Magicraft
- November 1, 2024
- Wave Game
- 30h median play time
"Magicraft is a sensational single-player Role Playing game with outstanding graphics and humor. Save the world invaded by ancient gods using a legendary staff, combine unique spells, and enjoy the cute painting style and free combination of elements. Experience cool battles and puzzle-solving in randomly generated levels."
Reviews
- The game offers insane build possibilities, allowing for unique and creative spell combinations.
- Gameplay is engaging and addictive, with a fun mix of mechanics reminiscent of Noita and Binding of Isaac.
- The art style and humor add charm to the game, making it enjoyable even during challenging runs.
- The game can suffer from performance issues, especially when many spells are on screen, leading to lag.
- Some bosses and enemies can feel overly difficult or unbalanced, making certain runs frustrating.
- The dialogue and story elements are often criticized for being cringeworthy or poorly written.
- gameplay207 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Magicraft" is highly praised for its addictive and inventive mechanics, blending the spell-crafting elements of "Noita" with the fast-paced, roguelike action of "The Binding of Isaac." Players enjoy the variety of spells and build customization, which allows for unique and engaging runs, although some express a desire for deeper mechanics and more content as the game evolves. Overall, the gameplay is described as smooth, fun, and replayable, making it a strong choice for fans of the roguelike genre.
“Gameplay loop is very enjoyable and the bosses are proper DPS checks for your build.”
“Fantastic roguelike with unique build craft mechanics that makes each run addictive.”
“The gameplay is smooth, despite the amount of projectiles that are being rendered.”
“Less than 5 minutes of gameplay and I already found 2 bugs that won't let you progress further.”
“Maybe there's more late-game mechanics that I just didn't get to, but the grind to get there feels repetitive and boring.”
“The gameplay is simple - point, shoot, vanquish monsters, choose the next room based on rewards, repeat.”
- graphics64 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the charming art style and vibrant spell effects that enhance the overall atmosphere. While some players find the visuals appealing and well-suited to the gameplay, others criticize them as cluttered or reminiscent of mobile games. Overall, the graphics are described as clean and effective, contributing positively to the game's unique aesthetic, despite some personal preferences against the art style.
“The graphics and animations are top of the line, and the art style adds to the charm.”
“Beautiful graphics, amazingly fun spells, and very funny jokes.”
“Magicraft impresses with its Lovecraftian art style, and the spell-crafting mechanics are incredibly intricate.”
“If you don't have to turn off the spell visuals so your PC doesn't crash, then you aren't playing the game right.”
“There is so much crap on the screen that you have to disable all visuals, or bad spawning will end your run.”
“I'm genuinely surprised with the positive reviews, between how this looks and plays like a mobile game with a rancid banal art style and all the issues I mentioned above.”
- story54 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 74 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally viewed as simplistic and often cringeworthy, with many players finding it to be a collection of generic tropes and internet memes that serve primarily as a backdrop to the gameplay. While some appreciate the humor and lightheartedness of the narrative, most agree that it lacks depth and character development, making it easy to overlook in favor of the engaging gameplay mechanics. Overall, the story is not a focal point for players, who primarily enjoy the game for its fun and addictive gameplay rather than its narrative.
“This game is awesome! I love lots of things about it; the storyline is good, the characters look great, and it's all-out fun.”
“Although the story takes a back seat to the gameplay, the humorous interactions and underlying lore add to the world’s charm.”
“The story is a bit cheesy, but it's part of what makes it so goofy and enjoyable.”
“The biggest negative for me was the story - technically the game has cutscenes, pieces of text, and different characters, but they all act as cardboard cutouts that blocked my way from simply playing the game.”
“The story is not really anything worth mentioning, but I don't really play most roguelikes for the story.”
“The story and hero are uninspired and boring, at times even annoying with the hero's dialogue.”
- humor48 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its cleverness and charm, with many players enjoying the lighthearted dialogue, funny spell interactions, and whimsical art style. While some found the humor to be hit-or-miss, overall, it adds a unique quirkiness to the gameplay experience, making it enjoyable for those who appreciate a blend of magic, anime aesthetics, and comedic elements. The combination of engaging NPC interactions and amusing spell combinations contributes to a fun and entertaining atmosphere throughout the game.
“Great game, and I enjoy the humor in it!”
“The writing is hilarious and the challenge is decent.”
“The chill yet humorous vibe and the dumb face of the hero.”
- replayability42 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game is widely praised for its exceptional replayability, offering a vast array of content, including diverse spell combinations, randomized levels, and various build options that keep gameplay fresh and engaging. Players appreciate the balance and synergy of mechanics, which encourage experimentation and creativity, making each run feel unique. Despite some suggestions for additional depth, the overall consensus is that the game provides a highly addictive and versatile experience with significant replay value.
“Tons of content, lots of replayability, and each build is fun in its own way.”
“The combination of skills, magic, relics, and pure variation of enemies and tactics have made this game extremely replayable, especially while traveling as it’s not demanding from a power perspective.”
“With its diverse spell combinations and challenging gameplay, the game remains engaging and replayable.”
“Still, it lacks the unbelievable depth of both its inspirations, but the replayability is already there, and fiddling with spells and wands is very satisfying.”
“If enough content gets added for replayability, I could see this being in my top 10 roguelikes.”
“Great game, would definitely recommend, even if it is still in early access, this already has lots of replay value, because every run plays differently.”
- music41 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 51 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players finding it either unremarkable or poorly suited to the game's tone, often describing it as childish or repetitive. While some appreciate the atmosphere created by the music, others feel it detracts from the overall experience, suggesting a need for more variety and depth in the soundtrack. Overall, the consensus leans towards a desire for significant improvements to the music to better match the game's action and aesthetic.
“Nice atmosphere, good music and sounds in general.”
“Great game with amazing soundtrack (starting from level 3).”
“Fun game, beautiful music and artstyle!”
“The music in the game is not too interesting, and I ended up playing my own music playlists while going through runs.”
“The core game is solid, the music was so bad I couldn't bear it.”
“Both the effects and music are extremely lame and generic which is the real vibe killer.”
- optimization25 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 24 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is a mixed bag, with users reporting significant performance issues, particularly when multiple entities or spells are on screen, leading to stutters and crashes. While some players find the performance acceptable and even commend the flexibility of the spell system, others deem it unplayable until optimization improves. Overall, the game shows potential but requires substantial work to address its performance shortcomings.
“Performance actually feels optimized and good for the amount of flexibility it has in the spell system.”
“I found the spellcrafting to be deep enough to want to find optimizations but not so complex that I never felt like I was doing it right or that there was still some small percent better that I could make it.”
“1.0 performance improvements on Steam Deck are amazing!”
“Poorly optimized, but it usually only chunks the first time something new happens.”
“This is unplayable until the performance issues are resolved.”
“Non-existent optimization.”
- grinding14 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 7 % neutral mentions
- 93 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience. While some appreciate the fair upgrade prices and the variety of unlockable upgrades, many feel that the repetitive nature of grinding, especially for resources and meta-progression, can lead to a tedious experience. The game is described as having moments of enjoyable gameplay, but the grind can become a slog, particularly in the mid to late game.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“There's a lot of padding where you need to grind to unlock, but it doesn't feel particularly good grinding, just an extended slog to get there.”
“The game gets a little grindy at the mid-point.”
- stability8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Overall, players report a mixed experience regarding stability. While some users experience no crashes and find the game perfectly playable, others encounter significant lag, freezing issues, and erratic boss behavior that can disrupt gameplay. The presence of autosave features helps mitigate progress loss during these freezes, but the game's performance can vary widely depending on specific builds and updates.
“Runs great, got zero issues.”
“No major balance issues and runs great.”
“Bosses are bullet sponges that move erratically, and the game seems to experience frequent lag and freezes.”
“Every screen killer/massive AoE/insta-kill build freezes your PC for 5-20 seconds, while the enemy still attacks you. For bosses, this doesn't work; if your frames drop to 1, every boss attack goes through you.”
“Game freezes; not a single frame took place, and there was no evidence that the spell was cast.”
- atmosphere7 mentions
- 71 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized by a dark, Lovecraftian art style that combines eerie visuals with vibrant spell effects, creating a unique and immersive fantasy world. While some find the story and atmosphere somewhat childish, the blend of whimsy and darkness, along with effective music and sound design, contributes to a mysterious and engaging experience. Overall, the atmosphere is enhanced by a humorous twist on traditional gaming tropes, adding a distinctive charm.
“Dark, Lovecraftian art style with vibrant spell effects that create an atmospheric fantasy world.”
“Enjoy dark, atmospheric visuals that bring the game’s magical world to life with unique aesthetic touches.”
“The narrative is woven into the gameplay experience, creating a mysterious atmosphere with a balance of whimsy and darkness.”
“The story and atmosphere feel a bit childish.”
“The atmosphere lacks depth and fails to immerse the player.”
- monetization3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The monetization of the game is perceived as a potential cash grab, reminiscent of other successful titles, but it notably lacks in-game purchases or pay-to-win elements. However, players express frustration with the frequent interruptions from ads, likening the experience to being trapped in a dull environment filled with unwanted mobile game promotions.
“There are no in-game purchases, which means there's no pay-to-win aspect.”
“I appreciate that the game doesn't have any microtransactions.”
“The absence of monetization pressure allows for a more enjoyable gaming experience.”
“At first glance on the store page, I assumed this game was a cash grab to take advantage of Noita's success.”
“Almost everything sounds so soft and boring; it feels like this is a soft room in a mental asylum and you don't remember for how long you've been there, only that every few hours you get to 'enjoy' a compilation of horrible mobile game ads and cash grab children's videos.”
- character development1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express a desire for enhanced character development through additional content, such as mod or workshop support for customizing character designs, wands, and spells, indicating that they seek deeper personalization and engagement with the game's characters.
“I just want more of this game; maybe add mod/workshop support for things like character designs, wands, spells, and more!”
“The character development in this game is incredibly deep, allowing players to truly shape their heroes' journeys.”
“I love how the characters evolve throughout the story, making each decision feel impactful and meaningful.”