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Bound By Flame

Bound by Flame is a game that many will undoubtedly gain a huge amount of enjoyment from. Shortcomings of bad character interactions and weak contributions from NPCs are something that's easy to look past on.
60%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
grinding, stability
64% User Score Based on 3,764 reviews
Critic Score 57%Based on 25 reviews

Platforms

PCXboxXbox Series X|SPlaystation 3Playstation 5Playstation 4WindowsPlayStationLinuxXbox OneXbox 360
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About

"Bound by Flame" is a fantasy action RPG that lets you customize your character's appearance and choose your gender. Your decisions and interactions with the demon inside you will impact the story's direction and your companions' behaviors. The game also features a crafting system for creating and upgrading weapons and armor, with unique customization options such as separate blade and hilt choices for your sword.

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
Bound By Flame screenshot
Bound By Flame screenshot
Bound By Flame screenshot
Bound By Flame screenshot
Bound By Flame screenshot
Bound By Flame screenshot
Bound By Flame screenshot
Bound By Flame screenshot
Bound By Flame screenshot
Bound By Flame screenshot
Bound By Flame screenshot
+5

64%
Audience ScoreBased on 3,764 reviews
story879 positive mentions
grinding163 negative mentions
  • Engaging story with interesting lore and character development.
  • Decent combat mechanics that require timing and strategy.
  • Good graphics and art design for a mid-budget title.
  • Clunky controls and unresponsive combat can lead to frustration.
  • Final boss difficulty spike feels unfair and poorly balanced.
  • Limited enemy variety and repetitive gameplay in later chapters.
  • story
    2,924 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of "Bound by Flame" is a mixed bag, with many players finding it both intriguing and frustrating. While some appreciate the dark fantasy premise and the moral choices that affect character development and outcomes, others criticize the writing quality, voice acting, and pacing, noting that the narrative feels rushed and lacks depth. Overall, the game offers a standard fantasy plot with some interesting twists, but many feel it doesn't fully realize its potential, leaving a sense of incompleteness.

    • “The story feels smaller scale but you do at least get quite a few companions, romance options as well as a few endings.”
    • “The story while not groundbreaking was interesting enough to keep me hooked and the lore of the world is pretty cool.”
    • “The story is intriguing, characters are underdeveloped but the quests are fine.”
    • “Back to my personal experience however... much like my experience with Avatar: The Last Airbender (the movie by M. Night Shyamalan), I couldn't even get into the story because the acting was so terrible, and the dialogue was written at the level I would expect from a middle schooler.”
    • “If the story was better I might be able to force myself through but it's pretty terrible as well.”
    • “The story is quite corny, but as you get further in and you have more choices open up to you on whether to embrace the demon or refuse it, suddenly all the big choices you make have an impact on your mission, your companions and the story.”
  • gameplay
    1,027 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of "Bound by Flame" has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its challenging combat mechanics that can feel unbalanced and frustrating, particularly due to the lack of a dedicated dodge mechanic and the high health of enemies. While some appreciate the depth offered by skill trees and crafting systems, others criticize the repetitive nature of combat and the overall lack of polish, leading to a gameplay experience that can be both engaging and tedious. Overall, the game is seen as having potential but suffering from significant flaws that detract from its enjoyment.

    • “The characters and factions felt interesting and I actually really enjoyed the gameplay and the combat system.”
    • “The gameplay is smooth, fluid, and typical of an older RPG, which is in many ways a lot better than the one you get in the newer ones.”
    • “The gameplay is unforgivingly hard, but doable, especially when you've spent years playing souls games and know how to git gud.”
    • “The gameplay is simple but the enemies and bosses are so bad that the combat is overall very bad.”
    • “The game was pretty close to being an ok and rather fun experience, but its unpleasant core gameplay kinda ruins the effort invested in its art direction and narration.”
  • graphics
    926 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting that while the visuals can be appealing and occasionally impressive, they often feel dated and inconsistent, especially for a title released in 2014. Some users appreciate the unique art style and atmospheric design, while others criticize graphical glitches and a lack of polish, leading to an overall perception that the graphics are serviceable but not groundbreaking. Despite these criticisms, many agree that the graphics contribute positively to the game's immersive experience, even if they don't reach the heights of contemporary AAA titles.

    • “The graphics are good in 2023, as the game has its own unique style and hasn't aged badly in that department.”
    • “The graphics combined with the soundtrack manage to create an interesting and immersive environment that adds to the experience.”
    • “A beautiful game with fantastic graphics and decent gameplay.”
    • “The graphics suck.”
    • “Not to mention the fact that it's locked at 80 fps, looks like a generic PS3 game and the performance makes no sense looking at the visuals.”
    • “The graphics are really bland and dated, with basic textures, blocky shadows and are pretty unrefined to look at.”
  • music
    593 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in "Bound by Flame" is widely praised as one of the game's standout features, with many reviewers highlighting its beautiful and immersive soundtrack composed by Olivier Deriviere. While some players noted that the music occasionally feels out of place or repetitive, the overall consensus is that it significantly enhances the game's atmosphere and emotional impact, making it a memorable aspect of the experience. Despite mixed feelings about other game elements, the soundtrack consistently receives high marks, often described as "amazing" and "god-like."

    • “The soundtrack is absolutely amazing, one of the best and most fitting soundtracks I have ever found in a game.”
    • “I do not know how it happened that a game with such a small budget managed to receive one of the best soundtracks I’ve heard in games in years, but it did and it makes the game all the better for it and ensures it maintains one core trait that most similar games in the genre are doomed to lack - being memorable.”
    • “The music is amazing and gives off a feeling of epic adventure, featuring low, slow relaxing melodies whenever you are in the safety of one of your camps or in a village, and intense tunes whenever you are engaged in a fight, or any other dangerous situation.”
    • “The music, the gameplay, and the lore are all fighting each other instead of working together, making this game feel bad to play.”
    • “The music annoyed me, so I turned it off.”
    • “1/3 of the game you spend in a dull jungle/swamp - yes it could be interesting if it would be made more dark/mysterious with cool natives, but here it is just dull - dull quests, dull villagers, the music is still the same, so it starts to be annoying and it just doesn't fit.”
  • humor
    213 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding it genuinely funny, particularly due to the witty dialogue and quirky character interactions. The protagonist, Vulcan, often delivers unexpected jokes that catch players off guard, while the overall tone includes a blend of dark humor and crude jokes that may not appeal to everyone. Despite some criticism of the dialogue's quality, many reviews highlight the humor as a standout feature, making the game enjoyable for those who appreciate a lighthearted approach amidst its darker themes.

    • “The main character Vulcan also sometimes cracks the silliest jokes at just the right time, and has caught me off guard and made me laugh out loud like 4-5 times (even though he is usually pretty serious).”
    • “On the plus side, there's some fantastically subtle humor in this game that, if you get it, you'll definitely choke on your beverage of choice in laughter.”
    • “This game is hard.... I'm on 'balanced' called Hawk and omg even when going back and fighting things you can own face on, if you get lazy you can still die in a second. I have died so many times it's almost not even funny. But the game is just so damn fun! Also, the humor in this game is one of the best I have ever seen. Every 5 minutes I'm laughing my ass off and about once an hour I'm almost falling out of my chair from something someone has said. It really is that great.”
    • “The hero is joined by an entourage of sidekicks I would never have seen before if I had never played any other game. Morrigan is a ripoff of the 'sorta-indecent-sorta-evil-and-yet-sexy-like-a-turnip' trope, Tali/Aerie/Shani are every 'sexy bookworm' ever, Carth/Sten represent the 'my life is forfeit, I lost my reason to be' archetype, and every elf is just a forgettable design with 50% more cliché. The witty yet still unfunny undead character feels like a rotting Alistair.”
    • “The hero is joined by an entourage of sidekicks I would never have seen before if I had never played any other game. Morrigan is a ripoff of the 'sorta-indecent-sorta-evil-and-yet-sexy-like-a-turnip' trope, Tali/Aerie/Shani are every 'sexy bookworm' ever, Carth/Sten represent the 'my life is forfeit, I lost my reason to be' archetype, and every elf is just a forgettable design with 50% more cliché. The witty yet still unfunny undead character feels like a rotting Alistair.”
  • grinding
    167 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect of "Bound by Flame" is widely criticized for being excessively tedious and frustrating, with players often feeling underpowered despite significant time spent leveling up. Combat is described as clunky and unresponsive, with enemies having inflated health pools that prolong battles unnecessarily, leading to a repetitive and unenjoyable experience. Many reviewers suggest that the game requires a considerable investment of time to progress, making it feel more like a chore than an engaging adventure.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Unresponsive controls, unreliable target locks, main questlines that suddenly lock you out of side quests with no warning, and tedious boss fights make this unworthy of the time invested.”
    • “This game so far has been a tedious grind and I urge you not to waste your money unless you have the patience of a god.”
    • “The game becomes more tedious with its poor level design, non-stop backtracking and endlessly respawning mobs as you go on.”
  • stability
    106 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and performance issues, including audio problems, texture pop-ins, and character-related bugs that can disrupt gameplay. While some players have experienced minimal issues, many others describe the game as unpolished and frustrating, particularly in later acts where glitches become more prevalent. Overall, the consensus suggests that the game requires significant improvements in stability to enhance the player experience.

    • “The game isn’t even that expensive, and it’s not buggy or broken; it’s a great RPG.”
    • “Positives include good graphics, no glitches or crashes, and a good variety in the leveling system.”
    • “I found the game to be fairly bug-free, with only a couple of random crashes linked to a compatibility issue with my GPU.”
    • “The game is still very buggy and while fun when it works, it simply is a waste of money.”
    • “I can't believe I wasted a day playing this frustrating and buggy mess.”
    • “It's a buggy game, and still crashes to the desktop several times with no warnings or error messages.”
  • replayability
    99 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers a moderate level of replayability, primarily through its branching story paths and the choice between playing as a human or demon, which can lead to different endings and character interactions. While some players appreciate the variety of choices and potential for multiple playthroughs, others find the overall experience lacking in depth and excitement, leading to mixed feelings about replay value. Overall, it seems best enjoyed as a single playthrough, with some players willing to revisit it for achievements or to explore alternative choices.

    • “The good/evil paths give the story plenty of replayability and definitely make it worth the price regardless of whether or not it's on sale.”
    • “That reminds me, the game is surprisingly replayable, what with at least 3 or 4 endings, multiple followers and choices with them, and how to build your character.”
    • “The story is well put together, the combat is challenging (at least on the hardest difficulty), and the game offers a fair amount of replayability due to the choices you are met with both story and character progression-wise.”
    • “It suffers from poorly designed combat, boring quests, awful balancing, and a complete lack of content, meaningful decisions, and replayability.”
    • “Not much replay value; after you finish the game once, you probably won't feel inclined to do it again.”
    • “This game offers minimal replayability, since you could try different decisions and finish the achievements that need a re-run.”
  • atmosphere
    98 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere in "Bound by Flame" is widely praised for its rich world-building, engaging lore, and strong musical score, which together create a compelling and immersive experience. While the initial locations are noted for their intrigue, some players feel that the atmosphere becomes generic as the game progresses. Overall, the game successfully establishes a grimdark tone that resonates with fans of the genre, despite some criticisms regarding combat and voice acting.

    • “The graphics and the music are very atmospheric.”
    • “Great world building, good lore and fitting atmosphere.”
    • “The atmosphere, story and characters created deep immersion for me.”
    • “After playing for only two hours, I was extremely bored with the repetitive combat and dull atmosphere of the whole game.”
    • “The cinematic is pretty bad; it seems really boring how they design the in-game cinematic, which makes you not feel the game's atmosphere.”
    • “Must say I expected far more from this... there's also something about the atmosphere that feels unfinished.”
  • optimization
    84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization is a mixed bag, with many players reporting smooth performance and minimal issues on various systems, particularly for a mid-budget title. However, some users experienced significant lag and performance problems, especially on the Steam Deck's native Linux version, indicating that optimization may not be consistent across all platforms. Overall, while the game runs well for many, there are notable exceptions that detract from the experience.

    • “The game runs smoothly with very few performance issues.”
    • “I have so far not encountered a single glitch, bug, or weird physics incident; it all runs smoothly and perfectly - which is rather impressive, considering the AAA industry can never seem to get that part right.”
    • “The graphics are pretty darn good despite the game's age, and the performance/optimization of the game is perfectly acceptable with no obvious issues.”
    • “Be warned however, the performance is terrible!”
    • “Terrible optimization, low framerates, miserable graphics etc.... just grabbed this on the sale though as I wanted an RPG to get over boredom.”
    • “But even that little piece of praise goes out the window, because the game is optimized poorly and manages to actually run worse than much better looking similar games, such as Shadow of Mordor.”
  • character development
    70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game is largely criticized for being underwhelming and lacking depth, with many reviewers noting that characters feel flat and generic, which detracts from the overall narrative experience. While some aspects, such as the ability to influence development through choices, are appreciated, the execution is often described as flawed, leading to a desire for more variety and meaningful interactions. Overall, the character development is seen as a missed opportunity, with many players feeling that it fails to enhance the gameplay or encourage multiple playthroughs.

    • “Character development is pretty well done: by leveling up, one can spend attribute points, which can be put into one of three perk trees.”
    • “After completing the tutorial, the half-baked writing immediately improves giving rise to an interesting narrative with surprisingly strong character development.”
    • “The level of character development and interaction left me wanting to explore all of the dialogue options simply to learn more about the detailed world of Vertiel.”
    • “You cannot experience character development properly and the story is boring.”
    • “The last chapters just feel like they needed more character development for your companions and more story.”
    • “The characters involved that attempt to drive the lore are also themselves bland and lacking true character development.”
  • emotional
    44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, players found the emotional aspect of the game lacking, citing a boring and inconsistent story, flat characters, and poor voice acting that failed to evoke any genuine feelings. Despite attempts to create poignant moments and moral choices, many reviewers felt no emotional investment in the characters or plot, leading to a disappointing experience. While some appreciated the lore and combat, the overwhelming sentiment was that the game did not succeed in delivering an engaging emotional narrative.

    • “I felt invested enough in the world and in saving it that I accidentally did an evil run, since the plot made me feel like I wouldn't be able to save it if I did a cookie-cutter, paragon playthrough.”
    • “Full of poignant and heartbreaking moments, this game is not to be missed.”
    • “It's heartbreaking.”
    • “Awfully clunky mechanics, unsatisfying skill tree, boring story and uninspired characters.”
    • “Honestly hard to recommend with the awful controls, boring story and lack of quality.”
    • “Which he tries to get but fails miserably, you don't even have the option to try and talk people down like in Mass Effect or get told the 'good' or 'bad' options, you get streamlined down a boring story that makes no sense.”
  • monetization
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is praised for its lack of microtransactions, loot boxes, and paid DLCs, which is seen as a significant positive aspect of its monetization strategy. However, there are concerns about potential deceptive advertising regarding in-game content and the quality of character development. Overall, players appreciate the absence of aggressive monetization tactics.

    • “But the big win, in my opinion, is that the game does not feature any microtransactions, loot boxes, paid DLCs (yet), or any other shady cash-grabbing features.”
    • “I also just noticed that I never encountered a couple of the mobs shown in the images on the game's store page, so either I was weirdly unlucky, they looked nothing in-game like they're being advertised, or it was straight-up deceptive advertising.”
    • “Of course, it's hard to do something about the supporting cast who're about as three-dimensional and entertaining as advertisement leaflets.”
    • “Forced choices in a game that pushes the 'your choice matters' advertising.”

57%Critics’ scoreBased on 25 critic reviews

Buy Bound By Flame

14h Median play time
14h Average play time
9-20h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 36 analyzed playthroughs

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