ZIO and the Magic Scrolls

About

"ZIO and the Magic Scrolls" is a single-player Role Playing Game with an intriguing story and good gameplay, featuring attractive visuals and magic scroll-based AFK mechanics. However, it is very grindy, has numerous bugs, and includes excessive ads. As you progress, your magic instincts awaken in this AFK RPG that unfolds through Magic Scrolls.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

70%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,411 reviews

story80 positive mentions

monetization30 negative mentions

Great graphics and character designs that are visually appealing.
Generous rewards for free-to-play players, making it accessible without spending money.
Engaging storyline that keeps players interested.

Severe monetization issues, with many essential features locked behind paywalls.
Frequent crashes and bugs, making the game unplayable for many users.
Poor translation and writing quality, leading to confusion and frustration.

story
142 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
35%
8%
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it engaging and well-integrated with the gameplay, particularly appreciating its connection to a webtoon. However, many critiques highlight issues such as poor dialogue, generic plotlines, and pacing problems that detract from character development. Overall, while the story has its strengths, it often falls short due to translation issues and a lack of originality in its themes.
- “The storyline is interesting, and the music is nice.”
- “This game has great English voices and an entertaining storyline plus I love the characters and graphics!”
- “The story and the characters are very interesting and there are many rewards to claim.”
- “The pacing is a bit too fast, so the story feels choppy; it doesn't give time for you to know more about the characters, so I don't really care about them so far.”
- “The story is generic and spends two whole chapters fighting undead.”
- “Looked promising and the art is quite nice, but the story, writing, and voiceovers are so badly written and cringey it's hard to enjoy any of it.”
graphics
84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
25%
8%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players praising the art style and character designs as visually appealing and engaging. However, some users criticize the graphics for being laggy, blurry, or subpar compared to similar games, indicating a need for optimization. Overall, while the visuals are often highlighted as a strong point, technical issues and gameplay mechanics detract from the overall experience for some players.
- “Great job on the graphics and story so far.”
- “Amazing graphics and easy to understand.”
- “Great game with excellent graphics and exciting webtoon storyline.”
- “Another AFK arena, but with downgraded graphics, cheaper character animations, and the same nondescript and lacking narrative.”
- “Beautiful art but still can't save the game's boring mechanics; it's the same old idle game mechanics but somehow laggy when there are minimal graphics/animations going on.”
- “The graphic is really bad; everything just looks so blurry.”
gameplay
61 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
46%
15%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it to be a generic and repetitive experience typical of idle games, often comparing it unfavorably to titles like AFK Arena. While some appreciate the art and story elements, they feel the mechanics are basic and can become tedious, especially with the reliance on timers and the need for character duplicates to progress. Overall, the gameplay is seen as lacking innovation and depth, leading to a sense of boredom for many players.
- “The gameplay is very good, one of the few AFK games that has a good storyline which supports the game.”
- “Good storytelling, good gameplay, and an easy way to progress without having to break the paywall. Not once has the game bugged out, lagged, or crashed like I have seen with other games.”
- “First impressions are very good, nice artwork, familiar gameplay but with enough changes to make it feel fresh.”
- “Basically, I don't feel like a player; I'm just counting on my AFK timer instead of being rewarded from gameplay.”
- “Beautiful art, but it can't save the game's boring mechanics. It's the same old idle game mechanics but somehow laggy, even with minimal graphics and animations.”
- “The gameplay is just a worse clone of its contemporaries, lacking any unique features or excitement.”
monetization
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
6%
86%
The monetization strategy of the game has received significant criticism, with many players feeling overwhelmed by the number of ads required to access rewards and features. While some appreciate the initial generosity of newbie gifts and drop rates, the reliance on ads and in-app purchases has led to frustration, particularly due to frequent crashes and issues with ad functionality. Overall, players describe the monetization as aggressive and a potential cash grab, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- “It's a decent game but relies a bit too much on in-game purchases.”
- “Aggressive monetization makes characters unbalanced, and improving them practically forces you to buy their in-app purchases.”
- “It takes too long to do some things, and it costs too much real money for any of the microtransactions.”
- “Great game, awesome drop rates, generous newbie gifts... but when the honeymoon is over, you realize the monetization is awful!”
- “Cash grab, only active players are the ones who spend a lot, and that's already at level 10 and up.”
- “You watch ads and they don't give you rewards saying 'Bono is resting', yeah nice scam.”
stability
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is a significant concern among users, with frequent freezing and crashing reported during transitions and loading screens. Many players experience lag and bugs, leading to frustration, although some express hope for improvements in future updates. Overall, while the game shows potential, its current stability issues hinder the overall experience.
- “Any time there is a transition, it freezes then closes.”
- “Downloaded the game and all it does is go to the loading page and freezes. Once in a great while, it will open to a fight screen (once in fifteen tries) and freezes.”
- “The game keeps crashing or sometimes freezes then crashes.”
music
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
57%
29%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players enjoying it while others find it annoying and repetitive, particularly during menu navigation and transitions. Several users reported technical issues, such as music playing over a black screen or abruptly restarting when switching tabs, detracting from the overall experience. Overall, while the soundtrack has its moments, many players feel it could be improved significantly.
- “The music is great, I enjoy the story and the gameplay is fun.”
- “The storyline is interesting, and the music is nice.”
- “At least this copy lets you turn off the music and bad (really, really bad) voice overs before having to sit through the tutorial.”
- “From my first gameplay, I don't hate it but honestly I expected way more. I'm giving 2 stars because the music is annoying, especially the one when you press story; it resets every time I open and close something like email, inventory, achievements—like why??”
- “Everything looks great except the same annoying menu soundtrack and the same voice lines of characters.”
character development
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
89%
33%
Overall, character development in the game receives mixed feedback; while many players appreciate the well-executed character designs and find them visually appealing, some criticize the lack of originality and excitement. The game's free-to-play model and fair pity system are noted positively, but there are concerns about the depth of character development and resource collection.
- “I like the character designs and the summon rates are the nicest I've seen in a while.”
- “So far the game is awesome; I'm loving the character design and the storyline is interesting.”
- “Great theme! I love the character design and it's also fun to play.”
- “Visually underwhelming, and the character design is sloppy and unimaginative.”
- “The characters lack depth and fail to evolve throughout the game.”
- “Character development feels rushed and superficial, leaving little room for player connection.”
grinding
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and unfun, often comparing it unfavorably to similar titles like AFK Arena. Many express frustration over the excessive monetization and the difficulty of obtaining high-tier heroes without significant financial investment, leading to a perception of the game as a grind-heavy experience lacking in excitement. While some appreciate the visuals, the consensus leans towards grinding being a major drawback.
- “But as others said, a straight rip-off of AFK Arena, with worse AFK material grinding, an extreme amount of money-grabbing (literally every reward screen has a pass), and getting legend tier (immortal) heroes is near impossible without blowing your salary on the game for currency.”
- “But gameplay-wise, this doesn't provide anything excitingly new, while being painfully tedious to play.”
- “Grinding materials takes very long and it's boring.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Overall, players express a need for improved optimization in the game, citing slow performance and unclear progression rewards. Many feel that while the game has potential, it requires enhancements in animations, graphics, and event mechanics to provide a smoother experience. Additionally, the disparity between paid content and free rewards has raised concerns about the game's balance.
- “Good, but it needs improved animations, graphics, optimization, and events.”
- “Not sure if it was designed that way, or if it needs to be optimized, but I would like to see things working a little faster.”
- “Need improvement in optimization; progression rewards are terrible and unclear, but paid content is expensive compared to some other games, so you either have to grind or be a whale.”
- “Needs better optimization.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express that without prior familiarity with the webtoon, the emotional impact of the characters is significantly diminished, leading to a lack of attachment and engagement. The gameplay mechanics, particularly excessive screen interaction, further detract from the emotional experience.
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
The humor in the game is consistently praised for being entertaining and accessible, appealing to a wide audience while also being friendly to free-to-play players.
- “Funny and free-to-play friendly.”
- “Hilarious!”
- “The humor in this game is top-notch!”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users emphasize the need for developers to create content that enhances replayability, suggesting that current offerings may lack sufficient engaging elements to encourage multiple playthroughs.
- “The game lacks any meaningful replayability, making it feel like a one-and-done experience.”
- “Once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to go back and play it again.”
- “The limited choices and linear storyline really hurt the replay value.”