Anyone going from Mars: War Logs to Technomancer may find themselves surprised by the massive jump in quality. As it turns out, there was an unrelated game released between them which bridged that technological gap.
Compared to War Logs it has more fluid combat, larger and more varied environments, and slightly better dialog and voice acting (Technomancer improves on all those aspects further). Gameplay length is about the same and backtracking is certainly still an issue when completing sidequests. The final boss fight is oddly far more difficult than anything that came before and I was only able to clear it by abusing the ‘Speed Demon’ ability… I’m not sure how a Warrior is supposed to manage, but a Pyromancer could probably just spam firebolts.
Rather than reminding me of Gothic or Deus Ex though, it instead brings to mind (a greatly simplified) Witcher 2 mixed with a bit of Lords of the Fallen.
Basically, just as its release date fits between War Logs and Technomancer, so does its playability. Maybe pick it up if it’s on sale for $5 or less and you want a quick diversion.