The Technomancer

The Technomancer is an enormous open-world RPG with 40+ hours of content that has an expertly-crafted world at its center. Unfortunately, it's held back by technical issues that are hard to overlook, poor narrative, and unoriginal design.

63%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

grinding, stability

69% User Score Based on 3,690 reviews

Critic Score 57%Based on 32 reviews

Platforms

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About

The Technomancer is a sci-fi RPG set in a post-apocalyptic Mars, where water and power are scarce. As a Technomancer, a warrior with dynamic magical abilities, players explore the red planet, completing missions and making dialogue choices that alter the story. Various combat styles, crafting, and a party system add depth to this immersive, expansive title.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

69%

Audience ScoreBased on 3,722 reviews

story1.3k positive mentions

grinding143 negative mentions

Engaging story with interesting characters and choices that matter.
Fun combat system with multiple fighting styles and a satisfying progression.
Visually appealing environments that capture the atmosphere of a dystopian Mars.

Excessive backtracking with respawning enemies makes gameplay tedious.
Combat can feel clunky and unresponsive at times, leading to frustrating encounters.
Voice acting and dialogue can be hit or miss, with some awkward moments.

story
4,152 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
61%
7%
The story of "The Technomancer" is generally regarded as engaging and well-crafted, with many players appreciating its intriguing setting on a post-apocalyptic Mars and the depth of its characters. However, criticisms arise regarding pacing issues, repetitive quest design, and a lack of impactful choices, which can detract from the overall experience. While some players find the narrative compelling enough to keep them invested, others feel it falls short compared to more polished titles in the genre, leading to mixed reviews on its storytelling quality.
- “The story is engaging, has nice twists, the companions are unique and have backstories, personalities; they are not the typical 'give me enough gifts and I will love you for no reason' companions like you see in most RPGs.”
- “The story is a captivating mix of political intrigue, personal quests, and a touch of sci-fi mystique.”
- “The story is very solid, and the atmosphere is beautiful.”
- “The story pacing at the end is so off you will feel you are nearing the end but the game suddenly throws dozens of main and side quests at you at the same time making it so messy to deal with.”
- “The game likes to use previous areas for 'new' missions, which is making the whole gameplay boring.”
- “The story is mediocre, customizing NPCs gets annoying after a few quests where you have to dress up your whole team in a specific outfit, or you'll fail the quest.”
gameplay
897 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
61%
16%
The gameplay of "The Technomancer" has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its clunky mechanics, repetitive quests, and lack of polish. While some appreciate the RPG elements and combat styles, others criticize the game for its tedious fetch quests and uninspired level design, leading to a sense of boredom over time. Overall, the game offers a decent story and engaging character interactions, but the gameplay often detracts from the overall experience, making it more suitable for fans of the genre who can overlook its flaws.
- “I like this game; the first few hours were a bit hard, but then I figured out the fighting secrets. Very nice gameplay, good story, reminds me of Star Wars: The Old Republic.”
- “The mix of eastern and western gameplay styles Spiders has achieved with their Mars games is really enjoyable.”
- “The gameplay is solid, but also rather difficult.”
- “From a narrative perspective, precious little transpires within the first four hours, and the gameplay itself remains equally uninspiring.”
- “The real issue comes with the gameplay, which is incredibly repetitive.”
- “The gameplay here is solid garbage as you flip around linear corridors and wonder how these companies stay afloat.”
graphics
863 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
46%
8%
The graphics of "The Technomancer" have received mixed reviews, with many players noting that while they are decent for a 2016 release, they often feel dated compared to AAA titles. The art style is appreciated for its atmospheric qualities, though some criticize the character models and animations as stiff or lacking polish. Overall, the visuals are considered a significant improvement over previous titles from the developer, but they may not meet the expectations set by more modern games.
- “The graphics are great even for today's standards.”
- “For a game that was released in 2016, the graphics, with some inconsistencies here and there, still hold up and the art style, while sometimes a little bit dark, is good.”
- “Visually, the Technomancer may not be on par with AAA titles, but it makes up for it with its distinct art style and atmosphere.”
- “It's very bland and even the art design and graphics are bad, especially for a 2016 RPG.”
- “The graphics are a bit dated and the world does not seem as lively as in other games, but it was a small budget production.”
- “If I were to compare this to triple-A titles of the same styling, I couldn't recommend it as it is a bleak, ugly game with graphics that seem from a generation ago and combat that isn't quite fun and can be terribly repetitive.”
music
385 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
48%
10%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its atmospheric qualities and ability to complement the Martian setting, while others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking memorable melodies. Many players noted that certain tracks evoke nostalgia for classic sci-fi films, but others found the music monotonous and distracting, detracting from the overall experience. Overall, while there are standout moments, the soundtrack's inconsistency leaves a divided impression among players.
- “The game's soundtrack complements the Martian setting perfectly, immersing you further into this intriguing world.”
- “The music in this game is so unique and captivating.”
- “The music is one of the highlights of the game; it's depressingly amazing if that makes sense.”
- “The music ranges from bad to middling.”
- “It lacks anything resembling a melody (or talent), and the tracks are so repetitive that at several points, I found myself thinking that the music sounds like my computer froze up - just playing the same five notes over and over and over and over again.”
- “The dialog is boring, the characters seem like robots with no believable emotions; the combat is boring, because all you are doing is slinging around weapons/tools with no combos; the music you mostly hear are four beat loops and it is annoying enough to just mute the game and play it to white noise.”
atmosphere
216 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
39%
6%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and compelling design, effectively capturing a gritty, futuristic Martian setting that blends elements of cyberpunk and post-apocalyptic themes. Many players appreciate the distinct art style, atmospheric music, and well-crafted environments that enhance the storytelling experience, although some note inconsistencies in execution and pacing. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature, drawing players into its richly developed world and narrative.
- “The atmosphere of the game is absolutely incredible - it's gritty, but it's not depressing; there's a feeling of hope through the locations.”
- “I absolutely adored the atmosphere of the game, where everyone struggles for survival, where the major cities of Mars are ruled by corporations; the ability to choose whether the protagonist will be an arsehole or a traditional 'good guy' adds depth to the experience.”
- “The game does atmosphere very well - the locations all look great, are varied in design, and subtle touches make the populace feel real and alive.”
- “Unfortunately, it lacks atmosphere and features a few annoying elements.”
- “Terrible voice acting, terrible writing, average graphics, boring gameplay, buggy combat, terrible sound design, no atmosphere.”
- “Dead environment, no atmosphere at all in any of the areas.”
grinding
145 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
99%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious due to excessive backtracking, repetitive enemy encounters, and numerous fetch quests. While some appreciate the enjoyable combat, the overall experience is often marred by the need to grind for levels and resources, leading to a sense of frustration and monotony. Players note that the game could benefit from more streamlined design and less reliance on repetitive tasks to enhance engagement.
- “Almost no grinding, though spawns are fairly quick, so there's still a bit of fighting just in traveling.”
- “The game then becomes a repetitive, grindy mess, constantly having you backtrack to already explored areas, which are now 100% hostile to you as well, meaning you have to fight the same enemies over and over and over again.”
- “Got tedious around the 2nd chapter and downright boring running back and forth between cities for various quests with the same monsters respawning time and time again in the same places.”
- “This game is too damn tedious with all the fetch quests that are given to you that require you to go through the same areas over like 10 different times.”
stability
133 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with many players reporting numerous bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, including game-breaking issues and graphical anomalies. While some users experienced smooth performance without significant problems, others found the game unpolished and frustrating due to its technical shortcomings. Overall, the game's stability appears to vary widely among players, with a notable number expressing dissatisfaction with its buggy nature.
- “Runs great, looks beautiful, and plays well.”
- “I bought this because of the Steam Deck, and it seems to run just fine and then just freezes no matter what version of Proton I'm using, so that's unfortunate.”
- “The biggest reason for the low score is that many people (including myself) have been halted in their quest to finish this beautiful game due to literal game-breaking glitches that inhibit progress.”
- “Despite an interesting hook and nice cutscene videos, the game is unpolished and buggy.”
character development
82 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
59%
4%
Character development in the game is generally praised for its depth and intricacy, with many players appreciating the ability to customize skills, attributes, and relationships with teammates. While some reviews note that certain characters lack development and the pacing can be uneven, the overall narrative and character interactions are described as engaging and well-crafted, reminiscent of titles like Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Despite some criticisms regarding voice acting and limited enemy variety, the character development system is seen as a strong aspect that enhances the gameplay experience.
- “Great story with in-depth character development and personalities.”
- “Overall it is somewhat rough around the edges but fully fulfills its purpose; the game tells a unique rich story with lots of charm, the environments are amazing, character development and lore is captivating and well defined.”
- “Character development is well done - for instance in the skill tree you can choose your style and combine many abilities/passives to your preference.”
- “Technomancer doesn't seem to have figured out whether it wanted to go for the freedom of decision, or a story-driven character development, and with the current hybrid-ish solution it just feels like it fails at both.”
- “Some characters have no character development over the course of the game and it has parts that are written quite badly.”
- “I think the issue so many people have with it is that they compare it too much to Mass Effect's incredible storyline, graphics, characters, and content, as well as the flexibility in choices and character development.”
optimization
78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
54%
18%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players noting significant performance issues that require high-end hardware to run smoothly, while others report decent performance on mid-range systems. Some users experienced frame drops and high CPU usage, particularly in populated areas, indicating that the game may be poorly optimized overall. However, a few players found the game to run well on their setups, suggesting that optimization may vary depending on individual hardware configurations.
- “Game runs smoothly on my gaming rig.”
- “The graphics are gorgeous and playing everything on high on a GTX 670, so I can say this game is very well optimized.”
- “Performance: well optimized.”
- “The major flaw of this title is its poor optimization, so you need to have godly hardware for the game to not drop frames in most areas.”
- “Adding insult to injury, the game suffers from really poor optimization and overall performance, with several settings really slamming the experience to unpleasant levels.”
- “I'm running a 4GHz i5-2500K paired with a GTX 780, and the CPU usage in towns was often in the 90% range on all 4 cores; the GPU was at 100%, and the strain was causing it to throttle down, which further hampered performance.”
humor
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
94%
6%
The humor in the game is often described as unintentionally hilarious, particularly due to the mediocre voice acting and awkward character animations, which can lead to amusing situations. While some characters deliver genuinely funny lines, others fall flat, contributing to a mixed comedic experience. Overall, players find moments of humor throughout the game, though many feel it could benefit from more consistent comedic elements.
- “It's actually hilarious, to be honest.”
- “The lipsyncing is off, the faces of characters contort in hilarious ways during speech. I've spotted a few typos in the subtitling, NPCs simply materialize right in front of you throughout the numerous hub worlds, but nothing game-breaking.”
- “Good story, funny conversations, decisions, skill trees, crafting, a little bit of transhumanism - all served properly for me to enjoy.”
- “The side/support characters and companions that tag along are equally boring aside from unfunny one-liners.”
- “Actually, I have my opinion about recent humanity when I see that uncontrollable, bad, unfunny meme games get positive reviews while a gem like this gets mixed only.”
emotional
63 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
84%
16%
The emotional aspect of the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the touching character development and impactful dialogues, while others criticize the lack of emotional depth and payoff in character relationships. Many feel that the emotional scenes are undermined by technical issues, awkward animations, and a predictable story, leading to a disconnect from the characters and their struggles. Overall, while there are moments of emotional resonance, they are often overshadowed by the game's shortcomings in storytelling and character engagement.
- “They are treated as slaves in this society, and their plight forms the emotional backbone of the story.”
- “Watching how the plot develops and what happens to certain people was really touching.”
- “I feel there is a simple, but heartfelt, story being told here, and in such an ambitious scope.”
- “The technomancer and spiders are a case of 'if it's broke, why fix it?' The same issues that M:WL and BBF had are still present here: boring story, broken combat, bare bones crafting, ugly graphics, a useless party, and a boring uninspired leveling system creates an experience that either leaves me snoring or disgusted.”
- “I literally only played for 15 minutes before realizing this is a horrible clone of a game with an uninteresting and boring story.”
- “The game was rather repetitive, with a boring story and combat that randomly ranged between 'boring for a child' to 'move on over Dark Souls.'”
replayability
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
73%
17%
The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with some players noting that while there are multiple decision paths and character builds that can alter outcomes, the overall linearity of the story and limited changes in major plot arcs diminish its replay value. Many reviewers express frustration over the lack of significant variation in playthroughs, with some even stating it has zero replayability due to design choices that restrict character progression. Overall, while there are elements that could encourage replay, such as different alliances and combat styles, the consensus leans towards a lack of compelling reasons to replay the game.
- “Like Mass Effect, there's replay value in taking different characters with you on the same missions during a new playthrough.”
- “The game can be replayable for a good amount of different decisions that can change the ending.”
- “All decisions affect the outcome and all outcomes are playable without limiting your game.”
- “You can't get all the achievements with one playthrough, and sadly I can't consider this game replayable.”
- “Not much replayability to be honest, the outcomes don't change much.”
- “Replay value of the game is zero.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of the game is viewed positively, with users noting that it offers good value for its price, especially considering its limited budget compared to AAA titles. Reviewers emphasize that the game feels genuine and crafted with care, rather than being a cash grab, suggesting that players should consider waiting for a sale to enhance their experience.
- “The monetization feels exploitative, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending extra money.”
- “The in-game purchases are overpriced and detract from the overall experience.”
- “It often feels like the game is designed to push players towards spending money rather than enjoying the content.”

57%Critics’ scoreBased on 32 critic reviews

Buy The Technomancer

19h Median play time

20h Average play time

5-37h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 66 analyzed playthroughs

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