''The Technomancer'' is an

action role-playing An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre. Definition The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

, developed by

Spiders Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species dive ...

and published by

Focus Home Interactive Focus Entertainment (formerly Focus Home Interactive) is a French video game developer and publisher based in Paris, France. Founded in 1996, Focus has published and distributed original titles such as ''Sherlock Holmes'', ''TrackMania'', '' Run ...

. The game is set within the same universe as Spiders' previously developed game, '' Mars: War Logs''.

Olivier Deriviere Olivier Deriviere (born 26 December 1978) is a French video game composer, best known for his work on the ''Alone in the Dark (2008 video game), Alone in the Dark'', ''Obscure (video game), Obscure'', ''Remember Me (video game), Remember Me'' and ...

scored ''The Technomancer''.

Plot

The game is set during the War of Water, 200 years after humans

colonized Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

. The protagonist is a rookie technomancer named Zachariah from Abundance, one of the powerful corporations on the red planet, who is on the run from the

secret police Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of a ...

. Zachariah flees the city of Ophir and heads to the town of Noctis which is nearby. He then attempts to find a beacon to establish contact with Earth.

Gameplay

There are three styles of combat. The player can add companions to their party, who can then level up. The player will also be able to improve their own combat abilities, and they can make different choices about how to solve each

quest A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. The word serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of ever ...

. There are three different endings, and each is slightly modified by several major choices the player makes throughout the game. The player can craft their

weapons A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

and

armor Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...

. There are four different skill trees.

Development

The game was first announced on April 10, 2015. Spiders wrote an

open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...

PlayStation Blog is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

accompanied by a new trailer for the game. A 13-minute gameplay video was released on August 7, 2015, and another five-minute video was released on June 21, 2015. In an April interview, CEO Jehanne Rousseau explained that "Mars is a lot bigger in The Technomancer compared to what you saw in ''Mars: War Logs''." There will be several hubs and cities that can be unlocked. Rousseau estimated the main quest to be around 25 to 30 hours of play and "easily extended to around 50 hours with the inclusion of side quests." Overall there are around 4 times as many quests as there were in ''Bound by Flame''. In a second interview when asked about the possibility of DLC, Rousseau stated that the game would be a complete and finished product, and although they do not currently have plans for additional content after launch, Spiders "may consider it at a later date." According to Spiders CEO and Creative Director, Jeanne Rousseau, the game is their largest and most expansive to date.

Reception

''The Technomancer'' received "mixed or average" reviews, according to video game

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

. IGN stated the game "has all the moving parts of a mid-2000s BioWare game but lacks technical polish and storytelling finesse to a sometimes painful degree." Combat was heavily criticized for its lack of "flow or rhythm" and difficulty that depends on random chance, but they praised the setting.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Technomancer, The 2016 video games Dystopian video games PlayStation 4 games Science fantasy video games Stealth video games Action role-playing video games Role-playing video games Science fiction video games Video games developed in France Video games scored by Olivier Deriviere Video game sequels Video games set on Mars Windows games Xbox One games PhyreEngine games Single-player video games Focus Entertainment games Cyberpunk video games Spiders (company) games