Magic Spellslingers
- August 4, 2022
- Pipeworks Studios
A fast-paced strategic card battler from the creators of Magic: The Gathering.
Reviews
- The game has a great feel, with a super cool card spread and good overall design.
- It offers a fun and engaging gameplay experience, especially for fans of Magic: The Gathering.
- The variety of cards and Planeswalkers allows for interesting deck-building strategies.
- The game suffers from numerous bugs that can lead to game-breaking issues, such as cards disappearing and turns being skipped.
- There is a lack of updates and new content, which raises concerns about the game's longevity.
- The matchmaking system is unbalanced, often pairing new players against those with significantly stronger decks.
- gameplay64 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its mechanics and presentation, likening it to a blend of Magic: The Gathering and Hearthstone. However, issues such as a lack of additional gameplay options, unbalanced mechanics, reliance on RNG, and frequent crashes have led to frustration among users, particularly at higher levels of play. While some find the gameplay enjoyable and streamlined, others criticize it for being overly simplistic and plagued by bugs, ultimately affecting the overall experience.
“Magic Spellslingers offers an enjoyable gameplay experience with intriguing archetypes and deck crafting freedom.”
“The gameplay is very smooth, the graphics are top notch, and the card art is just incredibly beautiful.”
“Great graphics and quick fun gameplay!”
“The gameplay is nothing you haven't seen from a dozen other card battle games.”
“The game still relies too much on RNG mechanics; the balance on 'drafted' cards seems quite off.”
“However, it feels like a seriously 'dumbed down' MTG game; none of the MTG feeling or gameplay is there.”
- stability58 mentions
- 5 % positive mentions
- -3 % neutral mentions
- 98 % negative mentions
The game's stability is severely compromised, with numerous reports of frequent freezes, crashes, and glitches that disrupt gameplay, particularly after matches. Players express frustration over the need to restart the app to continue, and many have uninstalled the game due to these persistent issues. While the game shows potential, its current state is described as a "buggy mess," significantly detracting from the overall experience.
“The game looks great, runs smoothly, and makes everything easy to understand, even for someone like me who's never played MTG before.”
“I've experienced no crashes or bugs, which makes for a seamless gaming experience.”
“The stability of the game allows me to focus on strategy rather than worrying about technical issues.”
“An excellent concept that, while fun, is completely ruined by all the bugs and freezes.”
“The problem is that it's a buggy mess.”
“It constantly glitches, freezes, and crashes.”
- graphics34 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the artwork and aesthetic as beautiful and top-notch, particularly in terms of card art and overall presentation. However, several users report significant issues, including bugs, crashes, and loading problems that detract from the experience, leading to frustration with the game's performance. Overall, while the artistic direction is appreciated by some, technical shortcomings hinder the enjoyment of the graphics for many players.
“Art and animation team really nailed the aesthetic.”
“The graphics are amazing and it has a charm reminiscent of Hearthstone (another favorite).”
“Gorgeous graphics, truly top shelf.”
“The graphics are ugly.”
“The graphics cause the game to crash.”
“Half the assets don't load and the loading screen just takes forever; I can't see half my cards, just black squares, and the background graphics are also just sprites.”
- monetization19 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 37 % neutral mentions
- 47 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has received significant criticism, with users highlighting excessive advertising and a reliance on microtransactions that create a "pay-to-win" environment. Many players feel that the monetization undermines gameplay quality, with some suggesting it appears to be a cash grab rather than a well-developed product. While some appreciate the lack of ads during gameplay, the overall sentiment leans towards dissatisfaction with the monetization practices.
“The microtransactions aren't necessary, and you can win without having all the best cards.”
“I would only change the monetization slightly.”
“No ads !!!”
“Only gave 4/5 stars because I have an extreme dislike of microtransactions.”
“However, they keep adding microtransactions without fixing the broken gameplay.”
“Good game, but constant disconnects and expensive microtransactions are a real problem.”
- optimization9 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while some players report smooth performance and enjoyable animations, many others highlight significant issues such as slow loading times, lag, and bugs. There is a consensus that the game requires further improvements to enhance its performance, especially for devices beyond the latest models. Additionally, players express frustration over the imbalance in gameplay due to unoptimized deck matching.
“Game runs smoothly, no bugs and no dragging problems like other reported (Android, S21+).”
“Runs smoothly, love the card animations.”
“The game could seriously benefit from some more improvements and optimizations.”
“This game is incredibly fun but it's also poorly optimized and has some annoying bugs.”
“Needs more optimization; it loads too slow, and sometimes lags in the lobby.”
- grinding8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and unbalanced, with slow progress in acquiring cards and expensive in-game shops. While the initial enjoyment is noted, many feel that the grind becomes repetitive and unrewarding, leading to frustration with deck limitations and matchmaking. Suggestions for improvements include implementing a battle pass system to enhance the value of time and money spent in the game.
“Also, getting boosters and planeswalkers is slow and tedious.”
“A little grindy to get cards; shops are way too expensive to even consider buying.”
“Fun at first, but after a day or even a few hours, the game is just grinding and eventually not very rewarding. I feel like there should be a battle pass or something to make it worth putting more time or money into the game.”
- story7 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
Users express disappointment with the game's story aspect, noting a lack of a dedicated campaign mode that could explore the backgrounds of each hero. The narrative experience is deemed insufficient, with players feeling that the game relies too heavily on quests and pay-to-win mechanics rather than providing a compelling story. Overall, there is a strong desire for a more engaging and balanced storytelling experience.
“I think that this game needs a campaign mode, telling us the story of each hero.”
“Hopefully we also get a campaign mode with story.”
“It's like after the 5 training missions nobody actually bothered to balance this game.”
- character development4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Character development in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players criticizing the childish voice acting and weak character designs that detract from the overall experience. While a few appreciate the lively and relaxed portrayal of characters, many feel that the representation of iconic figures from the Magic IP lacks depth and connection to their original lore. Overall, the character development appears unpolished and disconnected from the source material.
“Love the streamlined mechanic and character design; I've never seen the Gatewatch gang being so relaxed, yet fun and lively.”
“Unfortunately, the voice acting is super childish and annoying, character design is pretty weak, and the game lags upon winning any match, which feels super unpolished.”
“The character designs are outrageous, the voice acting makes the game worse rather than better, and all in all this has nothing to do with the Magic IP other than the planeswalkers who solely appear in likeness but not in character and card name references.”
“Also, some of the character designs they went with look stupid.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is often derived from the amusing negative reviews, particularly from players who struggle with the crafting system or express frustration over their performance. Many find the game's mechanics and matches, especially in control scenarios, to be entertaining and light-hearted, contributing to its appeal as a simpler, yet humorous alternative to traditional card games. Overall, the game's community engagement and the developers' responsiveness add to the comedic atmosphere surrounding it.
“The negative reviews are hilarious. People who don't understand the crafting system and those who are salty about not winning every match from the start make for some good laughs. The devs actually listen.”
“By far the best CCG! It can be played vertically, which is a big upside. Playing control matches lasts no longer than 10 minutes against other control decks, and they are quite funny.”
“A good, simpler magic game that is quite funny.”
- music2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, contributing positively to the overall experience; however, players have reported issues with the game not allowing background music and experiencing frequent crashes, which detracts from the enjoyment.
“This is a good game with great graphics and music, along with a great collection of cards.”
“Absolutely love the game, but it randomly force closes when I'm playing off mobile data and won't let me play my music in the background.”
“There are no incentives to rank up, and the music feature is frustratingly limited.”
“The game glitches out to the point where I can't even see a card's description, which makes the music experience even worse.”