Focus Home and Spiders bring an ambitious action-RPG to the table with The Technomancer, the spiritual successor to Mars: War Logs.
The Technomancer
Developer: Spiders
Price: 60 USD
Platform: PC, PS4 (reviewed), Xbox One
MonsterVine was supplied with PS4 code for review
Those familiar with Mars: War Logs will recognize the faction and political conflict right away. You play as a recently anointed Technomancer, Zachariah Mancer, whose superhuman ability to harness electricity sets the context for deciding the red planet’s fate. Times are tough for the citizens of Mars, as a cataclysmic event wiped off contact with Earth, and groups are fighting over the ultimate resource: water. On Mars, Zachariah’s interactions with various NPCs results in earned reputation, gaining their trust and ultimately as an ally. Your dialogue choices impact Zachariah’s alignment with rivaling factions and companions through a karma system, providing useful stat bonuses and passive abilities.
Let’s get it out of the way, the dialogue is bad. This is due to the flat voice over delivery and presentation. In trying to comprehend the story, I was often distracted by the talking head syndrome and questionable camera angles, causing characters to speak from afar or turned away from the player depending on where you initiate the conversation. Ultimately, the presentation hampers its story building, as I sometimes ended up skipping dialogue due to the underwhelming execution.
Most of the story is told through quests as the varied objectives are simple to understand and piece together despite the inclusion of timed missions. The quest structure is reminiscent to past RPGs (think Knights of the Old Republic), both in design and moving from point A to point B. As you roam across large sections of Mars, it would’ve been practical to have a fast travel system but this is mainly absent. Instead, a Mars rover transports the player but there’s no option to quickly move within the area itself, besides sprinting.
The Technomancer shines most in its character development and customization. Each time you level, you’ll gain a skill point that’s applied to your combat stances. Every so often, you’ll also earn talent points which is most useful in charisma and lockpicking. The least common adds attributes to Zach’s abilities and determines what gear is available to equip. With a shared inventory among companions, the level of depth in being able to not only craft upgrades for weapons and armor but for others is a welcome addition as well. And trust me, companions are necessary and no, not solely for the romance option. All of these underlying systems contributed to a sense of personal satisfaction I felt in being able to hone in on creating the ‘Zachariah’ that best fits my playstyle.
The combat in The Technomancer plays in a tactical fashion, punishing players for relying too heavily on attacks and instead encouraging a nuanced approach that caters to the situation at hand. Three combat styles (Warrior, Rogue, and Guardian) are available for use during battle. The Warrior stance offers effective crowd control against groups of enemies, Rogue brings agile hits and the use of a gun, while the Guardian is a defensive minded play style designed for a heavy handed approach. Layering all of this are Technomancer powers, which are all upgradable in their respective skill trees. Stealth is also an option for those looking to pick off enemies one by one through sneak attacks and well placed traps. The difficulty curve hits hard in the beginning hours and eases up as you become familiar with the various mechanics, like figuring out the lock-on button. It’s a bit overwhelming at first but the best approach is to experiment with everything at your disposal.
The Final Word
Zachariah’s journey navigating his moral compass while at the same time fleeing from the totalitarian space gestapo set the stage for a fun sci-fi narrative, an alternative to the big blockbuster action of modern RPGs, all the while coming across as equally ambitious in scope and direction. The Technomancer is a formidable recommendation to players searching for engrossing adventure and gameplay, despite its rough edges and odd technical eccentricities.
– MonsterVine Rating: 4 out of 5 – Good
