Magical Diary: Wolf Hall

90%
Game Brain Score Based on 280 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
Magical Diary: Wolf Hall Game Cover
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"Magical Diary: Wolf Hall" is a visual novel and dating sim set in a magical school. You play as a student who must balance academics, extracurricular activities, and relationships with other students, including potential romantic interests. The game features branching storylines, multiple endings, and a variety of customization options for your character. It is the sequel to "Magical Diary: Horse Hall."

  • PC
  • Windows
  • Linux
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

90%
Audience ScoreBased on 280 reviews
story26 positive mentions
grinding2 negative mentions
  • The new character art is a significant improvement, making characters look more individualized and relatable.
  • The simplified enchantment options and improved writing enhance the overall gameplay experience, making it more accessible and enjoyable.
  • The dungeon exams are fun and provide a creative challenge, rewarding players for their spell-casting skills.
  • The story feels shallow and lacks depth, with many routes leading to unsatisfying conclusions and limited character development.
  • The romance options are underwhelming, often feeling forced and lacking meaningful interactions, which diminishes the emotional impact.
  • The game is relatively short, with some players completing it in just a few hours, leaving them wanting more content and exploration.
  • story146 mentions

    The story in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it shallow and episodic, lacking a compelling overarching plot or character depth. While many appreciate the variety of choices and unique character arcs that can lead to engaging outcomes, others feel that the narrative often feels repetitive and fails to deliver meaningful emotional connections. Overall, the game offers a blend of intriguing lore and character-driven storytelling, but its effectiveness varies significantly depending on player expectations and engagement with the branching paths.

    • “The storyline(s), even if you fail to get the romantic path you're going for, is more engaging with a greater variety of outcomes and more hidden and secret content locked behind your choices that makes every play-through feel uniquely one of a kind and yours, and makes playing through the game time and again to complete all the storylines a task that is not only fun, but compelling as well.”
    • “The story is fourth dimensional and believable; the characters are all unique: some pure good, some pure evil, a lot in between; and I love that!”
    • “Hanako is a gifted storyteller and has created a world that is truly amazing.”
    • “The story is really, intensely episodic, meaning the plot will not go anywhere.”
    • “The plot is told through hearsay and these are not plot beats; they don't go anywhere.”
    • “Personally, I found the story really shallow and hated the dungeons.”
  • graphics48 mentions

    The graphics in "Magical Diary: Wolf Hall" have undergone a significant transformation, with a new art style that many players find appealing and better suited to the story, particularly for male characters. While some fans of the original "Horse Hall" feel the change is too drastic and miss the distinctiveness of the previous art, the overall consensus is that the character designs and backgrounds are more complex and engaging, enhancing the game's visual experience. The improved artwork and representation have been praised, making it a worthy successor for both returning players and newcomers.

    • “The characters, even those carried over from the first game, are fleshed out and more engaging with a more robust art style that really brings them more to life.”
    • “Yes, overall, the aesthetics of the game itself improved; backgrounds are more complex and there are more different locations and complex scenes.”
    • “Gorgeous artwork, really nice soundtrack (the ending song is magical - pun fully intended).”
    • “The art style is too drastically different from 'Magical Diary: Horse Hall' for me.”
    • “Not gonna lie, the different art style made me hesitant at first (not because it is worse, it just made the characters seem so different, especially after replaying Horse Hall 10 times while waiting for new content).”
    • “Art style is streamlined compared to the previous game, and while it makes it more conventional and hence easier on the eyes, it's lost a tiny bit of its distinctiveness, I think.”
  • gameplay26 mentions

    The gameplay in this visual novel is praised for its solid mechanics and creative dungeon elements, offering a balance between reading and interactive gameplay. While it retains some familiar aspects from its predecessor, it introduces new features like character backgrounds that influence gameplay and one-handed mechanics for accessibility. Overall, players find the gameplay engaging and improved, with a variety of paths and dialogue options enhancing the experience.

    • “Very cute visual novel with creative dungeon mechanics!”
    • “Overall, presentation-wise, and in terms of gameplay balance, this game is a huge improvement -- that's not to say the previous one was bad, but this one is even better.”
    • “Overall gameplay is nice, not really complicated, and exams in 'dungeon crawler' mode serve as a decent break from all the reading you would normally do in a visual novel.”
    • “If you do not care about the art downgrade or care about what the characters looked like before, it seems like more of the same gameplay-wise.”
    • “Character has a background story this time which impacts gameplay, but does hurt the personal roleplaying edge.”
    • “The gameplay is stat rising (doesn't affect romance and relationships) magic.”
  • music26 mentions

    The music in the game is largely the same as in the previous installment, with many players noting its nostalgic value despite some wishing for updates. While the soundtrack is described as decent and engaging, with standout tracks like the ending song, others find it repetitive and not particularly memorable. Overall, the music is appreciated for its emotional resonance and background ambiance, but it may not appeal to everyone.

    • “Emotionally and intellectually engaging, with great artwork and music, too!”
    • “Gorgeous artwork, really nice soundtrack (the ending song is magical - pun fully intended).”
    • “The game offers a lot of unique choices, beautiful art, breathtaking music (seriously, I can't stop listening to the soundtracks, especially Americana!), some interesting dungeon designs (there are 8 dungeons/exams in the game).”
    • “Music is exactly the same as in the first game, as far as I can tell.”
    • “Could have benefited from some updated music, but the nostalgia carries it through.”
    • “A lot of it is from the old game, and that had okay music.”
  • emotional10 mentions

    The game features memorable characters and a narrative that skillfully balances adorable and heartbreaking moments, addressing heavy topics with sensitivity. However, some players feel let down by the limited impact of their choices on emotional scenes, which detracts from the overall engagement. Despite this, the emotional depth is complemented by impressive artwork and music, making for a compelling experience.

    • “Wonderful, memorable characters inside a narrative that switches between adorable and heartbreaking without ever leaving you with a sense of tonal whiplash or feeling like it isn't handling some of the heavier topics with the care they deserve.”
    • “Emotionally and intellectually engaging, with great artwork and music, too!”
    • “There's also the fact that certain choices seem to have pretty much zero impact on the development of your relationships and serve only to give you two or three different lines, which is okay with small dialogue options on minor events, but it's not okay during a big emotional scene.”
  • replayability6 mentions

    The game offers high replayability due to its numerous branching paths, making it nearly impossible to experience everything in a single playthrough. While some players feel the price-to-playtime ratio is lacking, the abundance of achievements and content encourages replaying, especially in a sparse gaming market.

    • “Almost impossible to explore all the branches in one sitting; the replay value is very high.”
    • “The game has a lot of replay value and achievements, which may make the price match the experience.”
    • “There is some replay value here, making it worth revisiting.”
    • “Well, I think there is some replay value here, but all in all, I'll only be replaying it because there is literally nothing decent out on Steam at the moment.”
    • “Price to playtime ratio is weaker, but the game has a lot of replay value and achievements if that is your thing, which may make the price match.”
    • “Almost impossible to explore all the branches in one sitting; replay value is very high.”
  • humor4 mentions

    The humor in the game elicits a few laughs, though it often falls short during serious moments where character emotions are lacking. While it offers a unique take on the dating sim genre, the comedic elements are just sufficient to keep the experience engaging without overstaying its welcome.

    • “Overall, an interesting and unique production in the dating sim genre and is just about funny enough to not overstay its runtime.”
  • atmosphere4 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is characterized by recognizable background music that enhances the experience, alongside effective sound effects for spells and creatures. Reviewers appreciate the lighthearted and fun ambiance, describing it as a "fluffy atmosphere" that contributes positively to the overall enjoyment of the game.

    • “The sound consists of several very recognizable music tracks that play nicely in the background, along with spell sound effects and a few atmospheric effects for creatures or events.”
    • “I love games that are truly fun and provide a fluffy atmosphere, and this game does just that.”
    • “The sound design features several memorable music tracks that enhance the background experience, complemented by spell sound effects and atmospheric effects for various creatures and events.”
  • grinding2 mentions

    Players find that grinding can become tedious after multiple playthroughs, leading to a repetitive experience.

    • “Several playthroughs can get tedious.”
  • character development2 mentions

    Character development is praised for its generally great design and appealing new art style, though some users express mixed feelings about specific character redesigns, particularly Virginia's transition from bouncy curls to a loc bob, which has sparked some debate among players.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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