Battlemage: Magic by Mail
- August 12, 2021
- Choice of Games
Get on SteamIn "Battlemage: Magic by Mail," a 168,000-word interactive novel, you become an aspiring battlemage after receiving a magical qualification by mail. Navigate your way through elementalism, illusion, healing, and necromancy while working as a squire. Your choices can lead you to win tournaments, gain royal favor, or even seize power for yourself.
Reviews
- The game offers a good level of character customization, allowing players to choose their appearance, sexuality, and magic type, which affects the story's outcomes.
- The writing is generally well-crafted with minimal grammar mistakes, and the world-building is reasonably coherent.
- Players can experience multiple endings based on their choices, providing a sense of agency and replayability.
- The pacing of the story is rushed, particularly towards the end, making it difficult for players to fully engage with the plot and character development.
- Necromancy and some other magic schools are perceived as ineffective in combat, leading to frustration among players who invested in those abilities.
- Many characters lack depth and substance, resulting in a less immersive experience and making it hard for players to form meaningful connections.
- story25 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 76 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The story is generally viewed as good but suffers from rushed pacing, particularly in the latter half, leading to a lack of depth and memorable characters. While some players appreciated the straightforward narrative and coherent structure, many found it unsatisfying and overly linear, with little room for meaningful choices. Overall, the game is seen as an average experience, best enjoyed on sale, rather than a compelling narrative journey.
“The pacing was fine up to the midpoint of the story, but after that, we rushed through the introduction of new characters, the climax, and three obvious plot twists, like we were just teleporting from one scene to the next quickly without letting anything sink in.”
“The romance itself wasn't of paramount importance but felt more like a process of choosing - a fact I liked and which moved away from the idea of adding romance to a story just for the sake of romance.”
“Overall, the story is easy to understand (I'm not from an English-speaking country).”
“The pacing was fine up to the midpoint of the story, but after that, we rush through the introduction of new characters, the climax, and three obvious plot twists, like we are just teleporting from one scene to the next quickly without letting anything sink in.”
“The story felt both rushed and railroaded.”
“I expected more out of this to the point I had this game on my wishlist, only to be disappointed by the usual contrived and forced leftist propaganda paraded all around in a half-baked story that could have been much better with poor use of stats.”
