Heartspell: Horizon Academy

“The match 3 gameplay, while it can be skipped, is solid with interesting challenges as each character puts their own spin on the gameplay, such as not being able to move certain gems, making cantrips more expensive to cast, or only allowing points from 4 of a kind matches. After finishing a character's story, it unlocks an option to learn lessons from the students in non-story matches, for continuing to play if you want.”

“The quirks of each individual student lend some fun twists to the gameplay, and using spells to strategize matches or get through tough spots is great.”

“The match-3 gameplay can get surprisingly complex; it’s a lot of fun.”

“The artwork for everything is gorgeous, from the simplest thing like a character's eyes to the majesty of the backgrounds.”

“I adore (most of) the characters, the art style is really nice to look at and the voice acting is honestly awesome!”

“The soundtrack is soothing, the graphics are fun and well animated, and the worldbuilding of the story is engaging.”

“The gameplay is cool, the story is interesting, the devs are open-minded and the dialogue is charming and heart-warming.”

“But this game's beauty is more than skin deep; beneath the beautiful characters and stunning backdrops lies a rich story full of emotional and heartwarming character arcs as well as humor.”

“Morgan and Miko are great, lightly touching on themes like abuse and mental illness, respectfully acknowledging those heavier topics without lingering long enough to bring the mood down.”

“Heartspell is exactly my speed of game with a rich plotline and very interesting character development.”

“I was also impressed at a decent amount of storytelling after the story's climax. Also, the character design and voice acting were all fantastic.”

“The character designs are very distinct and unique with a good variety of personality traits.”

“The music is instrumental and has an adventurous vibe to it that really complements the game.”

“Voice acting, art style, music, dialogue, and story writing are all great!”

“The artwork, music, different characters, and voice work are all so well done in this game.”

“The story is replayable and there's always something new to come across depending on the choices you make.”

“A playthrough will take you roughly 10-15 hours in my experience, but could of course take longer when depending on things like the additional story bits after each character's main story, the big replayability this game has (there are different options after all, depending on romance and sometimes even the order in which you play the parts of the character stories), and also the puzzles if you wish to play them.”

“The replayability is high because there are so many routes and choices, and I cannot wait to invest more of my time into discovering everything!”

“If you enjoy character-driven adventures with humor, heart, and style, consider allowing this game to put a spell on your heart.”

“They are great, funny and just a joy to talk to.”

“This game's beauty is more than skin deep; beneath the beautiful characters and stunning backdrops lies a rich story full of emotional and heartwarming character arcs as well as humor.”

“Runs great on Steam Deck with trackpad.”