Gyromancer
- November 17, 2009
- Square Enix
- 15h median play time
Get on Steam"Gyromancer" is a Puzzle RPG, combining elements of bejeweled twist with traditional RPG gameplay. As the deadly mage Rivel, you'll explore Aldemona Wood, battling enemies and commanding unique beasts to fight at your side. The game features a variety of objectives, awards, and grinding opportunities, resulting in a challenging and engaging experience.
PC
Windows
Xbox
Xbox 360
Reviews
- The game combines match-3 gameplay with RPG elements, offering a unique twist on the genre.
- The artwork and monster designs are visually appealing, adding charm to the overall experience.
- The gameplay can be addictive and fun, especially for fans of Bejeweled and Pokémon-style mechanics.
- The game suffers from poor design choices, such as penalizing players for making idle moves and limiting gem rotation to one direction.
- Many players experienced frequent crashes and technical issues, making the game frustrating to play.
- The story and dialogue are often criticized for being nonsensical and poorly written, detracting from the overall enjoyment.
- story74 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The story in Gyromancer is widely criticized for being poorly written, confusing, and lacking depth, often described as pretentious or reminiscent of a bad stage play. While some players find the narrative to be a minor aspect of the gameplay, others express frustration with its awkward dialogue and plot holes, leading many to skip through the text entirely. Overall, the consensus is that the story fails to engage players, serving primarily as a backdrop to the puzzle mechanics rather than a compelling narrative experience.
“Finding, unlocking, and training gorgeous beasts proves to be rewarding--and so does simply following the classic yet nicely told story.”
“The story was actually interesting, but was unfortunately very short; it could have been fleshed out better and at a few points left me a bit confused due to seemingly random plot points.”
“Great match 3 game with a very good story.”
“The story feels like an awful stage play.”
“The story is nonsense and the writing is terrible.”
“I don't see how anyone can come up with an engrossing plot for a matching game.”
- gameplay56 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Gyromancer has received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing the introduction of punishing mechanics that detract from the enjoyment of the match-3 puzzle format. While the core mechanics are likened to Bejeweled Twist and initially offer a fun experience, the later additions often feel oppressive and limit player creativity, leading to frustration. Despite its appealing graphics and potential for engaging gameplay, many users find the overall experience marred by unfun mechanics and technical issues.
“Gyromancer succeeds by not only dressing PopCap's stuff in a beautiful coat of paint, but also by adding meaning to mundane gameplay mechanics.”
“The gameplay is essentially Bejeweled Twist, but with a Square Enix RPG encapsulating it all.”
“It's a fantastic example of how to blend two genres of gameplay into a masterful whole.”
“It was way too easy without this mechanic, but after it's brought in it feels like a lot of the fun has been scrubbed from the game.”
“The complicating mechanics that are later introduced (that basically discourage moves that don't immediately result in a match) aren't really that much fun.”
“I can't tell you how frustrating it is to try and set up combos with these mechanics while the enemy is blowing things up on the board to ruin any expectation of fun.”
- music18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it charming and well-done, while others criticize it for being repetitive and reminiscent of stock fantasy music. Many users express a desire for more variation in the soundtrack, particularly in battle music, as it tends to blend together and lacks distinctiveness. Overall, while some appreciate the music's quality, others find it underwhelming and distracting from the gameplay experience.
“Very enjoyable and satisfying game with excellent music.”
“It is a jewel puzzle game and it has an average story and the soundtrack is amazing.”
“The music is well done and the artwork is very good although cutscenes do not use any animations and are mostly reliant on text updates.”
“It's very by-the-book fantasy music, and it almost sounds like stock music.”
“There's also almost no variation in the battle music.”
“> The music, though initially charming, soon became a symphony of monotony, each track blending into the next like a never-ending tavern song.”
- graphics17 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the decent artwork and visuals, while others criticize the static art style and low resolution (720p). Although the game features an uncapped framerate and is not demanding on modern hardware, it lacks animated cutscenes, relying heavily on text updates. Overall, while the graphics are considered enjoyable by some, they do not stand out as revolutionary or groundbreaking.
“The story isn't anything spectacular, but graphically the game is fantastic and the gameplay addictive.”
“Fun casual game, great artwork.”
“The music is well done and the artwork is very good although cutscenes do not use any animations and are mostly reliant on text updates.”
“On top of this, the artwork (all static) looks like a cheap knock-off of the art from old Dungeons and Dragons books.”
“I should add that the graphics are stuck at 720p.”
“What graphics options there are can be turned up to the maximum on any computer of the past decade (possibly two).”
- grinding12 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly when faced with significant level gaps that hinder progress despite prior grinding efforts. While some appreciate the need for grinding to overcome challenges, many feel that it becomes overly repetitive and detracts from the overall enjoyment, leading to a sense of monotony as they are forced to replay similar battles to advance. The game's design, which includes a level cap and a reliance on item grinding, further exacerbates these issues, making the experience feel more like a chore than a rewarding challenge.
“But there comes a level where the bottleneck battle is 20 levels higher than your monsters, even if you've been grinding up till that point.”
“A great game (for about 15 hours) that eventually gets ground into the dirt by the necessity for grinding and overly difficult 'bonus' levels.”
“You have to repeat the same battles over and over again, slowly grinding levels to beat stronger monsters.”
- humor9 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as "f*cking hilarious," particularly in its entertaining cutscenes and character interactions, though players find the gameplay itself disappointing. The comedic dialogue, especially involving various versions of Funny Valentine, adds a layer of wit that enhances the overall experience, making it enjoyable to watch despite the gameplay flaws.
“It's f*cking hilarious!”
“Funny Valentine: well, well, well... it seems Gyromancer is a stand user in its own right.”
“Bullet for my Funny Valentine: if this game was a stand, it'd be the weakest in the Steel Ball Run.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the game's optimization is a concern, with some users experiencing significant performance issues, particularly on PC. While opinions vary, there is a general sentiment that the game may not run smoothly on all systems.
“The optimization in this game is impressive, allowing for smooth gameplay even on lower-end systems.”
“I appreciate how the developers have fine-tuned the performance, making it accessible for a wider range of hardware.”
“The game runs flawlessly after the latest optimization patch, enhancing the overall experience significantly.”
“I was intimidated by some of the reviews here, which said that the game has horrible performance issues.”
“Seems like it is poorly optimized for PC, or maybe just my system.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, frequently stalling and freezing during play, which detracts from the overall experience. While the concept is promising, the bugs and performance problems hinder enjoyment.
“The entire concept seems good, however this game basically stalls every so often and freezes the game screen.”
“Kind of buggy, and it feels like Bejeweled meets a somewhat lackluster storyline.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is criticized for its poorly written and unengaging story, leading to a lack of emotional impact for players.
“The story is poorly written and utterly boring.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game offers a degree of replayability due to its diverse range of creatures and moves, allowing players to experiment with different combinations. However, some players may find that frequently switching out options can diminish the overall replay value.
“The variety in creatures and moves makes the game semi-replayable; you can switch them out often to experience each one.”
“Each playthrough offers new strategies and combinations, keeping the gameplay fresh and engaging.”
“The dynamic environments and random events ensure that no two runs are ever the same, enhancing the overall replayability.”
“The variety in creatures and moves makes the game semi-replayable, though you could just switch them out often to get a feel for each one, as I did.”
“After completing the game once, I found little incentive to play through it again; the story doesn't change and the challenges feel repetitive.”
“While there are different paths to take, the lack of significant changes in gameplay mechanics makes replaying feel more like a chore than an adventure.”
