i thought WOW this game is GREAT its telling a nice story and we out to kill the first boss.. and i was praising it giving a high score.

    WELL WHAT A CON.... what turned out to be the first boss the first of 7 lords or something .. turned out be be the end of the game ...??? I felt like the game only just started and it finished just like that Its like they just    at first playing i thought WOW this game is GREAT its telling a nice story and we out to kill the first boss.. and i was praising it giving a high score.

    WELL WHAT A CON.... what turned out to be the first boss the first of 7 lords or something .. turned out be be the end of the game ...???
    I felt like the game only just started and it finished just like that

    Its like they just decided they didnt like the game or just got bored of coding it. so they just went oh you just have to kill the first boss. time up thats finished it lets all go home then stopped making it

    total waste of time :( and it could of been so good if they put more effort into making the game bigger    … Expand
  13. Nel
    Feb 6, 2017
    3
    Complete mess, takes forever to kill the mobs, and the game is filled with graphical bugs, and the mechanics feels very clunky. It is really a poorly made game.
  14. GrumpyDan
    Jul 10, 2015
    4
    As anyone who struggled through Orphen on the PS2 will tell you, the first RPG of a hardware generation is rarely an impressive experience. The vast amount of content that needs to be created for your average dungeon-crawler also makes them quite rare in the first year of any console. Bound By Flame neatly solves this problem by having so little content you could write the plot on the backAs anyone who struggled through Orphen on the PS2 will tell you, the first RPG of a hardware generation is rarely an impressive experience. The vast amount of content that needs to be created for your average dungeon-crawler also makes them quite rare in the first year of any console. Bound By Flame neatly solves this problem by having so little content you could write the plot on the back of cereal packet and still have room for a large picture of Snap, Crackle and Pop laughing and counting your money.

    Bound By Flame desperately wants to be Mass Effect, with its interpersonal relationships, moral dilemmas and gritty dialogue, but it manages to mess it up every time. Take the character creation screen: you can pick your character's name, but everyone calls you Vulcan anyway. I went for a female character, only to discover that everyone called her 'lad' regardless. And while it may seem like a minor point, it's sad that the only hairstyles available for girls are soccer mom, skinhead and Miley Cyrus.

    Enemies seem to level with you, so you never really feel like a badass, and there's barely a single bad guy that can't be defeated by running around its back and hammering the square button for a few minutes. The loot drops are particularly disappointing. Pretty much every monster in the game drops nothing but crafting materials and there can't be more than 50 weapons and armour pieces to find in the whole game. What's worse is that none of them feel significantly more powerful than any other. Bound By Flame is also notable for having the most expensive shops ever seen in an RPG; after playing for three hours and without spending a single penny, I'd amassed a grand total of 127 gold pieces, which was enough to purchase three small health potions from one of the greedy vendors.

    imply by staggering across the finish line first, Bound By Flame may seem to be an attractive proposition for PS4 RPG fans, but don't be fooled. With its shonky cut-scenes, its outdoor sound effects that play indoors and its linear maps, this is in no way a current-gen experience. It's a budget offering at a premium price - and a poor one at that.    … Expand
  15. Uzumaki212
    Nov 5, 2016
    0
    I played mars war logs recently so I thought about giving this game a shot because I really like MWL but low textures, crappy combat, and bad voice acting can't save this game
  16. adrewtoremember
    May 17, 2018
    2
    As an avid RPG player, Bound By Flame was one of the first RPG's released on the PS4, and I picked it up with high expectations. However it tries too hard to be Dark Souls meets The Witcher, with a generic story, unimpressive enemy design and AI, and clunky combat.

    Pass on this one, guys.
  17. airpsyhit
    Aug 6, 2021
    4
    There is practically nothing to say. This is a very terrible game. Everything is sad in it - a meager plot and gameplay, weak physics and graphics.

Awards & Rankings

42
#42 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2014
38
#38 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
53

Mixed or average reviews - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 26 out of 40
  3. Negative: 12 out of 40
  1. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Jun 29, 2014
    40
    Juddering. [July 2014, p.93]
  2. games(TM)
    Jun 28, 2014
    60
    The story, writing and the role-playing part of the game is distinctly previous-gen play, if not older.
    Read full review
  3. Play UK
    Jun 21, 2014
    62
    While never truly bad, Bound by Flame is rarely much better than serviceable either. [Issue#245, p.60]
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