Warlocks vs Shadows
- August 19, 2015
- OneMoreLevel
- 6h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io StoreIn "Warlocks vs Shadows," players become powerful warlocks fighting against hordes of shadows in a sidescrolling action RPG. With a wide range of spells and abilities, players must strategize and upgrade their characters to defeat challenging bosses and save the universe. Multiplayer options allow for cooperative and competitive play, enhancing the experience of this hand-drawn, pixel art game.
Mac OS
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Windows
Linux
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- The game features a good amount of character variety, each with unique powers, making gameplay interesting.
- The bosses are well-designed and provide a fun challenge, contributing to the overall enjoyment of the game.
- The pixel art style and music are praised, adding to the game's charm and atmosphere.
- The game suffers from significant bugs and unfinished mechanics, leading to a clunky experience and frustration.
- Online multiplayer is reportedly broken, with issues like desync and lag making it unplayable.
- Many players feel the game lacks content and replayability, with a short campaign and repetitive gameplay.
- gameplay64 mentions
- 34 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some praising the fun and chaotic minute-to-minute action, diverse character mechanics, and engaging boss designs. However, many players criticize it for being shallow, repetitive, and lacking depth, with issues such as bugs, poor balancing, and limited playstyles. Overall, while there are enjoyable elements, the gameplay is often seen as needing more polish and variety to fully realize its potential.
“The gameplay and the amount of options are excellent.”
“The controls are fun, the music is epic, and the gameplay is amazing.”
“The actual gameplay: on a minute-to-minute basis, the game is fun, nice control with lots of chaotic fights.”
“Gameplay is extremely shallow, doesn't encourage different playstyles or strategies.”
“Unfortunately, the developers did not put enough effort into polishing the gameplay and balancing the difficulty level.”
“It is extremely buggy and makes additional gameplay difficult, if not impossible, unless you create new profiles.”
- story42 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 76 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The story mode is primarily a series of wave survival missions with minimal narrative depth, leading to mixed reviews from players. While some appreciate the multiplayer and character-building aspects, many express disappointment over the lack of a cohesive story and the grind-heavy gameplay. Overall, the narrative feels underdeveloped, with players longing for more engaging content and replayability.
“Multiple characters, co-op, PvP, and a nice single-player story mode.”
“The story isn't too long, but you'll have to grind some levels and items to progress.”
“There is an interesting plot behind all this.”
“The 'story mode' is just a series of wave survival missions set in different levels, probably with bosses, but I'll admit I didn't get very far in the game.”
“It was great fun at first, but the lack of any semblance of a story really bit it for me.”
“There is no story.”
- graphics34 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their unique pixel art style and beautiful visuals, contributing to a pleasant aesthetic experience. However, some players feel that the in-game graphics do not match the quality presented in trailers, and there are concerns about the tightness of controls affecting gameplay. Overall, while the art style is appreciated, technical issues and gameplay mechanics may detract from the overall experience.
“The art style is pleasant, sounds are of good quality, and the general mechanics of the game are done well, for the most part.”
“Tons of character and playstyle variety - beautiful visuals, very replayable, and fantastic co-op potential (have already enjoyed both online and local).”
“Graphics are a well-done pixelated style.”
“The graphics aren't as good as the trailers make it out to be, and more importantly, the controls are just not tight.”
“I can't deny the appeal of the graphics in the trailer, but the gameplay didn't hold up for me.”
“It's a roguelike with 8-bit graphics and it's fairly straightforward gameplay-wise.”
- music26 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising it as "awesome" and "epic," while others criticize it for being overly repetitive and limited in variety. Many players express frustration with the lack of diverse tracks, noting that the same simple MIDI music plays continuously, leading to fatigue after a short period. Overall, while the soundtrack has its highlights, it ultimately falls short due to its repetitiveness and limited selection.
“Great music, needs more though.”
“Wonderful soundtrack and non-stop action!”
“The controls are fun, the music is epic, and the gameplay is amazing.”
“The music is really, really, really, really, really, really repetitive.”
“The game has only a couple of music tracks which get boring quite fast and plenty of bugs, one which prevents you from starting the game again after you beat it.”
“Looking at this game in the store, it seems like a fun game... but after 10 minutes, you want to rip your head off because it's the same music over and over again (not the same music as in the store preview). It's just a simple MIDI music loop with no control to change items in your inventory smoothly at all. This game is not what you are being tricked into buying in the store.”
- stability20 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is widely criticized for its severe stability issues, with numerous reports of bugs and glitches that significantly hinder gameplay, especially in multiplayer modes. Many users advise against purchasing it due to its unfinished state, suggesting that it feels like a "buggy mess." While some players noted minor glitches that were tolerable, the overall consensus is that the game's stability is a major concern.
“This is a buggy mess and should not be bought by anyone even if it is on sale.”
“Devs dropped this game in a buggy, unfinished state.”
“It is extremely buggy and makes additional gameplay difficult, if not impossible, unless you create new profiles.”
- replayability16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with some players noting a lack of value beyond trying different characters or playstyles. While there are mentions of enjoyable co-op experiences and character variety, many reviewers express disappointment in the overall replay potential, suggesting that improvements are needed for future installments.
“Tons of character and playstyle variety - beautiful visuals, very replayable, and fantastic co-op potential (have already enjoyed both online and local).”
“-definitely could have replay value!”
“If they make a second one of these games, I may still have to get it because the gameplay was good, but I hope they fix these issues and make more replayability.”
“Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of replay value, I think, unless you like to play all the characters.”
“- almost no replayability aside from trying new hero.”
“- no replayability at this point, or using the same character and repeating story.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be somewhat tedious, often requiring repeated efforts to progress, especially in challenging levels. The controls can feel clunky, adding to the grindy experience, and online multiplayer issues further detract from the enjoyment. Overall, grinding is a significant part of gameplay, with many players feeling it could be improved.
“Controls are a bit clunky until you get used to them, and it can be a little grindy.”
“Online multiplayer crashed every 10 minutes, and the levels are just grinding in a small area until a counter is reached.”
“Although I will say I have gotten stuck on a level with the pyromage dude, but after some mild grinding, you can get past it.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is consistently praised for its humor, particularly in multiplayer settings, making it a fun experience to enjoy with friends.
“It's a really funny game to play with your friends :)”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game appears to be lacking, as users feel that recent attempts to address emotional depth have fallen short and failed to resonate with players.
