Driftland: The Magic Revival

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In "Driftland: The Magic Revival," players oversee a world shattered by magical warfare, maintained by a lingering spell. As new sources of magic emerge and new mages are born, players must guide the restoration of civilization amidst resurging conflicts. They will manage resources, develop floating landmasses, and engage in strategic combat to rebuild and defend their empire.

Genres & Tags

Indie

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

72%

Audience ScoreBased on 695 reviews

gameplay78 positive mentions

grinding19 negative mentions

Unique gameplay mechanics involving moving and connecting floating islands.
Beautiful graphics and a charming art style that enhances the fantasy theme.
Engaging resource management and economy system that requires strategic planning.

Lack of direct control over units can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences.
Campaign mode is underwhelming with a weak narrative and minimal character development.
AI behavior is often poor, leading to unchallenging gameplay and repetitive strategies.

gameplay
195 mentions
40 % positive mentions
52 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Driftland: The Magic Revival is characterized by its unique island mechanics and a blend of city-building and RTS elements, which some players find engaging and innovative. However, many reviews highlight issues with repetitiveness, a lack of depth in strategy, and a slow pace that can lead to boredom. While the game offers interesting mechanics and visuals, it struggles with balance and variety, leaving some players feeling that it doesn't fully capitalize on its potential.
- “The gameplay blends strategic city-building similar to the Anno series with RTS combat that includes RPG mechanics; your units grow stronger with experience, making typical cannon fodder tactics significantly less effective.”
- “I damn I fell in love immediately, great gameplay, great mechanics, and beautiful design.”
- “This alone is a fantastic feature that makes gameplay feel so smooth and enjoyable.”
- “The gameplay loop of upgrading your keep, to increase the range of your spells, to continue exploring is very unfun.”
- “Honestly though this game is just not worth the price, 90% of the missions are laughably easy, and in general the gameplay is mostly repetitive, slow and not tactical at all.”
- “However the weird learning curve, obtuse combat/unit systems and expansion gameplay that gets stale fairly fast make it hard to like.”
story
155 mentions
17 % positive mentions
76 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The story in the game is generally perceived as underwhelming and lacking depth, with many players finding it repetitive and filled with cliché elements. While some appreciate the lore and the attempt to weave narratives through the campaigns of different factions, the execution often feels disjointed and poorly delivered, relying heavily on text without engaging cutscenes or voice acting. Overall, the campaign is seen as a series of missions that prioritize gameplay mechanics over a compelling narrative, leading to a mixed reception regarding its storytelling quality.
- “The campaign was fun to play through since it offered a nice story, and some of the missions did vary on the basic concept a little.”
- “The campaign is about as long as it needs to be, and has a decent enough story with a diverse assortment of missions... that is, not all 'murder all the other guys'.”
- “Four sets of missions, one for each faction, present a single, interwoven narration, each providing its own perspective of a single scenario, instead of a bunch of what-ifs.”
- “The story is pretty much skippable.”
- “The story is very loosely constructed and based solely in poorly written dialogue, so there's nothing compelling about finishing the campaign.”
- “The campaign has terrible storytelling; however, I like the fantasy style, and I like its gameplay.”
graphics
83 mentions
58 % positive mentions
39 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics of the game receive a mixed but generally positive reception, with many users praising the beautiful visuals, charming art style, and vibrant colors that enhance the fantasy aesthetic. However, some critiques highlight inconsistencies in the art style and issues with distinguishing between characters. While the graphics are often described as impressive and aesthetically pleasing, a few users feel they are not the primary focus of the game, suggesting that gameplay should take precedence.
- “Cool premise, great art style and visual presentation, and just an all-around enchanting fantasy aesthetic that is sorely lacking in games today.”
- “The graphics are gorgeous.”
- “Driftland's graphics and mechanics are absolutely gorgeous.”
- “Why do the graphics suck so bad?”
- “The graphics look sloppy and lazily done; you can't even visually see the difference between a warrior and druid unless you click on them.”
- “While you can tell from the visuals that it is a budget title, it is still a pretty good strategy game.”
music
58 mentions
50 % positive mentions
45 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players praising its beauty and ability to enhance the gaming experience, describing it as soothing and fitting for the game's atmosphere. However, some users noted issues such as abrupt endings, a lack of variety, and a disconnect between the music and gameplay moments. Overall, while the soundtrack is often highlighted as a strong point, there are calls for more diverse tracks and better integration with game events.
- “It's beautiful, relaxing, and has great music. You can choose whether you'd like to try hard and optimize every action 'Starcraft style' or chill, discover, and relax.”
- “The soundtrack is soothing, although I would encourage them to add more tracks for variety and perhaps battle music for when you are attacked, as it can easily be overlooked.”
- “The soundtrack is simply amazing, somewhat similar to Endless Legend in style and easily on par in terms of quality.”
- “Sometimes the music just ends abruptly.”
- “The sound effects and soundtrack fade away into the back of your mind.”
- “Sadly did not feel like the music captivated me, in fact, I don't remember any of it.”
grinding
19 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, often feeling like a chore rather than an engaging experience. Many reviews highlight the lack of variety in missions and the overwhelming focus on resource management, which can detract from the enjoyment of gameplay. While some acknowledge that there are fun elements, the grinding often overshadows the game's potential, leading to a sense of monotony.
- “Almost every mission is just to grind for resources and then do one simple thing you've been locked out of doing, and the degree of limitations that enables this grinding just gets worse with the missions.”
- “It is sad, because the game would be great; the atmosphere is great, everything is nice, but as other negative reviews mention, the whole game is an endless grind of building houses - building farms - building houses - building units... and nothing to do besides that!”
- “Building economy, as you'll read in many other reviews for this game, is a painfully tedious grind.”
replayability
10 mentions
30 % positive mentions
40 % neutral mentions
30 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is largely criticized, with many players noting the short campaigns and lack of online activity as significant drawbacks. While some appreciate the unique playstyles of different races and the lore-driven campaigns, the absence of features like a random map generator and varied upgrades limits long-term engagement. Many reviewers suggest that without substantial updates or new content, the game may not offer lasting replay value.
- “Several races with unique playstyles, a fully fledged campaign for each of the races, a lore-driven plot from a campaign perspective, and tons of replayability await the player.”
- “There'd need to be new features (more in the tech tree, better upgrades, more building types) to fill in all the space that you get and generate more of a challenge in the end game for this to be a very replayable game, but it's been a great way to spend the day so far!”
- “+ fast updates from developers which make the game more playable and friendly.”
- “Additionally, there doesn't seem to be much for replayability, since the campaigns are short, only lengthened by how long it takes to beat each map. With an average of about 20 players online any given day, I have yet to see anyone playing online.”
- “It may be worth buying it when it is on sale, but don't expect it to have a lasting replay value at this current time.”
- “Replayability is non-existent.”
optimization
8 mentions
50 % positive mentions
25 % neutral mentions
25 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally positive, with smooth performance and decent visuals reported by most users. However, some players experienced occasional crashes and specific issues, such as frame rate drops linked to certain actions, indicating that further optimization and balancing are still needed.
- “No complaints about the game’s performance.”
- “Multiplayer runs smoothly, with save/load option.”
- “It runs smoothly for me with no crashes.”
- “One performance thing to add, though, the game crashed a few times.”
- “Optimization needs a lot of work and balancing feels like it didn't even happen yet.”
stability
7 mentions
29 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
71 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while some players report a generally smooth experience with no crashes or major bugs, others experience frequent freezes and bugs, particularly at launch. Despite these issues, many find the game enjoyable and worth the challenges posed by its stability problems.
- “The game has some novel ideas and is generally bug-free.”
- “Beautiful and bug-free :)”
- “Freezes constantly for long periods. I have an i5-8700k and GTX 980 with 16GB, and it's not a resource issue or a conflict.”
- “A little buggy and rough at the start, but challenging and worthwhile.”
- “I'll start by saying that I really like this game, buggy though it may be.”
humor
7 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by clever naming, amusing mechanics like the slow-down music during pauses, and entertaining interactions such as capturing enemy buildings and using magic to manipulate islands. While it leans more towards depth than lightheartedness, players find joy in the absurdity of gameplay moments, often leading to laughter even in frustrating situations. Overall, the humor adds a playful layer to the strategic elements of the game.
- “They had their own names, and many of those were funny.”
- “The game has other cool dynamics such as dragging the islands around too, and the funny music slowing down to 0.25 speed upon pause.”
- “Being able to fireball/tornado bridges, then use your magic to kidnap their island and fly them across to your archipelago, or just take them for a spin around the void, is pretty funny.”
monetization
3 mentions
33 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
67 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has drawn mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the absence of microtransactions and the fair pricing compared to AAA titles, others criticize the developers for using the game's news section as a platform for unsolicited advertising, which detracts from the overall experience.
- “It offers unique gameplay, no useless microtransactions, no game-breaking bugs, cool animations, and all for half the price of a AAA strategy game.”
- “The developers are abusing their customers by using this game's news section as an advertising platform to promote their new game, sending unwanted spam news updates with no shame at all.”
emotional
3 mentions
67 % positive mentions
-67 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is mixed; while some players found it uplifting, others felt that the boring storyline detracted from their overall emotional engagement, leading to a lack of connection with the game.
- “Now this made me feel better.”
- “The storyline was incredibly boring and failed to evoke any emotional response.”
- “I found the emotional depth lacking; the plot was just too dull to connect with.”
- “Despite its attempts at emotional engagement, the narrative felt flat and uninteresting.”
character development
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is perceived as lacking, with reviewers noting the absence of animated scenes and a weak narrative that fails to engage players.
- “There are no animated scenes, and the story and character development seem pretty weak.”
- “The characters lack depth, making it hard to connect with their journeys.”
- “I found the character arcs to be predictable and uninspired, leaving me disengaged.”
atmosphere
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is praised for its quality and appeal, creating a captivating environment; however, it is marred by repetitive gameplay focused on endless grinding of building tasks, which detracts from the overall experience.
- “The atmosphere is incredible, immersing you in a world that feels alive and vibrant.”
- “Every detail contributes to a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere that keeps you engaged.”
- “The game's atmosphere draws you in, making every moment feel significant and impactful.”