My Binary Domain Impressions

Story:
In the future mankind couldn't stop global warming which lead to catastrophic rises in sea levels. Huge landmasses have been flooded and many died. Gigantic walls were built to fend off the oceans. Only robots could achieve this colossal task. Having proven themselves robots are now present everywhere in society. This led two corporations to huge success, the American Bergen and Japanese Amada.
As a result politicians have put restrictive laws into R&D of life-like robots indistinguishable from humans, "Hollow Children". You play as a member of a RUST crew whose job it is to go after violations against these laws.
When a Hollow Child not even knowing it is non-human is found, you and a multinational team are sent covertly to Japan to find evidence against the Amada corporation.

Gameplay:
Binary Domain is a fairly standard third-person-shooter with many inventive systems. Each of your crew members has a "trust meter". This will either fill or decrease upon your choices during dialogue and whether you protect them during combat. Another neat idea is the implementation of voice-enabled commands. I didn't use a mic so I had to use pre-config commands via button press. These can go from combat orders like "Give me cover fire" up to opinions on your crews mood and comments on events unfolding in the story.

As a TPS shooting is the main focus. And boy does it shine. Movement is adequately quick with dedicated "dodge" moves. Weapon variety is standard with a nice selection of grenades. Experience points are used to upgrade your weapon and character stats. Don't expect anything too deep though. It is held enjoyably simple.
Your arsenal will get its fair share of use against the many robots you will be facing in the ~8 hour campaign. To my big surprise devs managed to turn a cliche enemy like robots into one of the most enjoyable adversaries in a long time. They are not stupid! They will take cover, pop out to shoot, dodge attacks and be formidable opponents. Prepare to take cover a lot as rushing into combat will get you killed fast. But keep calm as disposing robots is as fun as it can get. Bullets stagger them with very good hit animations while clusters of their outer shell is shred flying all around the screen. Good placed shoots will sever limbs, send legs and arms flying around. Don't loose your focus though as these robots will continue pursuing you even without any legs. Headshots will turn robots into shooting sprees hitting their robot brethren, so keep your aim steady! Combat is the shining beacon among all other greatness. From the clean and futuristic landscapes with huge scope to the many and frequent set pieces which never outstay their welcome. Speaking of, levels are diverse while still retaining general tone of futuristic Tokyo. Each of them ends with a boss. Varying in fun while all of them can make quick business of you. Running from cover to cover, commanding your teammates at the right moment and using appropriate weapons will make them a challenge but never unfair.

Verdict:
Not having heard much from Binary Domain previously the screenshots and game banner did paint a very mediocre image. I'm glad I still gave the game a try as it became one of my most beloved TPS of recent years. It's polished with good voice acting, making me care about my teammates. The theme of robots and trans-humanism are interesting and were nicely woven into the story. Unforeseen twists kept me at the edge of my seat and I genuinely cared about the events that unfold. A very satisfying game which I hope gets a sequel.

My Binary Domain Impressions Story: In the future mankind couldn't stop global warming which lead to catastrophic rises in sea levels. Huge landmasses have been flooded and many died. Gigantic walls were built to fend off the oceans. Only robots could achieve this colossal task. Having proven themselves robots are now present everywhere in society. This led two corporations to huge success, the American Bergen and Japanese Amada. As a result politicians have put restrictive laws into R&D of life-like robots indistinguishable from humans, "Hollow Children". You play as a member of a RUST crew whose job it is to go after violations against these laws. When a Hollow Child not even knowing it is non-human is found, you and a multinational team are sent covertly to Japan to find evidence against the Amada corporation. Gameplay: Binary Domain is a fairly standard third-person-shooter with many inventive systems. Each of your crew members has a "trust meter". This will either fill or decrease upon your choices during dialogue and whether you protect them during combat. Another neat idea is the implementation of voice-enabled commands. I didn't use a mic so I had to use pre-config commands via button press. These can go from combat orders like "Give me cover fire" up to opinions on your crews mood and comments on events unfolding in the story. As a TPS shooting is the main focus. And boy does it shine. Movement is adequately quick with dedicated "dodge" moves. Weapon variety is standard with a nice selection of grenades. Experience points are used to upgrade your weapon and character stats. Don't expect anything too deep though. It is held enjoyably simple. Your arsenal will get its fair share of use against the many robots you will be facing in the ~8 hour campaign. To my big surprise devs managed to turn a cliche enemy like robots into one of the most enjoyable adversaries in a long time. They are not stupid! They will take cover, pop out to shoot, dodge attacks and be formidable opponents. Prepare to take cover a lot as rushing into combat will get you killed fast. But keep calm as disposing robots is as fun as it can get. Bullets stagger them with very good hit animations while clusters of their outer shell is shred flying all around the screen. Good placed shoots will sever limbs, send legs and arms flying around. Don't loose your focus though as these robots will continue pursuing you even without any legs. Headshots will turn robots into shooting sprees hitting their robot brethren, so keep your aim steady! Combat is the shining beacon among all other greatness. From the clean and futuristic landscapes with huge scope to the many and frequent set pieces which never outstay their welcome. Speaking of, levels are diverse while still retaining general tone of futuristic Tokyo. Each of them ends with a boss. Varying in fun while all of them can make quick business of you. Running from cover to cover, commanding your teammates at the right moment and using appropriate weapons will make them a challenge but never unfair. Verdict: Not having heard much from Binary Domain previously the screenshots and game banner did paint a very mediocre image. I'm glad I still gave the game a try as it became one of my most beloved TPS of recent years. It's polished with good voice acting, making me care about my teammates. The theme of robots and trans-humanism are interesting and were nicely woven into the story. Unforeseen twists kept me at the edge of my seat and I genuinely cared about the events that unfold. A very satisfying game which I hope gets a sequel.