Relationship Goals: The Technomancer Gets New Trailer
Big promises
The Technomancer [official site], for those of you unaware, is the incoming Mars-flung sci-fi RPG from developers Spiders that's closing in on a June launch. What we've seen so far looks pretty promising, yet the French outfit's back catalogue of ambitious but wonky titles haven't exactly wowed players or critics in the past post release. The latest trailer covers how companions will function in the latest trip to the Red Planet which, again, sounds impressive. So why can't I shake the feeling that history might be repeating itself? Before we continue, here's that trailer:
"All of your companions have their own mood, preferences and moral code," explains the narrator above. "If you act too much against their beliefs they might get mad at you and go so far as to leave your group. On the contrary, shine and prove worthy of their trust and you'll nurture friendships. Or more."
We're then told that companions who like us will be more useful to us than those who don't and, while that's probably obvious, the dynamics and intricacies of relationships all start to sound a bit modern Fallout/Mass Effect which is undoubtedly a good thing. Although far from the most enticing trailer, what Spiders are promising at this stage sounds good and it's probably telling that throughout The Technomancer's marketing, there's been little mention of their previous works.
The dichotomy we're faced with, then, is that in doing so are the devs distancing themselves from their middling previous works in search of a clean slate? Or are they inadvertently setting us up for a fail? I really don't know, even if I'd like to believe the former.
Perhaps I'm being harsh, though. What do you guys reckon?
NB - As a probably very relevant aside, regardless of how nice The Technomancer looks, a sizable part of what keeps me engaged in these trailers is the alluring voiceovers which come courtesy of the game's publisher Focus Home. I could honestly listen to that dude's voice all day.
The Technomancer is due for release on June 28, 2016.