Mages of Mystralia
Mages of Mystraliais vibrant . That ’s the first takeout anyone who sits down to try out Borealys Games ' adventure championship will have . The game oozes charm and character likeHarry Potter , with a world map that constantly change to keep things fresh . Even transitions between areas that are fairly similar are marked by environmental signposts that signify a work shift in feel , and the nicety of the execution here is something to lay eyes on . If aesthetic were everything , Mages of Mystraliawould be very well - off indeed , deem back only by comparatively simplistic art that palpate clearly one or two generations behind current games .
regrettably , however , beaut is not the only thing that determines a great game , andMages of Mystraliais more of a make - or - misfire experience once player get over the fact that the game is just so fun to search at . It ’s a naked bones affair in terms of narrative , as protagonist Zia is exiled from her village quickly and without much tucket to begin the tale and it rarely gets deep than that . That ’s fine , for anindie adventure gameas relatively short asMages of Mystralia . Most playthroughs probably wo n’t take longer than ten hours , so it ’s not like the account is meant to be a sprawling epic poem .
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WhereMages of Mystraliatruly struggles is in its profundity across the board . The reference could use a little more personality , the enemy could be a small snatch more pas seul , and the fighting take to be a small bit more interesting .
The enemy inMages of Mystraliaare split up into two camps : melee and drift units . Their attacks will transfer over the course of the biz , but they will always be dim-witted and easy to deal with provided a musician has seen them at least once . There also just is n’t enough enemy variation within the game , so even when the biz ’s combat system leave for more in - deepness customization , it is n’t actually need . Beyond the multiplication whenMages of Mystralialiterally tell you that you ’ll need to change a charm to progress through the area , it never really finger like there ’s any incentive to experiment with spells beyond just wonder .
The armed combat system is very abstruse for a game with relatively shallow foeman AI , which is an odd thing . Once players acquire their canonic spells , they ’ll start out see runes that qualify the way a spell behaves . This can commute how it moves , its area of effect , and more , and it is by far the most compelling chemical element ofMages of Mystralia . There ’s a lot of fun to be had in customizing spells and sire them to figure out the way a player want them to , and Borealys Games should utterly revisit this form of science - building in next titles , as the studio apartment did a wonderful job with it inMages . It ’s well-fixed to miss a half hour to experimenting with new go configurations , and that ’s just how a arrangement like this should feel .
The problem , again , is that there ’s not a muckle to do with all of these options . The foeman just do n’t need to be contend with in direction that make the spell modifications particularly remarkable , and the environmental puzzles , while fun , are designed in a way that does n’t punish people too badly for being unwilling to dive deeply into the game ’s customization . At meter , it feel likeMages of Mystraliareally want to be a great all - ages experience , but it sacrifice too much complexity in rescript to do so , rendering it a littletoosimple in places .
With that said , the spell are still with child and the boss fight are a pleasure . They ’re evocative ofThe Legend of Zeldaseriesin that each foreman find like a unique reflexion of the environment a player play them in , come up up some of the new skill the player has learned there and asking them to think critically about how to apply them to the battle . That ’s always a formula for honest , fulfilling gaffer competitiveness , andMages of Mystralialives up to that standard here . Exploring the creation and seeing how spells interact with it is likewise an gratifying division of the gameplay .
Overall , even with its obtrusive flaws , Mages of Mystraliagets by on its charm and spell - slinging . It ’s a bare title and it ’s short , but that does n’t shift the fact its still fun more often than its not . On the Switch , it ’s on the nose the form of game that can make a long trip sense much shorter . Mages of Mystraliais worth check out if you want a break from hundred - hr epos and a monitor that game can sometimes be perfectly adequate as short jaunts through a fun concept .
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Mages of Mystraliais available now on Steam , PS4 , and Xbox One , and releases on the Nintendo Switch on January 29 , 2019 . Screen Rant was provided a digital download codification for the purposes of this review .
