ManaSoul
- December 1, 2023
- Celtaria Productions
- 6h median play time
Get on SteamIn ManaSoul you take on the role of a Mage in the world of Valeyra! In this world, everyone has the ability to learn magicks, but not everyone can master them! Explore a hand-crafted open world made with passion and love pixel by pixel. Begin your journey to become an Archmage and leave your mark on history! Start a Guild and create memories with friends, challenge yourself against difficult encou…
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Reviews
- The game has a charming aesthetic and nostalgic feel, reminiscent of classic MMOs.
- There is a friendly and helpful community, making it easier for new players to get involved.
- The developers are responsive to feedback and consistently add new content, showing a commitment to improving the game.
- The game suffers from a lack of clear guidance and a confusing quest system, making it difficult for players to know where to go or what to do.
- Many players find the leveling system grindy and unbalanced, with bosses providing significantly more experience than regular enemies.
- The user interface is poorly designed, leading to frustration with controls and navigation, especially on lower resolution screens.
- story15 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game's story is perceived as lacking depth, with players feeling there is no overarching narrative to guide their quests. While there are numerous quests and dungeons to explore, the quest system is criticized for being aimless and difficult to navigate, leading to frustration in finding objectives. Overall, players appreciate the variety of content but desire a more cohesive and engaging story experience.
“Great progression and leveling with story and monsters to slay.”
“7 hours of playtime and plan to come back and play more; there is a lot to do and a lot more I have to do. I wish more people would play and be more active so I could take on some of the harder bosses, but other than that, there are plenty of quests, dungeons, and delves you can do alone.”
“Open world style; you choose where to go and it has a lot of quests and dungeons.”
“I do think it's weird that enemies don't give you XP, and there doesn't feel like there's an overarching story, so you're kind of just told to go find quests and do them to level up.”
“The main quest isn't even available yet, leaving the only things to do as grind basic enemies and fend for yourself more or less.”
“Its a lot of aimless walking trying to find wherever your next quest can be.”
- gameplay5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The gameplay features a surprisingly enjoyable loop centered around grinding for non-p2w gacha "memories" to acquire gear, set against a beautifully crafted world. However, players find the combat mechanics confusing and note the lack of a tutorial to help navigate them, which can detract from the overall experience.
“Surprisingly fun gameplay loop; I have had a great time.”
“The game has a fun gameplay loop of grinding out 'memories,' which are non-pay-to-win gacha that you open for gear.”
“The meticulously crafted world draws you in with its charming visuals, all the while concealing challenging mechanics beneath its cutesy facade.”
“Combat is confusing at best, and there's no real tutorial to familiarize yourself with the mechanics.”
- grinding5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -40 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while some appreciate the rewarding progression and engaging gameplay loop of collecting "memories" for gear, others feel that the leveling can be excessively grindy, particularly due to a lack of end-game content. Overall, the grind is seen as challenging yet not overly tedious, maintaining a balance that keeps players invested.
“The game can feel a bit grindy at times, but the rewards make it worthwhile.”
“Grinding is a necessary part of the experience, and it adds depth to character progression.”
“While there are moments of grinding, they are balanced by engaging gameplay and rewarding loot.”
“Leveling is too grindy to overcome a lack of endgame content.”
“The game is very grindy; the puzzles so far were quite simple (click something and the obstacle is gone).”
“A bit grindy sometimes.”
- graphics4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics are praised for their charming pixel art and meticulously crafted world, which effectively draws players in. However, some users criticize the game's engine and map design, noting issues like syncing problems and jarring transitions that detract from the overall experience.
“I like the skills, the graphics, and the community from what I saw.”
“The meticulously crafted world draws you in with its charming visuals, all the while concealing challenging mechanics beneath its cutesy facade.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The monetization model of the game is praised for avoiding cash grabs and pay-to-win mechanics, with no cash store present, which has contributed to a lack of player engagement due to poor advertising efforts.
“No cash grab, no pay-to-win, no cash store.”
“The monetization model is fair and respects players' time and investment.”
“I appreciate that the game offers plenty of content without forcing players to spend money.”
“The monetization model feels exploitative, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending money.”
“It seems like the developers are more focused on making money than providing a balanced gaming experience.”
“The constant push for in-game purchases detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.”
- character development1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users express a desire for more freedom in character customization, indicating that they prefer to create their own unique characters rather than having predefined development paths imposed on them.
“The character development feels shallow and uninspired, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
“I was hoping for a more nuanced progression, but the choices feel limited and predictable.”
“The lack of meaningful character arcs left me feeling detached from the story and its characters.”
