The Mage's Tale

58%
Game Brain Score Based on 244 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
The Mage's Tale Game Cover
As the apprentice you suddenly find yourself without a Master when he is snatched away by the Evil Wizard Gaufroi. As you fight to save your master what will your own fate be?
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Welcome, apprentice of the mystic arts! The corrupt wizard Gaufroi has kidnapped your master, Mage Alguin, and only you have any hope of saving him. You may be an apprentice now, but to save your master, you will need to explore ten deadly dungeons, decipher mind-bending puzzles, avoid terrifying traps, and vanquish hordes of vicious monsters. Until you are able to wield every elemental power in t…

  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Virtual Reality
  • Windows
  • Play​Station
  • Play​Station VR
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

58%
Audience ScoreBased on 244 reviews
story20 positive mentions
stability8 negative mentions
  • The game features stunning graphics and immersive environments that enhance the overall experience.
  • Puzzles are varied and engaging, providing a good mix of challenge without being overly difficult.
  • The spell crafting system is fun and allows for creative combinations, adding depth to the gameplay.
  • The game suffers from frequent crashes and performance issues, making it unplayable for many users.
  • Controls are clunky and unintuitive, leading to frustration during gameplay, especially with movement and spellcasting.
  • The combat can feel repetitive and lacks strategic depth, diminishing the overall enjoyment of encounters.
  • story68 mentions

    The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it enjoyable and immersive, particularly praising its worldbuilding and character development. However, others criticize it as weak or basic, noting that it lacks depth and a robust RPG conversation system. Overall, while the narrative may not be groundbreaking, it contributes to an engaging VR experience enhanced by solid graphics and voice acting.

    • “The plot kept me invested from the moment the game began to the final cutscene.”
    • “When I play this game, I really do feel like a wizard in training, and the story really develops your character.”
    • “Conclusively, everything related to storytelling and worldbuilding is magical and feels intriguing and awesome.”
    • “The story though is really weak, and I was rolling my eyes every time one of the main NPCs talked.”
    • “Story seems a bit weak.”
    • “While the story is quite basic, the immersion and the ease of control are what make the game shine.”
  • graphics68 mentions

    The graphics in the game are widely praised for their high quality, immersive atmosphere, and attention to detail, with many reviewers noting the incredible animation and polished visuals. While some mention a sense of repetitiveness in certain areas, the overall consensus highlights the game's stunning aesthetics and strong sense of scale, making it a visually impressive experience. Additionally, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's engaging gameplay and storytelling.

    • “Incredible graphics and animation.”
    • “The graphics are perfect, and every action about the game has such a physicality about it, from the potion-based menus to the spell crafting cauldron to the multi-layered secrets in the dungeons.”
    • “Very immersive gameplay with fantastic graphics and a cool story.”
    • “Decent graphics, though I suspect it's being scaled back to meet the needs of lower power rigs.”
    • “The graphics are neat and atmospheric, and it has a lot of potential, if only I wasn't so frustrated with the way everything has an overarching clunky feel.”
    • “Graphics: the graphics in this game are AAA for sure.”
  • gameplay36 mentions

    The gameplay is a mixed bag, featuring interesting puzzles and enjoyable combat that can be immersive and visually stunning. However, it suffers from repetitive mechanics, occasional clunkiness, and frustrating wave shooter segments that detract from the overall experience. While the game excels in exploration and magic crafting, some players find certain mechanics unsatisfying and puzzle interactions unclear at times.

    • “The gameplay has interesting puzzles and enjoyable combat.”
    • “It's visually stunning, the audio is wonderful and the gameplay challenging enough not to get boring, nor have you stuck for ages trying to get past a certain point.”
    • “Very immersive gameplay with fantastic graphics and a cool story.”
    • “Pretty basic mechanics and gameplay that gets repetitive fairly quickly.”
    • “On the other hand, it sometimes degenerates into a crappy wave shooter (99 carbon copy opponents, seriously?), hobbles along with slightly dated mechanics, and wobbles wildly on the puzzle quality.”
    • “I wanted to like the mage's tale more after all the positive reviews I read, but I found the spell casting not particularly satisfying and the wave mechanics annoying.”
  • humor22 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely praised for its wacky and engaging nature, with many players finding themselves laughing out loud at the well-written script and funny characters. The companion's mocking demeanor is seen as either amusing or endearing, adding to the overall charm. The combination of immersive atmosphere, clever dialogue, and humorous interactions with monsters enhances the gaming experience significantly.

    • “I found myself laughing out loud multiple times during the game.”
    • “The script is also very well written with some truly hilarious moments.”
    • “The atmosphere, the story, and the humor make this incredibly immersive to play.”
    • “Is him mocking and berating you all throughout the game supposed to be funny or endearing?”
  • atmosphere14 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is frequently praised for its neat graphics and immersive qualities, enhanced by ambient sounds and engaging storytelling. However, some players feel that the overall experience is marred by a clunky feel and an overemphasis on combat, detracting from the potential for a more genuine atmosphere. Despite these criticisms, many reviewers find the atmosphere to be a standout feature, contributing significantly to their enjoyment of the game.

    • “The atmosphere, the story, and the humor make this incredibly immersive to play.”
    • “I like this game a lot =) fantastic atmosphere, great graphics, a little too heavy on the combat side for my taste but I can live with that.”
    • “You can add effects and boosts to spells and also pick a binary level-up buff each time (20% spell recharge vs +2 health etc) but even by action RPG standards this is just more or less a shooting gallery with solid puzzles and a great atmosphere.”
    • “No 'genuine' atmosphere.”
  • music14 mentions

    The music in the game has received high praise for its quality, with many users highlighting the original soundtrack and effective sound design. The battle themes are particularly noted for enhancing the tension during fights, contributing to an overall immersive experience. Additionally, the voice acting complements the music well, adding to the game's appeal.

    • “I love the soundtrack.”
    • “This is a full length game with beautiful graphics, clever writing, lovable characters, an excellent plot, and an original soundtrack.”
    • “The battle song is driving and with the tougher enemies and bosses it amps up and brings a great tension to your fights.”
  • stability8 mentions

    The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players reporting severe bugs that hinder movement and gameplay, leading to refunds. Conversely, others have experienced no glitches and praised the game's graphics and overall VR experience.

    • “The game has bugs unlike anything I have seen so far. I can't even move with the Oculus controller or turn around unless I push the thumbstick down, and when I do, it glitches so badly. Bad product, refunded.”
    • “This game is also very buggy.”
    • “The game is buggy.”
  • optimization4 mentions

    Overall, the game's performance is praised for being strong, providing a good feel; however, the locomotion mechanics are noted as lacking proper optimization.

    • “So, pretty great performance.”
    • “It has a good feel to it, but the locomotion isn't optimized very well.”
  • grinding2 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, despite acknowledging that upgrading spells becomes beneficial over time. The repetitive nature of attrition combat contributes to a sense of monotony in the gameplay experience.

    • “Tuning up all of the spells does become useful at this point, but the attrition combat is ultimately tedious.”
  • replayability2 mentions

    The game features a horde mode that enhances its replayability, providing an alternative for players who may not be interested in the story mode. This additional gameplay option encourages players to return for more challenges.

    • “They also have a horde mode to keep the replayability up if you don't like the story mode.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

67% average critic score

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Play time

1hMedian play time
1hAverage play time
1-1hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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