Secret of Magia
- August 21, 2015
- 4h median play time
Secret of Magia is a single-player Fighting/RPG game with a pathetic story and horrible mechanics, but redeemed by excellent music and a vast world to explore. As the chosen one, players must grind extensively and navigate numerous bugs to free their people from an evil dictator's tyranny. While the gameplay may be frustrating, the epic soundtrack and expansive world make it a unique experience for dedicated players.
PC
Reviews
- The game features a nostalgic retro style reminiscent of classic RPGs, which some players find enjoyable.
- The combat system allows for real-time action, providing a different experience compared to traditional turn-based RPGs.
- The game offers a variety of classes to choose from, adding some diversity to gameplay.
- The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, including issues with enemy scaling that make leveling up feel pointless.
- There is a lack of story and direction, with poorly written dialogue and minimal character development.
- The game is very short, with many players reporting they can complete it in under two hours, leading to a feeling of incompleteness.
- story121 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 26 % negative mentions
The game's story is widely criticized for being virtually non-existent, lacking coherence, and offering minimal direction or engagement. Players report a generic and tedious narrative, often reduced to simple fetch quests with poorly written dialogue and a confusing premise. Overall, the story fails to provide a meaningful experience, leaving many feeling that it detracts from the game's potential.
“The game tries to emulate the story from the classic games.”
“Npcs are the most intriguing of the town staples, as they offer bits of data to help you propel the story.”
“The combat is great, the story is decent, and the graphics are perfect for its style.”
“The story has a nonsensical premise and is not well-written; you don't know what's going on and there is a blatant lack of direction on what you need to do.”
“The story is virtually non-existent, as the side quests are given in the most blunt way possible, and the ending is equally lacking in fanfare.”
“There is fundamentally no story, no polish, and no effort put into this.”
- gameplay34 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Secret of Magia" is criticized for its poor design, with many mechanics feeling underdeveloped or forgotten as players progress. The combat system is described as clunky and overly simplistic, lacking depth and challenge, while the scaling difficulty creates frustration rather than engagement. Overall, the game suffers from numerous bugs and unfinished elements, leading to a disappointing experience that fails to captivate players.
“Secret of Magia is an action RPG with a hack and slash combat system and approximately 3 hours worth of gameplay.”
“The gameplay is fairly smooth and it could be fun, but the dialogue is awful.”
“This sort of title has many expected mechanics in gameplay style.”
“Poor gameplay design; every level up makes the difficulty harder as your offensive stats grow slower compared to what feels like exponential growth of enemy stats who always scale to your level.”
“The gameplay is bad.”
“No clear goals, bad battle mechanics, no info or tips on how to use magic/craft/skills/etc, buggy (you can walk into 'space' in one of the mine tunnels), and just very aimless in general.”
- music21 mentions
- 48 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its quality and comfort, often noting it as one of the game's stronger aspects. However, some criticize it for being generic or not original, suggesting it may have been sourced from royalty-free tracks. Overall, while the soundtrack is generally well-received, it is overshadowed by the game's lack of polish and core gameplay issues.
“The only thing that is nice about this game is most of the graphics and music.”
“Well, if I had to find a good point, it'll probably be the music; it's probably the only thing in this game that I liked.”
“The soundtrack is great, the concept is okay, and the inspiration from Zelda is cool.”
“I had no audio whatsoever, music or otherwise, which was a weird experience.”
“The assets and music are generic and the game is unpolished.”
“It is the sort of thing one would expect if a developer snatched up a few royalty-free music tracks and tossed in the ones that sounded best.”
- graphics20 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the anime style and decent visuals typical of RPG Maker, while others criticize them as lazy, dull, or even headache-inducing. Although there are occasional highlights, such as creative visuals and a few appealing enemy designs, many feel that the overall quality does not meet expectations, especially when compared to promotional screenshots.
“They've been creative at least with visuals.”
“Which, by the way, is much, much better, with a really cool plot and brilliant anime graphics.”
“The combat is great, story is decent, and the graphics are perfect for its style.”
“The graphics were mostly default (from what I saw), the writing was poor, and there was little to no direction.”
“The graphics are fair enough for RPG Maker, but they could be way better.”
“In-game graphics do not match the screenshots in the store.”
- stability19 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is severely criticized, with numerous players reporting game-breaking glitches, visual bugs, and poorly implemented mechanics that detract from the overall experience. Many users describe it as unfinished and riddled with issues, including the ability to walk through walls and being locked out of essential areas, leading to frustration and a lack of enjoyment. Overall, the game is perceived as a buggy and low-quality product that fails to deliver a stable gaming experience.
“The game is buggy, abandoned, and misrepresented on the store page with the only saving grace being the cards.”
“It is hours of constant frustration dealing with glitches and broken game mechanics, a lack of story.”
“To say this 'game' is bug-ridden is an understatement.”
- grinding14 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and unbalanced, with players noting that enemies become disproportionately stronger as they level up, making grinding feel pointless and punishing. Many reviews highlight the slow navigation and excessive menu management, contributing to an overall frustrating experience. While some players mention a relatively fast leveling system, the general consensus is that grinding detracts from the enjoyment and progression of the game.
“You can skip areas like a weird hidden pyramid; combat is not enjoyable and there's a stun-locking slime that can one-shot you, as grinding enemies in one area boosts their stats by a ridiculous amount.”
“After a big setup, the plot simply wanders off in this action RPG and is replaced with fetch quests and a lot of grinding.”
“Under no conditions should the player consider grinding for experience; they may find the game unfinishable.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is noted for its unintentional moments, such as amusing typos like "gaurds" and the overall lack of challenge, which some players found to be more comical than engaging. However, the game's unfinished state contributes to a sense of incoherence that detracts from the intended humor.
“The game isn't even fully finished; there are plenty of out-of-bounds areas and incoherences. The 'guards' made me laugh in the first ever watchtower.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The game has been rated poorly for replayability, with users giving it a score of 2 out of 10, indicating a lack of enjoyable content that encourages players to return.
“The game offers incredible replayability, with multiple paths and choices that keep each playthrough fresh and exciting.”
“I love how every decision I make leads to different outcomes, making me want to replay the game to explore all the possibilities.”
“The variety of characters and storylines ensures that no two playthroughs are ever the same, enhancing the overall enjoyment.”
“The game lacks any real incentive to replay, making it feel like a one-time experience.”
“Once you've completed the game, there's little motivation to go back and play it again.”
“The limited choices and outcomes significantly reduce the replayability factor.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the monetization strategy is perceived as exploitative, with players feeling that the value offered does not justify the time and money spent, labeling it a "cash grab."
“Your time is worth more than what this cash grab offers.”
“The monetization system feels exploitative and prioritizes profit over player experience.”
“It's frustrating to see so many features locked behind paywalls, making it hard to enjoy the game fully.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players report a strong emotional impact, often feeling deeply moved by pivotal moments in the game, such as realizing the stakes involved, which can lead to tears and a profound connection to the narrative.
“Tears welled up in his eyes when he realized what exactly was at stake.”
“The story's depth made me reflect on my own life choices, leaving me emotionally shaken.”
“I felt a profound connection to the characters, their struggles resonating with my own experiences.”
