MAIDEN & SPELL

About

"Maiden & Spell" is a fast-paced, one-on-one aerial combat game featuring magical girls. Players engage in thrilling projectile battles using an array of fantastical spells. With a vibrant cast of female characters, this game offers a colorful and exciting experience in a magical world.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Local Multi-Player Play with friends in the same physical space using split-screen or multiple screens
2-Players Play with one other player, either online or locally, in a cooperative or competitive game mode
Multi-Player Compete or cooperate with other players online
Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo
PvP Player versus Player - Fight against other players in real-time, often in arena-style combat
Split Screen Play with multiple players on the same screen, often with divided or shared screen real estate

98%

Audience ScoreBased on 505 reviews

story54 positive mentions

grinding2 negative mentions

Engaging and fun gameplay that combines bullet hell mechanics with fighting game elements, making it accessible for newcomers while offering depth for veterans.
Charming art style and character designs, along with a delightful soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
Smooth online multiplayer with rollback netcode, allowing for a seamless competitive experience even with players from different regions.

The single-player campaign is relatively short, which may leave players wanting more content after completing it.
Some players may find certain character abilities or matchups to be unbalanced, leading to frustration in competitive play.
Finding online matches can be challenging due to a smaller player base, requiring players to join community Discords for better matchmaking.

story
151 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
62%
2%
The game's story features multiple characters, each with unique narratives that unfold across six different storylines, revealing their relationships and motivations. While the writing is generally enjoyable and the art style is cute, some players feel the story lacks depth and structure, serving more as a backdrop for gameplay rather than a compelling narrative. Overall, the story mode is seen as charming and entertaining, though it may leave players wanting more in terms of character development and plot complexity.
- “The story mode has you play 6 different storylines, each revealing more about the characters, their relationships, and the treasure at the bottom of the dungeon.”
- “It's a wonderfully charming game with cute characters, lovely music, and a nice story.”
- “The story mode itself feels like a love letter to the Touhou project, and indeed veterans of the series will notice a good number of cute little references to the series.”
- “The story is just there for the sake of it; it's not worth following, it's not even an actual story, just a pretext to give some sense to what you're doing.”
- “Unfortunately, the main story stages feel extremely forgettable in comparison.”
- “You are not given a thorough explanation of what your character does; you are not explained that every character has their own story, you are not explained a lot of things.”
gameplay
108 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
53%
3%
The gameplay of *Maiden & Spell* is characterized by its engaging blend of bullet hell mechanics and fighting game elements, offering a mix of strategic depth and frenetic action. Players appreciate the intuitive controls, diverse character abilities, and clear visual design that enhance the experience, although some note issues with difficulty balancing and trial-and-error elements. Overall, the game is praised for its fun, addictive gameplay, charming aesthetics, and solid netcode, making it a standout in the genre.
- “It's a very good fighting-shmup that has everything a good shmup or fighting game needs: fast-paced gameplay, good (so far) netcode, diverse characters, what's happening on the screen, and kickass music.”
- “The gameplay is fast and frenetic yet strategic, driven by reflex, spatial awareness, and an understanding of matchups and some rock-paper-scissors mechanics.”
- “The gameplay itself is solid; it's a bullet hell fighting game.”
- “Gameplay issues: there are some problems with the fact that this game has some trial and error elements in it.”
- “It just felt like I was pressing buttons and dodging stuff, with no interesting mechanics to really make you think about the game, and everything's so telegraphed that there's little to no mind games that I could find.”
- “Buy for story mode, but get on sale because there isn't a whole lot here in terms of gameplay.”
music
87 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
37%
3%
The music in the game is widely praised for its charm and suitability, enhancing the overall experience with catchy and immersive tracks that fit various stages and battles. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack's ability to evoke a cozy, light-hearted atmosphere while still providing engaging battle themes, making it enjoyable enough to listen to outside of gameplay. While some comparisons to the Touhou series suggest it may not reach the same heights, the music is generally regarded as a strong point that complements the game's cute art style and engaging mechanics.
- “The soundtrack is amazing, I can listen to it on repeat without getting bored, and I can recommend it to anyone, though some parts are better than others.”
- “The music is great, the visual presentation is eminently charming, and the dialogue is funny yet still earnest when it needs to be.”
- “The music is very unlike Touhou and has a nice blend of tunes evoking light-hearted fantasy as well as more animated battle tracks, but nothing too grim or brutal.”
- “The only issue that I have with the game is that the OST isn't out yet, but I'm sure it'll be out soon.”
- “For criticisms, more variation in music and maps (and map size?) would be something I'd have liked to see, but they are minor issues.”
- “My only real problem with it is that two of the characters (the lich and the wolf, the former particularly) seem kinda eh, and for a game that is obviously Touhou inspired, the music is somewhat lackluster, but that's fine.”
graphics
82 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
49%
48%
4%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming, cute, and colorful art style, reminiscent of classic bullet hell games like Touhou. Players appreciate the clean character designs, whimsical backgrounds, and the overall cohesive aesthetic that enhances the gameplay experience. The visuals are noted for being both functional and visually appealing, contributing to the game's engaging atmosphere and sound design.
- “The art style is delightfully adorable, the hand-drawn characters look especially cute against the Touhou-esque scrolling 3D backgrounds.”
- “The art style carries it an extremely long way and the design of the characters is quite honestly lovely in my opinion.”
- “With a mixture of an outstanding OST, beautiful visuals, tight gameplay, and rollback netcode, Mino_dev has single-handedly created one of the best competitive bullet hells to date.”
- “The graphics and music I'll lump into one section; they're all very functional and Touhou-esque. The story is cute and nothing extreme, although I felt it didn't really tell a story but sort of just nodded to one. Still fine nonetheless, the character designs are clean and took an art style which was simple and functional.”
- “One criticism I do have for Maiden & Spell is that the devs should've added more cut scenes because I do want to see more interactions between the characters and more of the art style through the cut scenes.”
- “Though smaller in scope than those games and mechanically somewhat simpler, Maiden and Spell far outpaces them aesthetically.”
humor
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is characterized by clever and distinctive writing, featuring charming characters and funny dialogue that balances earnestness with wit. Players appreciate the quirky interactions and amusing tournament formats, which contribute to a lighthearted atmosphere, making the experience both entertaining and engaging. Overall, the humor enhances the game's appeal, providing moments of laughter amidst the gameplay challenges.
- “The writing for the game has a very distinctive voice which is clever and humorous and sometimes moving.”
- “The music's great, the visual presentation is eminently charming, the dialogue is funny yet still earnest when it needs to be.”
- “Beautiful art, brilliantly funny and touching stories, killer gameplay!”
character development
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
Character development in the game is highlighted by its exceptional character design, featuring unique and adorable visuals that resonate well with the game's aesthetic. While the story is perceived as simplistic and lacking depth, the distinct playstyles of each character and the overall art style contribute positively to the gaming experience. Players express a strong appreciation for the character designs, indicating a desire for more content related to them in the future.
- “Adorable character design, fantastic Touhou-style BGM with all the fancy skills, reasonable difficulty settings, online match system, all of these make it worth the price.”
- “The character designs are great, and each one has a distinctive playstyle.”
- “The art is on-point, with a beautiful art style, excellent character designs, and nice map backgrounds.”
- “The graphics and music I'll lump into one section; they're all very functional and Touhou-esque. The story is cute and nothing extreme, although I felt it didn't really tell a story but sort of just nodded to one. Still fine nonetheless, the character designs are clean and took an art style that was simple and functional, and the music fits each fight and environment/stage you're currently in.”
- “Character designs are fairly unique, but definitely fit in the category of 'girls in dresses shooting lasers', yet manage to have their own identity.”
- “I really love the character design, especially the sun priestess, and am excited for more alternate costumes or even characters sometime down the line.”
replayability
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
45%
27%
Overall, "Maiden & Spell" is praised for its decent replayability, particularly through its engaging PvP mode and various challenges in the story mode. While players who enjoy challenges will find ample replay value, those less inclined may experience limited replayability in the single-player aspect. The game's charming characters and accessible gameplay contribute to its appeal for repeated playthroughs.
- “I can't tell how, but I'm winning. 10/10 worth the price. Short game but with decent replayability and lovely characters.”
- “[i]Maiden & Spell[/i] is fun, easy to pick up and relaxing to play, and has a good amount of replay value.”
- “So even when the PvP aspect of the game is the main attraction and has the most replayability, the story mode and extras offer you a lot of hours of replayability as well if you care about things like beating the hardest difficulties, getting 1CCs or perfect runs, having high scores, etc., like any other bullet hell/shmup game.”
- “Replayability might be pretty low though.”
- “This limits the replayability of the game's single player mode.”
- “You lose replayability if you don't enjoy challenges.”
emotional
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the game emotionally impactful, highlighting its beautiful art and touching narratives that evoke strong feelings, including moments that can bring players to tears. The combination of humor and heartfelt storytelling enhances the overall emotional experience, making it a memorable and engaging title.
- “Beautiful art, brilliantly funny and touching stories, killer gameplay!”
- “If I'm honest, one of the story missions even made me cry.”
- “Cute and wholesome fighting game”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the grinding aspect of the game, noting that it offers a challenging experience for all skill levels. The game's new format and simple controls allow newcomers to engage without feeling overwhelmed, making it easier to improve without excessive grinding.
- “However, if you are looking for that teeth-grinding mania, it sure is there, providing players of all skill levels something to try out.”
- “Even if you do not have any fighting game or bullet hell skills, the newness of the format and the simplicity of the controls should make it easy to catch up rather than grinding out getting trashed.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The atmosphere is praised for creating a relaxed and enjoyable mood, making it ideal for a laid-back gaming experience.
- “The atmosphere really sets the mood for a chill gaming session.”
- “The immersive environment draws you in and makes you feel part of the world.”
- “The haunting soundtrack perfectly complements the visuals, creating an unforgettable experience.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game's netplay code is highly optimized, resulting in minimal lag and desynchronization issues during online play.
- “The netplay code is really optimized; it rarely lags or desyncs.”
- “The game's performance is impressive, with smooth frame rates and quick load times.”
- “I appreciate how the developers have fine-tuned the mechanics for a seamless experience.”