Bound By Flame
Give it 7 hours
What the data shows
- In the first 2 hours 1 in 2 reviews are negative (64%); after 15h it's 1 in 5 (20%).
- Fully opens up by hour 15.
- The opening is criticised more than in 92% of games we track.
- At least 18% of players who start reach the ending.
- The biggest drop-off is between “Beasted” (Vanquish a Juggernaut) and “General demoted” (Vanquish a Deadwalker General): from 91% to 48% of starters.
- Only 70% of owners have even the first achievement — the rest barely played.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 4,081 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 299 reviews: 13.4h for positive, 6.9h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (69.9% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
- Started playing 100%
- Beasted Vanquish a Juggernaut 91% −9
- General demoted Vanquish a Deadwalker General. Most players quit here 48% −43
- Farewell my Concubine Vanquish a Concubine 38% −10
- ...the harder they fall Vanquish Lord Blackfrost 30% −8
- The one and only Lord Become the most powerful being on Vertiel ≥19% −11
story milestone ending (most common ending) biggest drop-off
Story milestones were labeled by AI from achievement names and descriptions; mistakes are possible.
All achievements (41)
story milestone ending side
- First steps Upgrade a skill 100%
- Just a warm-up Vanquish 25 enemies 99%
- Beasted Vanquish a Juggernaut 91%
- Just a warning Vanquish 75 enemies 74%
- First come, first served Loot 20 chests 73%
- Blacksmith Make 5 improvements to your weapons and armour 58%
- Vulture Search 50 fallen enemies 55%
- Just a slaughter Vanquish 150 enemies 52%
- Sword it out Kill 50 enemies with a sword 51%
- General demoted Vanquish a Deadwalker General. 48%
- Bloody hell Kill 50 enemies with daggers 43%
- Farewell my Concubine Vanquish a Concubine 38%
- Craftsmanship Make 100 objects (potions, booby-traps and munitions) 35%
- Mercenary Accomplish 20 side quests 35%
- It's a trap! Set 20 traps and have them sprung 35%
- I'm on fire Set your enemies aflame 50 times 31%
- Shot your bolt Fire 50 crossbow bolts 31%
- ...the harder they fall Vanquish Lord Blackfrost 30%
- And I don't throw things away Recycle 30 objects 26%
- Chrysalid Poison your enemies 50 times 24%
- The one and only Lord Become the most powerful being on Vertiel 19%
- Unleash the Beast Accomplish your transformation by following the demon's way 18%
- Without fear, without reproach Accomplish all of Randval's personal quests 16%
- At the lady's service Accomplish all of Edwen's personal quests 15%
- Master at arms Unlock all the the Warrior skills and their upgrades 13%
- Patron Accomplish all of Sybil's personal quests 13%
- Purifying fire Purify Vertiel by bathing it in flame 13%
- Master Ranger Unlock all of the skills of a Ranger and their upgrades 12%
- Sacrifice Use the energy of the Worldheart to annihilate the Ice lords and save Vertiel 12%
- Hawk Complete Bound by Flame in the Hawk difficulty mode 11%
- Psycho killer Kill 50 enemies with an axe 11%
- Humanist Preserve your humanity 10%
- Erudite love Seduce Sybil 10%
- Ice breaker Seduce Edwen 9.3%
- Firestarter Unlock all the Pyromancer specialization skills and their upgrades 9.0%
- Quite a hammering Kill 50 enemies with a warhammer 5.7%
- A fulfilled elf Accomplish all of Rhelmar's personal quests 5.4%
- Buffalo Complete Bound by Flame in the Buffalo difficulty mode 5.2%
- Captain Complete Bound by Flame in the Captain difficulty mode 4.0%
- Chivalrandy Seduce Randval 3.4%
- Romance with pointy ears Seduce Rhelmar 3.3%