Bound by Flame - Boxed - PS3

Bound by Flame is an action RPG set in a fantasy universe. The player controls the mercenary Vulcan, who protects the land from a siege by the seven Ice Lords and their minions. At the start of the game he is an experienced fighter, but early on he botches the summoning of a fire demon and becomes possessed by it instead. This introduces a duality that forms the backbone of the game, as he can either try to restore his humanity or give in to the possession and make its powers his own. This change is driven by his actions, whether he helps the villagers or works against them, and leads not only to a visual transformation - either the restoration of his human form or a slow transformation into a fiery demon - but also to branching story paths with multiple endings.

The game offers three skill trees (Warrior, Ranger and Pyromancer), each with its own abilities. The Warrior path emphasises melee combat with swords, axes and warhammers. Vulcan is able to chain attacks into combos and must also dodge and parry incoming attacks. Ranger introduces a stealth path, offering, for example, twin daggers for sneaking up from behind, or spells that slow down time for enemies. Pyromancer deals with the fiery powers of the possession and offers all kinds of spells, explosives, traps and fire-enhanced weapons. Skills are divided into four tiers: Novice, Amateur, Expert and Master, with the selection narrowing at each new tier. All paths lead to an ultimate ability. During combat, it’s possible to switch between the Warrior and Rogue stances. The game offers a choice of companions and allows you to craft weapons with various modifiers.

Rather than an open-world RPG, it divides the game world into smaller hubs, one for each chapter, offering the freedom to explore the world and complete quests in any order until the whole hub is finished, before moving on to the next chapter. A minimap in the bottom right corner helps with navigating the areas.