Swag & Sorcery

About

Swag & Sorcery is a single player role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Lazy Bear Games and was released on May 8, 2019. It received neutral reviews from players.

Build your own fantasy village, create and equip your characters and send them to collect swag in Swag and Sorcery - a new streamlined RPG from the creators of Punch Club and Graveyard Keeper

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

47%

Audience ScoreBased on 889 reviews

story33 positive mentions

grinding376 negative mentions

The game features beautiful pixel art and charming animations.
The humor and quirky story elements add a lighthearted touch to the gameplay.
The crafting system allows for a variety of gear options, making character customization enjoyable.

The game is excessively grindy, requiring repetitive actions with little reward.
There is a lack of automation, forcing players to manually send heroes on quests and manage resources.
Many quests and events are poorly designed, leading to frustration and confusion.

grinding
377 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
100%
The reviews overwhelmingly characterize the game as excessively grindy, with many players finding the grinding mechanics tedious and unfulfilling. While some appreciate the grind as a core aspect of the gameplay, others express frustration over the lack of meaningful rewards and the repetitive nature of tasks, often comparing it unfavorably to other games in the genre. Overall, the grinding is seen as a significant barrier to enjoyment, particularly for those who prefer more dynamic or engaging gameplay experiences.
- “The grinding in this game is surprisingly enjoyable and keeps me engaged.”
- “I find the grinding to be rewarding, as it allows me to develop my character and skills.”
- “The grind feels purposeful and adds depth to the overall gameplay experience.”
- “I hoped the items would be cool, always getting new ones and checking them out, but in reality, 80% of the items are basically useless and your time is better spent grinding than checking out weapons.”
- “The real turn off from this game is the tedious start.”
- “It's just not fun after a few hours, the reason for most grindy games is to get to a point, but this game doesn't have one, it's literally just the grind and nothing else.”
story
241 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
75%
11%
The story in the game is generally perceived as weak and underwhelming, with many players finding it shallow, poorly executed, and lacking depth. While some appreciate the humor and quirky elements, the narrative often feels disconnected from gameplay, leading to a sense of dissatisfaction, especially after completing the main storyline. Additionally, numerous bugs and inconsistencies in quest requirements further detract from the overall storytelling experience.
- “The story is fun and you never miss out on the humor.”
- “It has a funny story to it if you can be patient enough to level your very hard to get characters.”
- “The game comes with a quirky little story.”
- “The story is meaningless in the first half of the game I played.”
- “The story isn't very long, but it's dispersed by the grind, and the storyline feels very generic.”
- “The game was unfortunately released in a very unfinished state with multiple items still lacking descriptions, a sub-par quest system that often doesn't recognize whether or not you fulfill the requirements to finish the quest, and a crippling lack of replayability after the first run through the game.”
gameplay
186 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
71%
10%
The gameplay of "Swag and Sorcery" has received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing its grind-heavy mechanics and lack of meaningful interaction. While some appreciate the art style and initial fun of the core gameplay loop, the repetitive nature and slow progression lead to a tedious experience, often feeling more like a mobile game without the benefits of automation. Overall, the game suffers from poorly implemented mechanics and a lack of depth, making it difficult for players to stay engaged beyond the early hours.
- “A clever blend of idle game and RPG mechanics.”
- “The core gameplay is quite good, but the lack of a good UI and grind really kills the game.”
- “The gameplay is smooth, the UI is simplistic and easy to navigate, and the animations emulate the old-school sprite style, but are produced in a much smoother way.”
- “The game has a decent premise... except the gameplay is just plain bad: you spend most of the time waiting as your group grinds, then a couple minutes of activity, then waiting.... you might have fun if you literally play another game while 'playing' this one - or are looking through the internet.”
- “The gameplay does not offer anything new after the first 5 minutes.”
- “The gameplay is not worth the price tag and feels like a mobile game that was brought over to Steam minus the microtransactions.”
graphics
94 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
41%
3%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming pixel art style, with many reviewers highlighting the beautiful animations and nostalgic 8-bit aesthetic. However, while the visuals are appealing, they often overshadow gameplay issues, leading to a consensus that the graphics are the game's strongest aspect, but not enough to compensate for its shortcomings in execution and depth. Overall, the art style is considered a highlight, but many players feel the game ultimately lacks engaging content.
- “The graphics, the animations, and the narration are really well done.”
- “Graphics 10/10 - excellent pixel art, awesome animations!”
- “The art style is clean and gorgeous, the dialogue is fun, and it hits all the right buttons for me for this style of game.”
- “However, despite the colorful pixel graphics and the crafting/RPG mix, I just couldn't enjoy it.”
- “The premise and graphics are cute, but the execution is a slog.”
- “I wanted to like it, but aside from the graphics, the game has nothing to offer.”
humor
69 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its quirky and absurd elements, particularly the interactions with characters like the sarcastic cat and the amusing backstory. However, many find the humor repetitive or cringy, with jokes that quickly lose their charm, leading to a sense of tedium rather than genuine laughter. Overall, while there are moments of fun and lightheartedness, the humor often falls flat for a significant portion of the player base.
- “Accompanied by some self-aware, ironic humor and a decent crafting and itemization system.”
- “The humor is great, and the feline is worth the entrance fee alone.”
- “Random little details and funny random actions (such as the king and his various outfits, and seeing him pop his head in the window of the fashion shows - love that kind of goofy doesn't-take-itself-seriously vibe, especially when all I want to do is veg out for an hour or two).”
music
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
37%
13%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its charm and pleasantness, while others find it repetitive and lacking variety. Many agree that it serves as a decent background element, enhancing the overall experience without being intrusive, though some players eventually opted to turn it off due to its monotony. Overall, the soundtrack is described as cheerful and enjoyable, but it may not hold up over extended play sessions.
- “I also enjoyed the graphics and music.”
- “Getting the materialistic stuff out of the way, the graphics are gorgeous, the music is fun and unobtrusive, the sound design is lovely and makes interacting with the UI a more visceral experience.”
- “One of the best things about this game is certainly the soundtrack as it is definitely stuck in my head and will be for a long time.”
- “While the art style and music are charming throwbacks, the game fails to live up to its potential.”
- “Since we're on the subject of 'not good', the music is quite repetitive.”
- “I think there's two or three songs that start to drone really hard after a while.”
stability
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
90%
The stability of the game has been widely criticized, with many users reporting numerous bugs, glitches, and crashes that significantly impact gameplay. While some players have experienced fewer issues, the overall consensus is that the game feels unfinished and in need of substantial polish, with many features not functioning as intended. Despite occasional positive remarks about its graphics, the persistent instability has led to a general recommendation against purchasing the game in its current state.
- “Other than not being able to equip what I crafted and feeling like the game is an almost direct ripoff of another game, I found it refreshingly bug-free and polished.”
- “No glitches so far.”
- “I cannot recommend this game to others since it is buggy and needs a lot of polish still.”
- “For being a 'released' game, this has so many bugs and glitches it should have never seen the light of release and is still in an early beta state.”
- “The game is buggy and has serious balance issues which the recent patch didn't address at all.”
monetization
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
56%
33%
The game adopts a pay-up-front model reminiscent of freemium mobile games but notably lacks microtransactions, which some players appreciate as it avoids predatory monetization practices. However, many users feel the gameplay suffers from a tedious grind that could have been alleviated with optional purchases, leading to mixed feelings about the overall experience. Overall, while the absence of microtransactions is praised, the game's design and pacing leave players wanting more engagement and less grinding.
- “I think I was most excited that it was a pay-up-front model with no microtransactions, so the full range of content would be there and success would rely on the player's performance.”
- “The whole game has a mobile game feeling but without predatory microtransactions.”
- “If they fix it with a purchased DLC, I will forever mark this developer as a cash grab.”
- “I expected at any second to be bombarded with microtransactions to make the game balanced.”
- “This game feels like the intention of it was to be released as a free-to-play game with microtransactions, but sometime down the line of development management decided to do a 180 and just sell it as a buy-to-play game instead and remove all the microtransactions/loot boxes.”
replayability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
34%
44%
Overall, the game suffers from a significant lack of replayability, with many users noting that it feels unfinished and offers little incentive to play beyond the initial run. The limited number of levels, coupled with a subpar quest system and absence of meaningful content for subsequent playthroughs, contributes to a sense of a pointless grind. While some mention random elements that could enhance replayability, the consensus leans heavily towards it being a one-and-done experience.
- “The RNG makes it replayable.”
- “I am sure Soda Dungeon 2 will easily outperform this game in terms of replayability and fun when it's released.”
- “It feels like an idler but without the ability to actually idle... there are only 7 playable levels that you get through rather quickly and no replay value.”
- “The game was unfortunately released in a very unfinished state with multiple items still lacking descriptions, a sub-par quest system that often doesn't recognize whether or not you fulfill the requirements to finish the quest, and a crippling lack of replayability after the first run through the game.”
- “In essence, this game is a pointless grind, not even a fun grind... and once you beat the game, you beat the game, zero replayability in this one.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Players have noted a lack of essential optimizations, such as the ability to save favorite outfits, which adds unnecessary complexity to gameplay. While the pay-up-front model is appreciated, many feel that the game could benefit from improvements in efficiency, like faster questing options, to enhance the overall experience.
- “There are so many simple optimizations missing, and parts that just feel like unnecessary work on the player's part. For the love of god, give me a way to save favorite outfits so I don’t keep having to redress my entire army every time I need to craft something!”
- “I bought the game and I find it could use some optimization improvements, such as a faster 'questing' option.”
- “In the beginning, you need to pay attention to what you're doing, babysit your runs, and build gear for optimization purposes.”