Warlock: Master of the Arcane

86%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,509 reviews
  • gameplay
  • graphics
  • story
Warlock: Master of the Arcane Game Cover
Warlock: Master of the Arcane is well worth the money provided you have enough patience to see what the game has to offer before writing it off.
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"Warlock: Master of the Arcane" is a turn-based strategy game where players step into the role of a powerful mage seeking to build an empire, expand borders, and conquer enemies. The game features a variety of spells, units, and research options, allowing for multiple strategies to achieve victory. The Complete Collection includes additional content such as "Armageddon," "Return of the Elves," "Master of Artifacts," "Power of the Serpent," and "Powerful Lords."

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

86%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,509 reviews
gameplay55 positive mentions
stability23 negative mentions
  • Engaging and addictive gameplay with a 'one more turn' feel.
  • Unique spells and magical mechanics that allow for creative strategies.
  • Diverse units and factions, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
  • AI is often dumb and lacks strategic depth, making the game too easy.
  • Limited diplomatic options and simplistic quest system.
  • Performance issues and bugs, especially in late-game scenarios.
  • gameplay187 mentions

    The gameplay of "Warlock: Master of the Arcane" is often compared to the Civilization series, featuring accessible yet deep mechanics that cater to both casual and strategy enthusiasts. While the game offers unique elements like magic and diverse factions, many players find the AI lacking in challenge and the gameplay can become repetitive over time. Overall, it provides a fun and engaging experience, particularly for fans of turn-based strategy, despite some criticisms regarding depth and optimization.

    • “The mechanics are accessible, yet offer depth, making it enjoyable for both newcomers and strategy enthusiasts.”
    • “The gameplay is very fun - you start off by building something in your home city, and the game does a good job of prompting/reminding you when you still have tasks to do.”
    • “Warlock: Master of the Arcane plays differently with its own mechanic that delivers a lot of fun to strategy and fantasy world players alike.”
    • “The main problem for solo play is that once you've figured out the mechanics fully, the AI is no challenge at all - every game is winnable.”
    • “The gameplay is lacking and awkward.”
    • “The game is horribly unoptimized (every spell effect in the game causes the graphics to stutter), quite buggy, and there are gameplay aspects that really need improvement.”
  • graphics102 mentions

    The graphics of the game, while somewhat dated due to its 2012 release, are generally described as colorful and vibrant, effectively bringing the fantasy world to life. Many players appreciate the aesthetic appeal and detail, although some report performance issues and occasional glitches that can detract from the experience. Overall, the visuals are considered decent for the game's genre, balancing charm and accessibility, even on older systems.

    • “The game features a colorful and vibrant aesthetic, bringing the fantasy world to life.”
    • “The graphics, music, sound effects, and gameplay all perfectly complement each other, and they don't get old even after hours of gameplay.”
    • “The graphics are marvelous for such a game and so is the soundtrack.”
    • “The biggest issue I had with the game when I first played it was that Warlock tended to bog down and the graphics got pretty choppy once I was several hours into a game, which eventually made it unplayable as I would try to scroll around the world to set tasks for units and the screen would just bog down.”
    • “The game is horribly unoptimized; every spell effect in the game causes the graphics to stutter, and there are gameplay aspects that really need improvement.”
    • “Graphics-wise, the game is nothing too special to look at.”
  • story87 mentions

    The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its lack of a cohesive narrative or campaign, relying instead on randomly generated quests and events that offer minimal lore. Players note that while the quest system introduces some engaging mechanics, it often feels disjointed and repetitive, with no real overarching storyline to connect the gameplay. Overall, the absence of a structured narrative detracts from the experience, making it more of a strategic sandbox than a story-driven adventure.

    • “I was leery to play a mode where natural disasters can wreck your carefully planned economy and extra-dimensional invaders pop up in random places, but in this mode the game becomes a full-on story generator, as the other players shift their priorities to deal with the invaders, then eventually backslide into infighting and weaken each other as more of the map gets covered by corruption until their capitals start falling, one by one.”
    • “I loved the little story that emerged, directed more by my attention than any limits to capability or resources.”
    • “You basically assume the role of a great mage, build/manage an army and expand your kingdom while battling other great mages, doing (or failing) quests given by various gods - which determines a reputation rating - casting spells that rain down AoE fireballs upon your enemies from the safety of your castle or summoning creatures to your aid - this game has it all!”
    • “Still, it doesn't have campaigns, so the only plot is randomly generated.”
    • “The main campaign story is kinda dry.”
    • “No campaign or real story, and sporadic narrator, but otherwise a decent alternative, especially since the new HOMM was lacking in spirit and polish.”
  • replayability54 mentions

    The game exhibits a mixed reception regarding replayability, with many players praising its procedural generation, diverse factions, and customizable wizard options that contribute to a high replay value. However, some critiques highlight issues with AI difficulty and repetitive victory conditions, which can diminish the overall experience after multiple playthroughs. Overall, while many find it highly replayable, others feel it lacks depth in certain areas, leading to a varied perception of its longevity.

    • “The procedural generation of the game world, diverse factions, and the multitude of magical spells contribute to a high level of replayability.”
    • “Gameplay revolves around the 4x style of gameplay (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) and while the game rigidly follows that formula, the way it does so, combined with a friendly user interface, fantastic graphics and a variety of units with distinct appearances and situational modifiers allows for tons of replayability, completely nailing the 'just one more turn' aspect of these civ-style games.”
    • “Tonnes of great units and spells keep things interesting, and the infinite replayability of randomly generated maps with selectable enemy numbers and difficulties make sure you will keep playing and not doing the same thing again and again.”
    • “I assume it would be pretty disappointing when it comes to replayability.”
    • “The opponents are actually quite lackluster (even when they declare war on you), and the game doesn't even give you the one critical thing you want from a turn-based strategy game: replayability.”
    • “However, due to the extremely similar victory conditions, it takes away from the replayability.”
  • humor33 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely praised, featuring clever tongue-in-cheek references, amusing unit descriptions, and a light-hearted atmosphere that enhances the gameplay experience. Players appreciate the quirky characters, such as an indestructible bunny and mad peasants, alongside humorous voice acting and dialogue that contribute to a charming and engaging fantasy strategy environment. Overall, the game successfully blends strategic depth with a playful sense of humor, making it enjoyable for fans of the genre.

    • “And if you happen to read some of those blurbs, chances are they're probably going to be funny in some way because whoever made this game really had a sense of humor. One of the lords you can hire is an indestructible bunny, and one of the foes you can find is a horde of mad peasants (if you do happen to run into them, they are tougher than they look).”
    • “The unit voices and descriptions are hilarious, and there are a lot of fun units and spells.”
    • “The whole atmosphere of the game is light-hearted, with a good deal of humor hidden within the description of the various units.”
  • stability28 mentions

    The game's stability is frequently criticized for being quite buggy, with users reporting various glitches, occasional freezes, and issues with the interface that can disrupt gameplay. While some players find the game playable despite these problems, others note that the bugs can lead to frustrating experiences, particularly in multiplayer modes. Overall, the game is seen as needing significant optimization and bug fixes to enhance stability.

    • “Still playing in 2021, graphics are crisp and it runs great even on my laptop.”
    • “Looks, sounds, and runs great.”
    • “Warlock doesn't have much in the way of cutscenes, story, or ultra-fancy graphics as it focuses more on the strategic magical world conquest side of things, so the game looks pretty good but still runs great even on older systems.”
    • “The game is horribly unoptimized (every spell effect in the game causes the graphics to stutter), quite buggy (there are even some game crashing bugs here along with the little stuff), and there are gameplay aspects that really need improvement.”
    • “Extremely buggy, popups open behind other popups, game likes to crash, turns glitch out in multiplayer game causing games to become unplayable because it is no one's turn.”
    • “Seems like it has a lot of promise, but like a lot of games that Paradox publishes, it's buggy, poorly-optimized, and some of the controls seem to be designed to be as frustrating as possible.”
  • grinding27 mentions

    Reviews highlight that grinding in the game can become tedious and unbalanced, particularly due to slow AI, lack of automation, and repetitive gameplay mechanics. Players often find the spellcasting system and city management to be lacking depth, leading to a sense of monotony as the game progresses. While some appreciate the replay value and faster pace compared to other 4X titles, many express frustration with the overall grind and lack of meaningful progression.

    • “It gets slow and grindy real fast, and the spells you research don't always feel impactful enough.”
    • “It lacks a lot of automation elements, which makes the end game really tedious.”
    • “It gets tedious after a while, which is a shame as I really wanted to like this game.”
  • optimization23 mentions

    The game's optimization is widely criticized, with users reporting significant performance drops, especially in the mid to late game, and issues such as memory leaks and graphical stuttering. Many players experience glitches and crashes, indicating that the game feels unfinished and poorly optimized, even on capable hardware. Overall, the optimization problems detract from the gameplay experience, overshadowing its potential enjoyment.

    • “The game has some optimization issues, the story is non-existent and the game could get a bit repetitive if you don't know what you're doing.”
    • “Even on the lowest settings, because of all the effects and what I can only assume is an unoptimized graphics engine, the game will start to tank later into a match on mid-to-low end systems.”
    • “There also seems to be a memory leak because performance gets steadily worse the longer you play.”
    • “I don't recommend it because the performance drops considerably from the mid to late game.”
    • “The game is horribly unoptimized (every spell effect in the game causes the graphics to stutter), quite buggy (there are even some game crashing bugs here along with the little stuff), and there are gameplay aspects that really need improvement.”
    • “Poorly optimized, frame rate drops significantly if you keep playing (possibly memory leak), also crashes randomly.”
  • music19 mentions

    The music in the game is generally well-received, featuring a fitting fantasy-themed soundtrack and effective sound effects that enhance the overall experience. However, some players note a limited number of music tracks, leading to repetitiveness during extended gameplay. Overall, the sound design complements the game's visuals and gameplay, contributing positively to the immersive atmosphere.

    • “The soundtrack is great, voice acting is fitting and nice, and the game just looks like a gorgeous fantasy world.”
    • “The graphics, music, sound effects, and gameplay all perfectly complement each other, and they don't get old even after hours of gameplay.”
    • “From great music to units shouting out battle cries before attacking.”
    • “The sound design is serviceable, with a fitting fantasy-themed soundtrack and suitable sound effects.”
    • “- music, was there any music?”
    • “The game utilizes fine graphics and music, although some units could use a little more detail/polygons.”
  • atmosphere8 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is generally well-received, characterized by a light-hearted fantasy adventure vibe that effectively draws players in. While the audio elements enhance the experience, they are not particularly standout, and some players note that lengthy animations can detract from the overall immersion. Overall, it appeals to fans of turn-based strategy and those seeking a whimsical, humorous environment reminiscent of classic titles.

    • “Warlock has a great atmosphere, and turn-based gameplay that makes you go for 'just one more turn', and it quickly grabs you and pulls you into the game.”
    • “I like the whole fantasy adventure atmosphere of the game.”
    • “The whole atmosphere of the game is light-hearted, with a good deal of humor hidden within the description of the various units.”
    • “While not groundbreaking, the audio elements complement the game's atmosphere without becoming a standout feature.”
    • “Being a fan of turn-based strategy - and still trying to find something which recreates the atmosphere of Master of Magic - I really wanted this to work.”
    • “The only real downside is that the animations are too long, and you need to skip them to play at any rate - doubly bad as that detracts from the atmosphere and also gives you RSI.”
  • emotional4 mentions

    Players find the emotional experience of the game to be a mix of satisfaction and heartbreak, particularly through the highs of commanding powerful armies and the lows of significant losses. The familiarity with previous titles enhances comfort, while the unique elements maintain engagement, resulting in a balanced emotional journey. Overall, the emotional aspect is rated 7 out of 10.

    • “Nothing is more satisfying than marching your undead army full of skeletons and minotaurs, and nothing is more heartbreaking than a single spell sinking 5 of your ships that cost 300 gold each.</3”
    • “The similarities with Civ V made me feel comfortable diving in, and the plentiful differences keep it from feeling stale or like a rip-off.”
  • character development3 mentions

    Character development in the game is noted for its RPG elements, but some users feel that the character design is overly simplified, which diminishes player investment in their characters. While the game features an easy-to-understand UI and appealing graphics, the lack of depth in character customization has been a point of criticism.

    • “The game itself has an easy-to-understand UI, great music (although a bit repetitive due to lack of tracks to squeeze into the hours of gameplay), good graphics, and character design.”
    • “On that same note, you eliminated so much of the user's investment in their character by neutering the character design.”
    • “Everything about it was RPG: combat, spells, maps, character development.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

73% average critic score

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Play time

12hMedian play time
37hAverage play time
8-20hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 7 analyzed playthroughs

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