The Magician's Workshop
- December 19, 2019
- Choice of Games
Get on SteamWhen your master is murdered, you must uncover the magical secrets of Renaissance Italy, before your rival apprentices expose them first!
Reviews
- The game features complex and well-thought-out choices that can significantly impact the story.
- The inclusion of diverse character options, such as the ability to be genderfluid, adds depth and representation to the gameplay.
- The writing is enjoyable, and the setting of Renaissance-era Italy with magical elements creates a fun and engaging atmosphere.
- The game feels incomplete, as it focuses on a single week of story, leaving many potential plotlines unexplored.
- There are too many stats and reputation metrics to manage, which can lead to frustration and a sense of constraint in gameplay.
- The execution of plot resolutions and character interactions can feel clumsy, often resulting in choices that seem to lead nowhere or are not reflected in the outcomes.
- story11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The story is well-written and features interesting plots with significant variables and choices, but ultimately feels incomplete, as it centers around a single week and leads to a uniform conclusion regardless of player decisions. While the inclusion of gender fluidity is appreciated, many players feel that the potential for deeper storytelling is squandered, resulting in a lack of satisfying resolutions for the multiple plot threads. Overall, the narrative leaves a mixed impression, with some enjoying the writing but feeling let down by the execution and lack of meaningful outcomes.
“This story has a lot of variables, intimating many possible long-term consequences and narratives, but it ultimately is built around a single week. Yes, that's right, a single week of time.”
“One of my favorite things about the game, even though it seems small, is the effort to allow the choice to change genders throughout the story. Little things like including the ability to be genderfluid in a game mean a lot to me, and it's awesome.”
“The writing is good, the plot is interesting, and there's the proverbial unexpected/unwanted monkey's wrench thrown in to make things more ominous.”
“This story has a lot of variables intimating many possible long-term consequences and stories, but it ultimately is built around a single week. Yes, that's right, a single week of time.”
“All decisions made lead nowhere; the end of the story is all the same, so your choice doesn't matter.”
“I also don't like how the multiple plots resolve. I feel like the writer had a grand idea for how these intricate plot threads would coalesce, but in reality, they fell flat for me.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game exhibits significant stability issues, particularly towards the end, with numerous bugs affecting gameplay, such as lost progress in romance options and inconsistent narrative elements. These glitches detract from the overall experience, leading to a disjointed and frustrating conclusion.
“An okay game, but extremely buggy towards the end; it forgot my romance, replacing the other apprentice with someone else, neglected when I chose to attempt to run the shop with her. It started acting as though I had attempted to run it alone, and then suddenly incongruous pages seemed to indicate that I had attempted to run it alone, and kind of fell apart.”
“The game crashes frequently, making it nearly impossible to progress without losing hours of gameplay.”
“I encountered numerous glitches that disrupted my experience, including characters disappearing and quests not triggering properly.”
- gameplay1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally considered realistic, but some users find the execution to be somewhat clumsy, impacting the overall experience.
“I'm more or less fine with this (it's realistic after all), but I feel like the execution in the gameplay is a little clumsy.”
