Malediction

About

Malediction is a single player casual action adventure game. It was developed by Desert Beagle Studios and was released on December 31, 2019. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Malediction is a third-person puzzle/platformer that gives you the ability to control space and time! Play as Morgan, an impulsive, yet curious, wizard whose experiments often get him into trouble. This time, a cloning spell has backfired and his duplicates have run off with most of his magic. You must now chase them through three enchanted levels of a warped, Renaissance-inspired city. Manipulate…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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70%

Audience ScoreBased on 71 reviews

graphics9 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

The game has a charming atmosphere and visually appealing aesthetics, reminiscent of classic platformers.
The unique mechanics involving time manipulation and telekinesis provide interesting gameplay and puzzle-solving opportunities.
Despite being a student project, the game shows potential and offers a fun, albeit short, experience for players.

The game suffers from significant bugs and glitches, making it frustrating and at times unplayable.
Controls can be awkward and unresponsive, leading to a clunky gameplay experience.
Lack of optimization and graphical settings results in poor performance, especially on lower-end systems.

graphics
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
52%
12%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the aesthetic and art style, particularly its colorful and cartoony visuals reminiscent of classic titles. However, several users express frustration over poor optimization, lack of adjustable graphics settings, and performance issues such as low frame rates and lag, which detract from the overall experience. While some find the visuals appealing and well-crafted, others feel that the focus on graphics has come at the expense of gameplay design and clarity.
- “Graphics, colors, and settings strongly remind me of the very first Medievil, which I loved, so this was a pleasant experience altogether.”
- “The whole game has graphics that I liked a lot; you notice the great work in taking care of the environments, the lights, and everything else.”
- “Review: I am so impressed with the aesthetics of the game; the colors and the way it's designed are so beautifully done!”
- “This game has terrible graphics, plus the puzzles are lazy.”
- “The biggest issue I've found is it's a bit of a resource hog without the ability to turn things off like bloom or post processing or to lower graphics.”
- “This game has been optimized so poorly, the game has some cartoony and non-realistic graphics and I drop down to 40-50 frames per second most of the time and I have an RX580 and Ryzen 5 2600 with 8GB DDR4 2400MHz RAM, not to mention you can't even adjust the graphics for some unknown reason, oh and another thing is why the hell is it capped at 62 frames per second.”
gameplay
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
47%
16%
The gameplay is noted for its innovative mechanics, particularly the time manipulation feature, which adds depth and uniqueness to the experience. However, players have expressed concerns about certain mechanics being underdeveloped or poorly implemented, leading to a disconnect in gameplay progression. While the visuals and overall design are praised, many reviewers feel that the game requires further polish and additional content to maintain long-term interest.
- “Overall, however, there's a surprising depth of gameplay here, along with nicely done visuals and mostly passable voice work.”
- “One of the best indie games I've played lately, really well done with smooth gameplay and mechanics.”
- “A game with interesting mechanics; blocking time is innovative and well implemented.”
- “The gameplay mechanics are so boring; you only freeze time and blast things.”
- “If you're going to keep adding mechanics that complement each other, then you basically don't get to play the game until the end. The game you started is just completely different. I personally don't enjoy it when any game does this; it doesn't add any sort of accomplishment or progress, just new stuff I have to take the time learning in the middle of the game, which is super disconnecting.”
- “Why in the world is there a timed x-ray power-up mechanic when all you use it for is trying to find a lever behind a wall... in a maze.”
story
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
16%
17%
The game's story is generally well-received, praised for its polished execution, humor, and entertaining characters, though some players wish for more depth and expansion in terms of missions and backstory. The graphics and voice acting complement the narrative, contributing to an enjoyable experience, while the core storyline is seen as a strong foundation for potential future updates. Overall, the story is engaging but could benefit from further development.
- “Core story is really polished and executed perfectly.”
- “The game runs very smoothly and the storyline is great.”
- “This game has a good cartoony graphic, the story is funny and a concept they can play around with via updates, improvements etc. I did not mind the voice acting, thought it was funny and the contrasting between the book and the magician was pretty good.”
- “Wish there was more and that it would be further developed into something much longer and full of detailed missions and powers.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players enjoy it, others find it less appealing or overwhelming, particularly when it drowns out character dialogue and sound effects. Overall, the sound design is generally appreciated, contributing to the game's fun and visually engaging experience.
- “A lot of fun and visually pleasing to the eyes, sounds are great, the music is there, gameplay and content are there, and did I mention...it's free!”
- “Another issue is that when you max out the sound options, you cannot hear the character over the music or sound effects.”
- “I also didn't care for the music.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The optimization of Malediction has been widely criticized, with players reporting significant frame rate drops to 40-50 FPS on decent hardware and a lack of adjustable graphics settings. Many feel that the game's performance issues detract from the overall experience, indicating that optimization was not a priority during development.
- “Malediction is just okay... the platforming can be very awkward, the final boss fight was tedious, and optimization was not prioritized.”
- “This game has been optimized so poorly. The graphics are cartoony and non-realistic, and I drop down to 40-50 frames per second most of the time. I have an RX580 and Ryzen 5 2600 with 8GB DDR4 2400MHz RAM. Not to mention, you can't even adjust the graphics for some unknown reason. Oh, and another thing is, why the hell is it capped at 62 frames per second?”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its cartoonish graphics and humorous tone, with a funny story that allows for creative updates. Players appreciate the voice acting and the comedic contrast between characters, contributing to an overall enjoyable and lighthearted experience.
- “It's got that same aesthetic and humorous tone.”
- “This game has a good cartoony graphic, the story is funny and a concept they can play around with via updates, improvements, etc. I did not mind the voice acting; I thought it was funny, and the contrasting between the book and the magician was pretty good.”
- “Funny and simple game.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its charming and cute Halloween theme, complemented by high-quality art and voice acting. Players appreciate the fun concept and overall immersive experience, though some may have minor reservations.
- “The atmosphere is very lovely, even in this Halloween theme; it's quite cute! I like it a lot!”
- “The idea behind this game is fun, and the art, voice acting, and overall atmosphere are really good.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent glitches and unclear instructions, which hinder gameplay and make it challenging to control. While the concept is promising, these technical problems detract from the overall experience.
- “A great concept, but between the glitches and a lack of explanation of what to do, the game is really hard to play.”
- “But also because of its strange nature, it is very unstable and difficult to control, not to mention the glitches you encounter.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of Malediction to be mediocre, citing awkward platforming and a tedious final boss fight as factors that detract from the overall experience. Additionally, the lack of optimization contributes to the frustration associated with grinding in the game.
- “Malediction is just okay... the platforming can be very awkward, the final boss fight was tedious, and optimization was not prioritized.”