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A Wizard's Lizard

Don't expect anything overly special or substantial, but do expect a good time.
A Wizard's Lizard Game Cover
71%Game Brain Score
gameplay, graphics
grinding, optimization
71% User Score Based on 335 reviews
Critic Score 75%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

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A Wizard's Lizard Game Cover

About

A Wizard's Lizard is a single player arcade role playing shooter game with fantasy and historical themes. It was developed by Lost Decade Games and was released on June 16, 2014. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

A Wizard's Lizard is an ever-changing medieval fantasy hack 'n slash game from independent game developers, Lost Decade Games. Conquer the forces of Death in A Wizard’s Lizard, an action RPG for Windows, Mac and Linux. Explore ever-changing dungeons, filled with valuable treasure and powerful items, while battling back the hordes of evil. Rescue townsfolk to improve your town and aid your next tr…

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71%
Audience ScoreBased on 335 reviews
gameplay25 positive mentions
grinding17 negative mentions

  • Charming art style and cute characters that enhance the overall experience.
  • Engaging gameplay with a mix of roguelike elements and permanent progression through rescuing villagers and unlocking blueprints.
  • Unique mechanics such as the life/death system that adds depth and strategy to the gameplay.
  • Repetitive gameplay with limited item variety that can lead to a lack of excitement over time.
  • Performance issues, especially in later levels with many enemies on screen, causing lag and hindering gameplay.
  • Some enemies and traps can lead to unavoidable damage, making the game feel unfair at times.
  • gameplay
    108 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of "A Wizard's Lizard" is characterized by its chaotic and fun mechanics, particularly the unique death mechanic that allows players to continue in a ghost form with increased challenges and rewards. However, many players find the gameplay repetitive and lacking in variety, with some mechanics inadequately explained and a slow progression that can lead to boredom. While the game offers a charming aesthetic and smooth controls, it struggles to maintain engagement over time, often drawing unfavorable comparisons to its inspirations like "The Binding of Isaac."

    • “I also like the death mechanic in this game; after you die, you enter the spirit world which has more enemies, and you have a reduced amount of HP, but you also get more rewards.”
    • “The gameplay is fun, unique, and interesting enough to keep me coming back for a round every now and then.”
    • “There are loads of different items and artifacts to find of varying abilities, and every single one of them alters your gameplay just enough to change up your playstyle on every consecutive run, keeping you on your toes each time.”
    • “Collisions are kinda jank, enemy projectiles will fly behind objects so you can't see them coming, there's nothing new after the first few screens and nothing in the gameplay that keeps you wanting more.”
    • “The gameplay gets stale pretty quick; content is repetitive and not much of it to add.”
    • “The game was interesting on the first run, but once I realized how little the items added to the gameplay and the repetitive nature of the levels, it got boring pretty quick.”
  • graphics
    61 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of "A Wizard's Lizard" are widely praised for their charming, cutesy art style and colorful visuals, which contribute to an engaging atmosphere suitable for all ages. While many reviewers appreciate the delightful animations and overall aesthetic, some have noted performance issues, such as lag and freezing, which detract from the experience. Overall, the game's graphics are considered a strong point, enhancing its appeal as a fun and replayable roguelike.

    • “The graphics and characters are delightful, and the advancement is at a good pace.”
    • “I absolutely love the art style of this game.”
    • “With great animations, the artwork is a perfect 10/10; everything is very beautiful.”
    • “The graphics look nice, but the game ran very badly on my machine.”
    • “There is no reason for graphics this simple to be lagging on an i5-3570k/GTX 660.”
    • “Minus the lag and I'd give it an altogether positive review, but with the lag it's really just beyond frustrating given the level of graphics and such; the loss of performance when things get hairy is just a really big hangup.”
  • music
    30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players appreciating its joyful and engaging qualities, though it is often noted for being repetitive, which can detract from the overall experience. While some find the soundtrack charming and reminiscent of classic games, others feel it doesn't always fit the game's environment or becomes annoying over time. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's aesthetic, but its repetitiveness is a common point of criticism.

    • “Good music, good art, love the sense of humor as well.”
    • “Overall, A Wizard's Lizard is a good rogue-lite game to play in a few short bursts with its cute visuals and good music.”
    • “It's compelling, easily replayable, engaging, and has a great soundtrack and refreshing art style; it's not one of those lazy pixel art games.”
    • “The only negative point is the music that can become annoying.”
    • “I rapidly pressed the button to pull up the map and the music looped over itself and got so loud that I just had to shut the game off.”
    • “The game tries to go for a Link to the Past vibe with its music, although it gets redundant after a while.”
  • story
    22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of the game revolves around a lizard on a quest to rescue his wizard master from the clutches of death, presenting a simple yet charming narrative that blends lighthearted fantasy with darker undertones. While some players appreciate the cute premise and nostalgic feel reminiscent of classic titles, others criticize the lack of depth and clarity in the storytelling, suggesting that it could benefit from more detailed quest design. Overall, the narrative serves as a light justification for the gameplay rather than a driving force.

    • “The story follows a wizard's lizard as his master is abducted by death, and you as the lizard have to save your master from the evil clutches of death.”
    • “And despite the cutesy art style, the story—once you learn it—is actually pretty bloody dark!”
    • “The story is very straightforward, very effective, and is perfectly reminiscent of the best titles of the 80s and 90s.”
    • “This game is weird, its mechanics are bad, the story is even worse; there is nothing that keeps you addicted in this game.”
    • “There are no goals or story to make you move forward.”
    • “While in theory it is rewarding to give the player an extra mission on top of 'beat the game', in execution all it does is make the game grindy.”
  • replayability
    18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed among reviewers. While some praise its engaging gameplay and variety of unlockables that enhance replay value, others criticize the lack of item diversity and synergies, leading to a more limited experience compared to similar titles like "The Binding of Isaac." Ultimately, it seems that while the game offers some replayability, it may not satisfy those seeking extensive variety and depth.

    • “What it comes down to is that this is a Zelda-like game that is easy to learn, fun to play, has lots of replayability, and isn't quite so soul-crushingly difficult as most of the rogue-likes on the market today.”
    • “It's compelling, easily replayable, engaging, and has a great soundtrack and refreshing art style; it's not one of those lazy pixel art games.”
    • “There are at least six different vast rooms in the museum all full of empty podiums for you to fill up with items, enemies, and a vast array of other unlockables that you find throughout your journey, just another telling sign of the incredible amount of content and replayability that you will find with this game.”
    • “I would recommend picking it up on sale as there are a lot of games that offer much more replay value.”
    • “It's an okay game, but sadly it's missing interesting synergies by combining items, which drastically reduces the replayability.”
    • “Not much in the way of actual replayability; there's not much item variety, pretty much all are just a boost to a certain stat, with only the equipables actually offering variety.”
  • grinding
    17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Many players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessive and tedious, particularly towards the end, leading to a monotonous experience that detracts from overall enjoyment. While some appreciate the progression mechanics and item upgrades, the repetitive nature of gameplay and the feeling of pointless grinding can make it frustrating, especially for beginners. Overall, while the game has its merits, the grindy elements are a significant drawback for many reviewers.

    • “But as it is, it is just kind of boring, samey, and grindy as hell.”
    • “Every room becomes a tedious nightmare, making the game difficult for all the wrong reasons.”
    • “Progression in a roguelike is nothing new, nor is giving players abilities, but none of it seems to matter in A Wizard's Lizard, and that combined with the grinding makes the entire experience feel like a slog.”
  • optimization
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with players reporting significant performance issues, especially in large rooms with many enemies. Many users find the performance to be subpar, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences, particularly in later stages. The lack of widescreen support and the inability to run smoothly despite relatively simple graphics further highlight the game's optimization shortcomings.

    • “The trend of HTML5 and other similar mediums for newer games is swell; it's great to see accessibility and flexibility, but a lot of them seem to sacrifice performance.”
    • “As soon as you get a few levels in and start having a decent number of enemies and projectiles on screen, you'll start seeing some serious performance hits.”
    • “Minus the lag, I'd give it an altogether positive review, but with the lag, it's really just beyond frustrating given the level of graphics; the loss of performance when things get hectic is a significant drawback.”
    • “Awl's optimization is quite subpar.”
    • “An incredibly fun and addictive game which sports what has to be the worst performance of any game I've ever purchased.”
    • “In the late part of the game, the performance is so bad it's literally impossible to play.”
  • humor
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's humor is characterized by a whimsical charm and colorful art style, featuring amusing characters and clever references to popular culture. While players appreciate the humor, some feel it could be more prominent or extended throughout the gameplay. Overall, the humor complements the game's creative premise and engaging challenge.

    • “Good music, good art, love the sense of humor as well.”
    • “It has a very charming, colorful art style with many funny-looking characters.”
    • “Right out of the gate, this game has a lot working in its favor - an adorable protagonist, a creative premise (which informs its dual-natured gameplay), a great degree of challenge, a decent soundtrack, and a style and humor all its own, with references to Final Fantasy, Zelda, and even The Wicker Man.”
  • stability
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability has been a significant concern for players, with reports of bugs, freezing issues, and a lack of graphical settings contributing to frustration. While recent updates have improved the experience, many users feel the game should not have been released in its current state without an "early access" label, especially given its price point. Overall, the stability issues detract from an otherwise enjoyable gameplay experience.

    • “Overall, while a nice game that would have done well as a free flash game, it quickly becomes very repetitive, and has enough buggy quality issues to make me sorely regret paying the full $15 price.”
    • “This is actually a good game, besides the fact that it doesn't let you change the graphics to low, medium, or high resolution, and it also freezes randomly even though the music is still playing.”
    • “Hopefully the devs will be able to get it patched fairly soon, but it's pretty frustrating that this is for sale on Steam as is without a 'beta' or 'early access' tag, considering how buggy it is.”
  • atmosphere
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of "A Wizard's Lizard" is characterized by its family-friendly visuals and polished gameplay, contrasting sharply with the darker themes of similar games like "The Binding of Isaac." The cute graphic style enhances the overall ambiance, allowing for lighthearted interactions such as sleeping on rugs and playing with balls in the town.

    • “Polished gameplay, cute graphic style that fits the atmosphere perfectly. You can sleep on a rug and kick a ball around (two if you get lucky and find an extra in a barrel) at the town.”
    • “The gameplay is heavily inspired by The Binding of Isaac; however, A Wizard's Lizard takes a more family-friendly visual approach rather than The Binding of Isaac's dark atmosphere and theme.”
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28h Median play time
25h Average play time
20-30h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

A Wizard's Lizard is a arcade role playing shooter game with fantasy and historical themes.

A Wizard's Lizard is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

On average players spend around 25 hours playing A Wizard's Lizard.

A Wizard's Lizard was released on June 16, 2014.

A Wizard's Lizard was developed by Lost Decade Games.

A Wizard's Lizard has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its grinding.

A Wizard's Lizard is a single player game.

Similar games include Ziggurat, UnderMine, Dungeon Souls, Moonlighter, Full Mojo Rampage and others.