Bound by Flame

 Xbox 360
Metascore
56

Mixed or average reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 5
  3. Negative: 1 out of 5
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  1. 4P.de
    May 12, 2014
    63
    Spiders Studio drew a lot of inspiration from almost every role playing game that was a hit over the last five years. But in the end it falls short in every aspect, although it shows a lot of potential.
  2. GameOver.gr
    May 16, 2014
    40
    This new RPG from Spiders is broken in so many ways they could not possibly be mentioned in a sentence. I guess we must keep on waiting for the return of Geralt.
  3. MondoXbox
    May 20, 2014
    65
    A very good story and great music are the main upsides in an otherwise weak game both from the technical and gameplay standpoints. If you're great fantasy stories lovers, you could be willing to give it a shot: for every one else there are better games out there.
  5. Official Xbox Magazine
    May 16, 2014
    50
    There's a strange charm to Bound By Flame that helps paper over the performance issues. There's a well-acted but profoundly bewildering script, a baroque crafting system, and drawn-out boss battles. It's not great, but it's fairly... interesting.
  6. X-ONE Magazine UK
    Jun 21, 2014
    60
    Hack, slash, hit and miss. [Issue#112, p.82]
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User Reviews

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User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 60 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 60
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 60
  3. Negative: 20 out of 60
  1. EMG
    May 9, 2014
    10
    I stopped caring when the same reviewers who are bashing this game give the likes of every Call of Duty every year a 10/10 and the likes ofI stopped caring when the same reviewers who are bashing this game give the likes of every Call of Duty every year a 10/10 and the likes of Diablo 3 a 10/10 praising it for being....fun. I have played 3 hours so far, and honestly it is a bit rough around the edges and is in no way GOTY but it is FUN for me at least, the game is simply enjoyable if you go into it with the right frame of mind..."professional" reviewers are just people except they either have biased towards a game or were not paid enough :) 10/10 for keeping me engaged… Full Review »
  2. Langor
    May 9, 2014
    8
    Story: If you are into lore and a good story with twists in the plot this game is for you. I would say the story is on par with Dragon AgeStory: If you are into lore and a good story with twists in the plot this game is for you. I would say the story is on par with Dragon Age 1/Witcher 2. You will not be able to see any of these twists or make choices that effect your world until chapter 2 of the game. With that said, it takes a bit to really start the story. The characters scripts are adult themed with cursing. The interactions between hirelings interrupt and talk to your character occasionally during dialog moments with NPC's. Choices you make effect your hirelings and can also change the story. 9/10 for the lore junkies.

    Hack and slash: Well, if your main focus is a Diablo like game you wont like it. There are plenty of monsters to fight but it is story driven. The monsters do respawn over time in zones and reset when you zone. But it will get very repetitive if you are a person who skips the dialogue and just want to run through quests and kill monsters. 3/10 I just want to kill ♥♥♥♥.

    Strategist: If you like playing the game on the hardest difficulty this game is for you. It is very bland if you play on normal or below. When you up the difficulty when you get hit, you get hit hard. Soon you will have to learn how to counter each attack and have to learn what each monsters attacks are. The bosses are unique and have unique attacks also and will take a few retries to figure out how to kill them. If you are a person who spam attacks you wont make it in this difficulty. How you spend your skill points will matter here. 8/10 I will analyze your every attack and figure out how to counter you or your group.

    Combat: There are plenty of attacks and class swaps to keep you busy on the hardest difficulty. But if you play on easy none of this is needed. The controls feel very fluent and smooth. Most of it makes sense. You can lock view on targets but it is not required to hit them in melee. Animations are decent and feels polished but nothing ground breaking. 7/10

    Explorer: The game is extremely linear at the first chapter minorly opening up in chapter two. You are following a story line. In chapter two starts to be many side quests which lets you go back into zones to finish them following the main story lines quest. In chapter two I think its about 3 or 4 zones big. If you want to explore far off distances and run around in an open world this is not for you. 2/10 for my explorer's.

    Character: There is only one of me is not the case in this game. Character creation is very vague and doesn't give you many options. But you can be a male or female. Along the tree line there is only three skill trees with not soo many skills inside them. Most of the points you get will be you upgrading these skills instead of unlocking them. It only really matters what you do towards the beginning of your journey. After that, it is more forgiving to putting points into something you are not specialized in. 6/10 I want to be a unique play style ranger or warrior.

    Loot ♥♥♥♥♥: If your main focus is running around and finding new armor sets and weapons you will find your self getting bored quickly. There are a variety of items but you come by them slow. Most of these are from merchants, quests and crate finds. The uniqueness of these items come from how you imbue them, which they call crafting. Most of the loot you find off mobs are ingredients to imbue your items to make them more powerful. These imbues are not unique like Elder Scrolls, they have preset stats and names for each imbue type. But each piece you imbue does in fact give the item a new unique appearance on that spot of the item. 5/10 for items.

    Crafting: Crafting is very linear. Every mob you kill has a chance to drop components. These components you use to make imbues for your items. You will have to combine these components to make different components for your imbues. If you do not have the components you can automatically buy the base ones from your inventory with gold. It is much easier and cheaper finding them. You can not craft weapons or armor, you can only imbue them to change there stats. You can also craft things like bolts for your crossbows or traps you may lay out and have your enemies run over. Or you can buy them from a merchant, along with potions you can craft. The only real unique thing about the crafting is that each piece you imbue on an item changes its looks. You will not be able to create a unique imbue. Each item as a preset of imbues you can choose from. You only need to find the ingredients or buy them from your inventory and make them for the imbue. If your looking for something like elder scrolls crafting system look away. 3/10 I just upgrade my items when I need to whether it be instantly purchasing the ingredients or finding them.

    Graphics: I will say this is not ground breaking. It is much better than Dragon Age 2 but quite a bit less than Witcher 2 (for pc). It doesn't feel like you are playing an old game but it definitely is not going to awe inspire you. 8/10    … Full Review »
  3. partyintheback
    May 9, 2014
    10
    Bound by Flame is a nice and challenging RPG. Detailed graphics in 1080p, fun and strategic combat, and a good amount of loot and explorationBound by Flame is a nice and challenging RPG. Detailed graphics in 1080p, fun and strategic combat, and a good amount of loot and exploration to be had.… Full Review »
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