Mahokenshi

79%
Game Brain Score Based on 190 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Mahokenshi Game Cover
Mahokenshi challenges both newcomers and seasoned players alike.
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Mahokenshi is a single-player, fantasy turn-based strategy game with an engaging story and outstanding visuals. As a Mahokenshi, protect the Celestial Islands by building your card deck and defeating corruptive forces. Choose from four different houses, each with unique elemental strengths, and discover over 200 illustrated cards to evolve your playstyle and strategy throughout the game.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

79%
Audience ScoreBased on 190 reviews
story20 positive mentions
stability4 negative mentions
  • Unique blend of deckbuilding and tactical gameplay on a hex-based map, allowing for dynamic encounters and strategic movement.
  • Visually appealing with beautiful artwork and atmospheric music, enhancing the overall experience.
  • Offers a variety of characters with distinct playstyles, encouraging experimentation and adaptation in each mission.
  • Short campaign length with limited replayability; many players completed the game in under 20 hours.
  • Frequent game-breaking bugs and issues with saving progress, leading to frustration during missions.
  • The deck resets after each mission, which can feel repetitive and diminish the sense of progression.
  • story184 mentions

    The story in "Mahokenshi" is generally considered shallow and straightforward, primarily structured around a series of distinct missions rather than a cohesive narrative. While the missions offer varied objectives and strategic gameplay, they lack depth and replayability, as players reset to a basic deck after each mission, limiting long-term progression. Overall, the game is noted for its interesting themes rooted in Japanese mythology, but players seeking a rich story may find it lacking.

    • “The story of the game is broken up into different missions, and the addition of the map adds another layer that you don't usually get in these kinds of games.”
    • “The missions, as well as the optional tasks, are well designed and make you think to accomplish them.”
    • “The strategic map adds a great degree of freedom to the gameplay, balanced out by solid mission design that holds you to task and keeps you from grinding/farming the difficulty into triviality.”
    • “The game has next to no replay value; once you've done a mission, you've usually solved the puzzle of the objectives and replaying it has little to offer.”
    • “The story was average.”
    • “Don't play this for the story, it's very simple.”
  • gameplay52 mentions

    The gameplay is generally praised for its engaging mechanics and enjoyable loop, particularly for fans of deck-building games, with unique character abilities and a strategic map adding depth. However, some players express concerns about balance issues, limited content, and certain mechanics that detract from the overall experience, leading to a loss of challenge over time. While the game has solid production values and fun mechanics, it may not satisfy those seeking a traditional deckbuilder or extensive replayability.

    • “For the most part, this results in a pretty enjoyable gameplay loop.”
    • “Deckbuilding mechanics are smartly integrated, and you can tailor your deck to the given mission.”
    • “The strategic map adds a great degree of freedom to the gameplay, balanced out by solid mission design that keeps you from grinding/farming the difficulty into triviality.”
    • “My only complaint is it doesn't feel like it provides enough content/individual map complexity to have the same longevity, despite the better mechanics.”
    • “The flaw here is that a design oversight prompted the developers to gimp the core mechanic of the game that you need to utilize to do anything other than basic movement.”
    • “In a game where you have limited energy and mapping out the way you will navigate each map is key, losing any control of strategizing/balancing these elements leaves me entirely dissatisfied and is a negative gameplay experience.”
  • graphics28 mentions

    Overall, the graphics of the game are widely praised for their beauty and artistic style, with many reviewers highlighting the stunning artwork and atmospheric presentation. However, some users noted issues with optimization and performance, leading to crashes and blue screens, despite the graphics not being particularly intensive. While the visuals are generally well-received, there are calls for improvements in character avatars and more graphical settings options.

    • “The graphics, sound design, and art direction are also a big thumbs up.”
    • “The graphics are beautiful and the presentation is really spot on.”
    • “A fantastic card-based adventure game, stunning art and visuals and effects and an excellent eastern setting.”
    • “Only thing I wish for is for the heroes' avatars to have better graphics; and maybe higher speed of actions around the map.”
    • “The graphics aren't that powerful.”
    • “- very bad optimization with zero graphics settings.”
  • replayability17 mentions

    Overall, the game has limited replayability, with many players noting that once missions are completed, there is little incentive to replay them due to the lack of variety and challenge. While some enjoy the game for its initial experience, the short playtime and absence of additional modes or procedural content leave many feeling that replay value is minimal. Suggestions for improvement often include the addition of a roguelike mode or more diverse gameplay options to enhance replayability.

    • “Perhaps I'm spoiled with my roguelike deckbuilders for more replayability, but I think this game would very much benefit from a roguelike mode with procedural maps for those wanting more variable runs.”
    • “If the developers added a replayable roguelike mode to the game, I would most likely recommend it enthusiastically!”
    • “The game is able to be beaten within 8 hours, and while there is some replayability in redoing missions and going for all of the achievements, the game gets significantly easier the higher level your characters are, which may or may not be a positive thing depending on where you lie on the spectrum of 'I love curbstomping goblins' to 'I want a challenging video game.'”
    • “The game has next to no replay value; once you've done a mission, you've usually solved the puzzle of the objectives and replaying it has little to offer.”
    • “A reasonably entertaining game, though I managed to 100% it in 17 hours, so there isn't a ton of replayability here.”
    • “There's pretty limited replay value.”
  • music8 mentions

    The music in the game is generally described as atmospheric and enjoyable, with a nice soundtrack that complements the gameplay. However, many users note the limited number of tracks, leading to repetitiveness, particularly with the combat music. While the overall sound design is appreciated, it could benefit from more variety to enhance the experience.

    • “The artwork is beautiful and the music is atmospheric, although there aren't many tracks.”
    • “Excellent progression, good music, fun side quests, simple story, delightfully different play styles for the four characters.”
    • “Art was gorgeous, enjoyed the gameplay, each of the mahokenshi feels very distinct, nice soundtrack.”
    • “The story and music need a bit of work.”
    • “There are others in the game, yes (very few), but it doesn't matter because you will always be hearing the combat music, which gets repetitive and annoying very fast.”
    • “The design, the strategic gameplay, the soundtrack, and the deckbuilding in general are all fine, but currently are not keeping me engaged.”
  • stability4 mentions

    The game is reported to have significant stability issues, with numerous bugs that can disrupt gameplay and lead to frustrating scenarios, particularly in the final level. While some players find the experience worthwhile despite these problems, the prevalence of bugs may deter others.

    • “The game is buggy with the save file.”
    • “At the outset, I should emphasize that this game is a bit buggy and that's frustrating. You will likely encounter a couple of bugs that end a scenario prematurely or force you to replay something you just spent an hour or more on. If that's a deal-breaker, then so be it. I still think the game is worth it, especially if the developers continue to patch.”
    • “This game is a buggy mess.”
  • grinding4 mentions

    Reviews on grinding in the game are mixed; while some players appreciate the tight, challenging gameplay that avoids unnecessary grinding, others find the need to replay earlier levels to level up new characters tedious. The game features difficulty spikes that can make grinding feel obligatory for progression, but the strategic map and well-designed missions help mitigate excessive farming. Overall, the game is seen as favoring quality over quantity in its approach to grinding.

    • “Died a few times and honestly don't feel like grinding my way through bonuses just to be able to progress.”
    • “There are some definite difficulty spikes between levels, and unlocking a new character that starts at level 1 means that you'll need to do some grinding on earlier levels before they are able to adequately assist on story missions.”
    • “Some negative reviews about it being too short, but I prefer a game that is tight and packed full of flavor rather than an artificially dragged out tedious grind that some players mistake for 'value for money.'”
  • atmosphere3 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is praised for its beautiful artwork and atmospheric music, despite a limited number of tracks. Players appreciate the unique style and the feeling of being overpowered during missions, which enhances the overall immersive experience.

    • “The artwork is beautiful and the music is atmospheric, although there aren't many tracks.”
    • “I love the style, as well as the atmosphere.”
    • “I like the atmosphere of the game; you can feel overpowered while doing the missions, even though you're actually not.”
  • humor3 mentions

    The game is widely praised for its humor, featuring amusing graphics and a comedic tone that enhances the gameplay experience. Players appreciate its blend of RPG and roguelike elements, likening it to a humorous take on civilization-building games. Overall, it is considered a fun and entertaining title at a fair price.

    • “It's very funny, looks like Civilization's saga but with RPG and roguelike components.”
    • “Fun game with humorous graphics.”
    • “Really funny game at a fair price.”
  • character development2 mentions

    Reviews indicate that while the character design is visually appealing, it does not align well with the overall game design, suggesting a disconnect that may affect the character development experience.

    • “My main issue here is that the character design stands in contrast to the game design.”
    • “The character development feels shallow and lacks meaningful progression.”
    • “I found the characters to be one-dimensional, making it hard to connect with their stories.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    Overall, users feel that the game's optimization could be improved, although those with upgraded hardware report a smooth gameplay experience.

    • “The optimization in this game is impressive, allowing for smooth gameplay even on lower-end systems.”
    • “I've noticed significant improvements in performance after the latest update, making the game run much more efficiently.”
    • “I think it could be better optimized, but since I upgraded my rig, it plays perfectly.”
    • “The game suffers from poor optimization, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering.”
    • “Despite having a powerful setup, the game still struggles with optimization issues that hinder the overall experience.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

80% average critic score

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Play time

14hMedian play time
13hAverage play time
13-14hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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