The Technomancer

'The Technomancer' is a pretty game on the Xbox One, at least in the vistas of Mars and some of the environments. That’s a very good thing, as the sidequests will keep Zachariah trucking back and forth through these same environments many times over the course of a playthrough. There is a disparity in the quality of character models. The bigger set piece bosses look amazing, like the crickety mantis creature in the prologue, while its little bug children and standard human enemies look kind of bland and scratchy. The controls can be sticky outside of combat, and things like trying to open a chest or jump down a ledge can be troublesome. Performance stays a decent level through with few framerate hiccups.

French composer Olivier Derivière, a favorite of Spiders, (he has also done work for other games, like 'Assassin’s Creed' DLC 'Freedom Cry') provided the music for 'The Technomancer'. It is quite good and lends scope to the overall Martian cyberpunk theme without becoming too fantastical or epic. The voice acting is not quite as good, with rigid performances from many of the actors, main character and extras alike.

'The Technomancer' is not without its merits, but can’t quite find a place for itself in the RPG/action field. It is clear what Spiders was trying to do and I don’t fault them for it - their creation has the potential to be something special. In this current form that’s all it is though, just potential.