Ever since The Technomancer was announced by both Focus Home Interactive and Spider Studios, it was surrounded by a lot of mystery. Of course, as time went by and we heard more about the game, it became clear that it was going to be one of the most expansive RPG titles in recent memory. Set on Mars, we will control Zachariah, who represents one of the powerful corporations warring for the most precious resource on the red planet: water. Set during the War of Water on Mars, Zachariah is on the run from the secret police due to his troubled past. As a Technomancer, he controls the power of lightning, which he can upgrade along with many other abilities.
Recently, we also were privy to a new trailer showing how the companion system will work in game. Similar to an MMO, The Technomancer companions will accompany you into battle. You can choose a max of two from your group, but there's a catch. A new addition has your companions interact with the game opposed to simply "being there" like in most MMO's. They will all have their own individual personality, upgrade system and attitudes which change based on your in game decisions. If they do not like the path on which you are traveling, they will leave the group. It's up to you in The Technomancer to decide your fate. This is all in addition to the 40 hour campaign, four skill trees and three combat techniques you will need to master.
With all of this recent news with the game's release pending June 21st, we wanted to take a look at the top things we want out of The Technomancer when it hits consoles.
Useful Upgrades
Many RPG's, especially large scale ones the size of The Technomancer, suffer from a lackluster upgrade system. This is generally due to the upgrades being more superficial rather than having any in game impact. As a result, grinding for hours becomes a detriment because the end result is usually something with a result that doesn't equal what you needed to do to earn it. Since most of this grinding comes from side quests, many people opt to skip these and generally miss out on much of the story. By all accounts, this does not seem to be the case in The Technomancer. Spider and Focus Home seem to have put an emphasis on immersion for this game, with the upgrades focused around the player and its progression. Similar to the Mad Max game where every upgrade had a purpose, The Technomancer seems to be taking this stance as well.
After all, four different skill trees situated around three separate combat setups that are all tied to a companion system that is impacted by your decisions indicates that everything you do will impact something in game. That is what RPG's should be, and The Technomancer doesn't seem to have any "fluff upgrades" solely used to pass the time.
Original Story
Mars? Been there done that. So what makes The Technomancer different? It's the original storyline. Any good RPG needs to set itself apart or standout by having a unique story. The first criticism you see in most reviews is the standard "same old story" line of fighting enemies, recover an artifact, beat the boss to end the game. The Technomancer is the complete opposite. Zachariah is on the run from a secret police organization (corrupt) that is aiming to take over a planet's most precious resource in water. Oh, and by the way, he can utilize lightning powers. The story is the very basis for any good game, especially an RPG, as everything in game focuses around the core premise. With RPG's being so long in nature, a weak story means dragged on content added in only for filler, which also impacts things like the ugprade system as mentioned above. From what we've seen so far, The Technomancer story line is as intriguing as it is original and we're looking forward to see how it plays out in full.
Visual Beauty
As far as gameplay can take you, it isn't much without beautiful scenery. So far, The Technomancer boasts what seem to be exquisite looking backgrounds, sunsets and environments. Background mountains aren't simply "just there", but rather are extremely well textured and appear as part of the traversable territory. Cinematic cut scenes we have seen in trailers so far show detailed building, enemies and in depth interaction between the player, companions and other NPC's. As The Witcher 3 showed us, it's not just the story line that makes the game, but the graphical beauty goes a long way in keeping players immersed in the game. The intro character creation screen displays many options for your customization as well.
So far, it seems as though both Spider and Focus Home understand the importance of graphics keeping players tied to the gameplay and story in The Technomancer, and we can't wait to see the full extent on display.
Non-linear missions
Nothing kills a game faster than straight forward, linear, repetitive gameplay. No matter how beatiful it looks or how many upgrades you can have, boring is boring. "Walk forward, kill enemies" is a great strategy sometimes, but not as the entire basis of a game. The Technomancer allows us to use abilities based on our three different skill trees: Rogue, Warrior and all around Technomancery. Using either stealth, blade and shield or a staff in combat, these techniques impact our upgrades and therefore our approach to solving missions. As noted in the most recent gameplay trailer, there are up to five ways to solve any mission. If you can't get into a room, you can always choose to fight the group guarding it, but it could lower your reputation with said group and therefore impact your game going forward. If that's not your cup of tea, you can choose to sneak in a separate way or even stealthily steal the pass needed to get into the room from another guard.
All of these things in The Technomancer are tied together, with mission gameplay being the most important. Such expansive gameplay and huge campaign story to go along with it make replayability in missions a sought after experience rather than a chore.
All things considered with what we have seen so far, it seems as if The Technomancer is the most immersive, expansive and original RPG to come our way in a long time. As good as The Witcher series is, it can't hold a candle to the originality of The Technomancer's story. With one month to go until release, we're excited to see what else The Technomancer has to offer, as it's our most anticipated RPG in recent memory.
Stay tuned for our review upon release. Let us know what you think of The Technomancer so far below.
