I don’t know how to feel about Bound By Flame. I mean, it looks spectacularly competent in all ways, which I realize is something of an oxymoron. Let me explain: it’s swollen – nearly pregnant – with pomp and bombast, but I can’t really see what makes it truly special or standout. Developer Spiders’ previous somewhat comically titled role-player, Mars: War Logs, was the same way, except then it turned out to be not so good. If nothing else, though, Bound By Flame‘s combat looks pretty good. You can watch it below. Also, I just skimmed my own paragraph and saw the phrase “pregnant spiders,” and now I need to go find a new brain because this one is ruined.



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Combat will apparently be geared toward challenge – not gracefully cake-walking/pirouetting through swarms of mindless pincushions – so you’ll have to smartly flip between class stances in order to avoid lopsided beatings.

It does, however, have a sort of hack ‘n’ slash-y cadence to it, so maybe don’t expect the methodical swinging and sledging of, say, a Dark Souls – even if the general style and tone of the world seem a bit similar.

Bound By Flame will be out next month, which is, er, sooner than I was expecting. Mars: War Logs came out right around the same time last year, so it’s quite a quick turnaround. Here’s hoping Spiders learned some lessons last time around and applied them. Fast.