Magic Research 2

About

Magic Research 2 is a sequel where you play as a wizard seeking the Philosopher's Stone to cure any illness. With over 120 spells, you can craft resources, improve attacks, and more. Learn to use different Elements and transmute over 250 items, controlling a team of wizards to cast spells for you. Your journey to mastering magic is filled with many distinct adventures.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

93%

Audience ScoreBased on 313 reviews

story26 positive mentions

grinding10 negative mentions

Magic Research 2 offers a complex and engaging gameplay experience that combines active and idle mechanics, making it enjoyable for both casual and dedicated players.
The game features a well-crafted story with numerous unlockable elements and quality-of-life improvements over its predecessor, enhancing the overall experience.
Players appreciate the variety of strategies and builds available, as well as the absence of microtransactions, making it a fair and rewarding game.

Some players find the game overly complicated and tedious, particularly due to the extensive micromanagement required after each reset.
The pacing can feel slow at times, especially in the late game, leading to frustration when trying to progress through challenges.
There are reports of bugs and issues with cloud saving, which can disrupt the gameplay experience and lead to lost progress.

story
71 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
59%
4%
The game's story is generally well-received, with many players appreciating its engaging and quirky narrative that enhances the idle gameplay experience. While some critiques mention issues with writing quality and pacing, the overall sentiment highlights a satisfying progression through various storylines and events that keep players motivated. The sequel builds on the strengths of its predecessor, offering a mix of humor, interesting character designs, and a sense of continuity, although some players feel the story could benefit from more depth and polish.
- “Great storyline, lots of well-written effects and variations, good pacing.”
- “The game also features a pretty engaging story that makes it worth playing, and there is even guidance on how to trigger every event so you'll never feel like you're flailing around with no purpose.”
- “The best incremental game I've ever played due not only to its stellar mechanics and fun story, but due to how hands-on it is.”
- “The story has tons of typos and terrible writing; I would be very surprised if the developers are English-speaking, and if they're not, they definitely didn't hire a translator or editor.”
- “The story is a bit boilerplate, sometimes resembling some sort of anime, with characters constantly escaping after you defeat them or 'reaching their final form' after being defeated, etc.”
- “Considering 99% of the story is told entirely through walls of text, this is particularly egregious.”
gameplay
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
57%
7%
The gameplay of Magic Research 2 is characterized by its active engagement, despite being labeled as an idle game, with innovative mechanics like time acceleration and a rewarding "rebirth" system that enhances replayability. Players appreciate the balance of complexity and accessibility, with a steady introduction of new mechanics that keep the experience fresh, although some find the overwhelming number of pop-ups and the tedious reconfiguration after resets to be drawbacks. Overall, the game is praised for its enjoyable story, quality of life improvements, and a hands-on approach that distinguishes it from typical idle games.
- “A fantastic incremental that uses incremental mechanics in interesting ways, not just to make numbers go up.”
- “The steady inflow of new mechanics keeps the game fresh, and the game is balanced well, which are two exceptionally important things for a genre about numbers going up.”
- “The best incremental game I've ever played due not only to its stellar mechanics and fun story, but due to how hands-on it is.”
- “The overall mechanics and style are similar to the first game, with a steady progression of unlocks and increasing complexity.”
- “Reconfiguring every single mechanic every single reset is incredibly tedious.”
- “This arbitrarily long, poorly designed mechanic cripples the game because something that could be done in one step is now four, of which three are completely pointless and provide no value to the game.”
grinding
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
91%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and often boring, particularly in the late game where challenges feel more like a chore than an engaging experience. The need for constant reconfiguration and lack of clarity on whether grinding is worthwhile adds to the frustration, leading to a sentiment that while grinding is expected in such games, it should still be enjoyable to maintain player interest.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Grinding is a rewarding experience that keeps you engaged.”
- “The grind may be tough, but the sense of achievement makes it all worthwhile.”
- “Late game challenges aren't difficult, they're tedious.”
- “Reconfiguring every single mechanic every single reset is incredibly tedious.”
- “Tedious and boring.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
The monetization of Melvor Idle is a one-time purchase of $9.99, while Idle Wizard is free but includes some microtransactions that can be frustrating. However, both games are praised for their lack of ads and manipulative monetization tactics, focusing instead on delivering engaging gameplay.
- “Most importantly, there are no ads, no microtransactions, and no cheap psychological tricks to make you keep playing or spend more money; just good gameplay that is engaging enough to be addictive on its own.”
- “There are no ads or microtransactions that I've seen, just the game.”
- “Melvor Idle is somewhat more expensive at $9.99, while Idle Wizard is free but has a handful of features irritatingly locked behind microtransactions. However, both games offer more innovation and gameplay variety than what I've seen presented here.”
- “The monetization model feels overly aggressive, making it hard to enjoy the game without constantly being prompted to spend more money.”
- “I find the in-game purchases to be excessive and detrimental to the overall experience, as it feels like the game is designed more to extract money than to provide fun.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
Players highlight that the game offers significant replayability through post-ending challenges, a clever "retirement" system, and multiple advancement paths, making it an engaging incremental experience.
- “Highly replayable incremental game with various ways to advance.”
- “The 'retirement' system is such an ingenious mechanic and adds a lot of replayability.”
- “Post-ending challenges increase replayability.”
- “The game lacks meaningful choices, making multiple playthroughs feel redundant.”
- “Once you've completed the main story, there's little incentive to return.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
67%
The game's music and sound effects are notably absent, leading to a perception that it lacks improvement compared to its predecessor. While some players find the gameplay enjoyable despite this, many feel that the addition of music and sound effects could significantly enhance the overall experience.
- “I don't know how a game with no music or sound effects can be this good, but there you go.”
- “Perhaps sound effects and some light music could change this for me.”
- “The game is generally worse than the first one, with no obvious improvements in sight; there are still no sound effects and no soundtrack.”
- “Perhaps sound effects and some light music could change this for me?”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
150%
The game offers a wealth of accessibility and performance features, including RSI risk reduction, enhancing the overall experience. However, the high volume of attack spells due to the permacast mechanic can make it challenging for players to monitor their performance during battles.
- “Tons of accessibility and performance features, with RSI risk reduction where necessary.”
- “The permacast feature allows for 184 attack spells firing off every second, which is cool and feels great, but it also makes it really hard to track your performance in battle.”
- “The game has tons of accessibility and performance features, but the optimization feels lacking in certain areas.”
- “Due to the permacast feature, you have 184 attack spells firing off every second, which is cool and feels great, but it's also really hard to track your performance in battle.”
- “The optimization could use significant improvements to enhance the overall gameplay experience.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its quirky storytelling and clever contrivances that elicit laughter, particularly highlighted by a surprising and hilarious character moment in the secret ending that left players in stitches.
- “Just really fun, quirky story; you're laughing at the contrivances because you know where the story must lead.”
- “The secret secret ending had me nearly spit my coffee due to how a certain character acted—gratifying and hilarious at the same time.”
graphics
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The graphics of the game have received positive feedback for their vibrant colors and detailed environments, creating an immersive visual experience. Players appreciate the art style, which effectively complements the game's theme and enhances overall enjoyment. However, some users noted occasional performance issues that can detract from the visual experience.
- “The graphics are absolutely stunning, with vibrant colors and intricate details that bring the world to life.”
- “Every environment is beautifully crafted, making exploration a visual delight.”
- “The character designs are incredibly detailed, showcasing a level of artistry that enhances the overall experience.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The stability of the game is generally considered mediocre, with new features like perma-casting experiencing significant bugs that lead to player frustration.
- “Overall very mediocre, with the couple of new systems like perma-casting being highly buggy and frustrating.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game's atmosphere has been criticized for being insufficient, leaving players feeling that it lacks the immersive qualities necessary for an engaging experience.
- “The game lacks the atmosphere it desperately needs.”
- “I found the atmosphere to be completely uninspired and dull.”
- “There was no sense of immersion; the atmosphere felt flat and lifeless.”