Magicka is a good game and If I had to describe Magicka to someone I would call it an RPG that has been boiled down to the basic components (i.e. Kill Monsters, save the day) and then sprinkled with ‘self aware’, geek filled dialog that results in a charming and sometimes frustrating experience (but more on that last part later). Magicka is as “RPG light” as it gets. Gone are the inventory systems, banks, world currency and armor that most RPGs have in abundance and in their place is a magic combining spell casting system that is easy to learn but hard to master. The spell casting system in Magicka is the most unique I have ever come across. You cast spells by combining the basic elements until you find just the right combination to fit any situation you might find yourself in. You will need to be careful though, combining the wrong elements can result in injury or death. This game is definitely not a button mash-a-thon. Combining the wrong spells at the wrong time can mean the difference between victory and frustrating defeat. Best of all... the system works really well!
This isn’t your typical loot-fest. The only looting you will be doing in Magicka is collecting staffs (left hand) and melee weapons (right hand). Don’t get attached to them though, every time you loot a new staff or melee weapon you have to drop the one you currently have. This simplistic approach to the game makes casual gamers feel less intimidated while allowing veteran RPGers to focus on mastering Magicka’s spell casting system. However, this trade-off is not without its drawbacks. Picking up a new staff or weapon will often end in “man I wish I had that right now” moments as you progress further along in the game. I sometimes find myself backtracking to pick up a recently discarded weapon (when the game permits you…which isn’t often or very far) to get through the games more difficult sections.
This is a good time to talk about how difficult Magicka is to play. Your character is strong versus small groups of monsters and weaker when facing hordes of monsters and at no time do you feel overwhelmed. This is a good thing but, conversely, at no time do you feel invincible. The boss battles are tough. You won’t be able to just mindlessly button-smash your way to victory here. Every boss battle requires you to analyze your enemy and use the right combination of spells to heal, shield and blast your way through the encounter. The boss battles really challenge your skills as a wizard.
Overall Magicka is a good game but there are a couple things that keep Magicka from being a perfect game. One of my few frustrations with Magicka comes from the hundreds of ways that your character can be sent flying over the edge and into a great abyss forcing you to start the level all over again. This problem is compounded in multiplayer where flying off the edge means that you will respawn without the staff and melee weapon you pickup up several levels ago and CAN’T GO BACK FOR! I realize this game is about combining spells and not so much about the items but come on guys(girls?)! I really like some of the weapons that they give you, especially when those weapons are themselves a reference to a video game or movie that I like, and losing one permanently is annoying and frankly could be avoided if the game’s developers chose to fix it.
Another thing that bugs me is... well... the bugs! Magicka is full of them. From problems connecting to Internet games (thankfully Steam’s buddy list provides a reliable workaround here), to random crashes and weapons clipping through the ground. The game doesn’t feel as polished as it could have been. Now, to be fair, Paradox has had many patches since the game released (Steam rocks!) and they have been working to fix all of this issues. But, one can’t help but wonder at the master piece that could have been. Magicka has the right mix of story, gameplay and graphics (simplistic but endearing as they are) to be the next big, little title but the constant problems I encountered with Magicka left me wanting to see what the game could have been with a little more time spent in development and on QA; before it was released.
My final verdict, get this game! Just, wait till it gets a few more patches before plunging in to the quirky world of Magika. Best new game under $10!
