Master of Magic (2022 video game)

Last updated
Master of Magic
Master of Magic 2022 cover.jpg
Developer(s) MuHa Games
Publisher(s) Slitherine Software
Platform(s) Windows
ReleaseDecember 2022
Genre(s) 4X, turn-based strategy
Mode(s) Single-player

Master of Magic is a single-player fantasy turn-based 4X strategy game developed by MuHa Games and published by Slitherine Software, in which the player plays as a wizard attempting to dominate two linked worlds. From a small settlement, the player manages resources, builds cities and armies, and researches spells, growing an empire and fighting the other wizards. The gameplay of the game, both the original and the remake, has been compared to the classic video game Civilization , enhanced with features like heroes and magic.

Contents

The game is a remake of the 1994 MS-DOS game Master of Magic by MicroProse.

Development

The game was announced in August 2019 [1] and released in December 2022. [2] [3] It was developed by MuHa Games, a small Polish-based studio and published by Slitherine Software. [4] [2]

Gameplay

The game is a remake of the 1994 MS-DOS classic of the same name by MicroProse. [3] [5] [6] The gameplay of the game, both the original and the remake, has been compared to the classic video game Civilization , enhanced with features like heroes and magic. [4] [7] Both the original and the remake feature five schools of magic, which many reviewers believe was inspired by the card game Magic the Gathering . [2] [8] [9] : 43–44 

A world is randomly generated every time the player starts a new game, with the player being able to adjust a number of features. The player - a wizard in control of newly founded magic kingdom - can customize the skills, spell choices and appearance of their wizard, choosing one of 14 races for the starting city. The gameplay starts with the player in control of his first small settlement and military unit. The player will use that and further units to explore their surroundings, pushing back the strategic map's fog of war. During exploration, the player defeats monsters that are guarding treasure, finds the best locations for new cities, conquers existing ones, recruit heroes, equip them with magical artifacts, and steadily expands their magic kingdom, eventually coming into conflict with other kingdoms controlled by AI-run wizards. [4] [10] [11] [7]

The game is played over a large number (hundreds if not more) of turns with the player presented with a bird's eye (isometric) view of the world. A tactical battle begins when two armies occupy the same hex on the global map. The battle takes place in a tactical, also isometric map, that expands the contested hex in detail (including fortifications and terrain aspects that affect movement and combat). The two forces are arrayed at opposite edges of the map and the battle is conducted in a series of turns. One side achieves victory by eliminating the other or forcing it to flee the combat. [2] [4] [10] [7]

Plot and setting

Master of Magic, just like its predecessor, has no story outside of pitting several wizards in control of magical kingdoms, each aiming to become the one and only ruler of the worlds. Worlds, plural, as the game setting are two worlds, Arcanus and Myrror. Arcanus is a land much like the Earth, with climatic zones and varied terrain like forests, oceans, grasslands and deserts. Myrror is a parallel world to Arcanus, featuring heavier magic use and fantastic flora, minerals and fauna not found on Arcanus. The two worlds are physically linked to each other by special portals called Towers of Wizardry, allowing units to travel between worlds. [2] [4]

Reception

The game received an aggregate score of 75/100 on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [12]

Most reviews agreed that the game is a very faithful recreation of the original, although some reviewers noted that this is both a strength and a weakness of the game, as its retro feel (mechanics-wise) can be a bit challenging to newer players. [2] [4] [10] One of the minor complaints expressed by several reviewers was the pace of the game, particularly in the beginning, is relatively slow, something that is less common in modern games, where there is more to do from the very beginning. [4] [13]

The reviewer for IGN Italia noted that the game's "only and greatest flaw" is the very lackluster diplomacy menu, which seems even simpler than the relatively few options provided by the original game. They concluded that the remake is "a labor of love to the original game... created with great respect and expertise." [2] Several other reviewers likewise commented on the simple diplomatic system as the area of the game that could use the most improvements. [10] [11]

The reviewers for PC Gamer and Rock, Paper, Shotgun noted that the game is less about balance and more about telling stories due to a high number of combinations, with the former commenting that on the "seemingly endless cocktail of armies, world-altering spells and items there is the potential for one of those petri dish experiences: a game that may not look like much, but has the potential to create epic stories", and the latter, that

Both Masters Of Magic are about choosing your own combination of powers with little regard for what's fair and equal, and seeing what you can make of them. It's a tradition that eschews balance for imagination, letting you pick Sorcery Halflings and Death Lizards, just to try it. [4] [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Master of Magic</i> 1994 video game

Master of Magic is a single-player, fantasy turn-based 4X strategy game in which the player plays as a wizard attempting to dominate two linked worlds. From a small settlement, the player manages resources, builds cities and armies, and researches spells, growing an empire and fighting the other wizards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4X</span> Genre of strategy-based video and board games

4X is a subgenre of strategy-based computer and board games, and includes both turn-based and real-time strategy titles. The gameplay generally involves building an empire. Emphasis is placed upon economic and technological development, as well as a range of military and non-military routes to supremacy.

<i>Heroes of Might and Magic II</i> 1996 video game

Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Jon Van Caneghem through New World Computing and published in 1996 by the 3DO Company. The game is the second instalment of the Heroes of Might and Magic series and is typically credited as the breakout game for the series. Heroes II was voted the sixth-best PC game of all time by PC Gamer in May 1997.

<i>Europa Universalis IV</i> 2013 video game

Europa Universalis IV is a 2013 grand strategy video game in the Europa Universalis series, developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive as a sequel to Europa Universalis III (2007). The game was released on 13 August 2013. It is a strategy game where players can control a nation from the Late Middle Ages following the battle of Varna (1444), the final crusade, to the Napoleonic era with the timeline finishing on 2 January 1821, because of the death of Napoleon on 5 May 1821. The player navigates their nation with conducting trade, administration, diplomacy, colonization, and warfare.

<i>At the Gates</i> (video game) 2019 video game

At the Gates is a 4X strategy video game by Jon Shafer, the lead designer of Civilization V. Like Civilization V, the game is played on a hex map. Players control a barbarian tribe, and their aim is to accelerate the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The map changes with the seasons, and resources are gradually depleted, forcing the players to migrate their tribe.

<i>Stellaris</i> (video game) 2016 video game

Stellaris is a 4X grand strategy video game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. In Stellaris, players take control of an interstellar civilization on the galactic stage and are tasked with exploring, colonizing, and managing their region of the galaxy, encountering other civilizations that they can then engage in diplomacy, trade, or warfare with. A large part of the game involves dealing with both scripted and emergent events, through which new empires alter the balance of power, powerful crises threaten the galaxy, or event chains tell the story of forgotten empires. It was released worldwide for Windows, macOS, and Linux on May 9, 2016 and for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as Stellaris: Console Edition on February 26, 2019.

<i>Empires Apart</i> 2018 video game

Empires Apart is a real-time strategy game developed by Italian studio DESTINYbit and published by Slitherine. Empires Apart was released March 29, 2018.

<i>Tunic</i> (video game) 2022 video game

Tunic is a 2022 action-adventure game developed by Isometricorp Games and published by Finji. It is set in a ruined fantasy world, where the player controls an anthropomorphic fox on a journey to free a fox spirit trapped in a crystal. The player discovers the gameplay and setting by exploring and finding in-game pages of a manual that offers clues, drawings, and notes. The backstory is obscured; most text is given in a constructed writing system that the player is not expected to decipher. Tunic's isometric perspective hides numerous pathways and secrets.

Pax Nova is a 4X turn-based strategy game developed by Portuguese studio GreyWolf Entertainment and published by Iceberg Interactive. It was released for Microsoft Windows on April 28, 2020.

<i>Humankind</i> (video game) 2021 video game

Humankind is a turn-based strategy 4X video game by Amplitude Studios and published by Sega. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and Stadia in August 2021, and for macOS in November 2021. It received generally favorable reviews. It was scheduled to release on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in November 2022 but was delayed indefinitely due to “unique porting challenges”, eventually releasing in August 2023.

<i>Space Crew</i> 2020 RTS video game

Space Crew is a real-time strategy video game developed by Runner Duck and published by Curve Digital. It was released on Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch on 15 October 2020. It is the sequel to the game Bomber Crew, released in 2017. An update, Space Crew: Legendary Edition, was released in October 2021, which featured a new campaign.

Worlds of Magic is a single-player fantasy turn-based 4X strategy game developed by Wastelands Interactive and published for Microsoft Windows in 2015. In late 2015 it received a PS4 and Xbox One ports under the name Worlds of Magic: Planar Conquest; which has been sometimes described as an improved sequel. In 2016 Worlds of Magic: Planar Conquest was also released for PC, iOS and Android as Planar Conquest. In 2020 Planar Conquest was ported to Nintendo Switch.

<i>Pandora: First Contact</i> 2013 video game

Pandora: First Contact is a 2013 4X game developed by German company Proxy Studios and published by Slitherine Software. It is inspired by Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri and is about ideologically opposed factions from Earth who colonize a hostile planet.

<i>Eador: Masters of the Broken World</i> 2013 video game

Eador: Masters of the Broken World is a strategy video game made by Russian company Snowbird Game Studios. It was released in 2013 and is a remake an older game, Eador: Genesis.

<i>Space Tyrant</i> 2018 video game

Space Tyrant is a strategy video game developed by Blue Wizard Digital. It uses a streamlined version of 4X gameplay in which players conquer the galaxy as an evil tyrant.

<i>Galactic Civilizations IV</i> 2022 video game

Galactic Civilizations IV is a 4X turn-based strategy video game developed by Stardock for Microsoft Windows. It features standard 4X space gameplay such as colonizing a galaxy, engaging in space combat, and discovering new technology and alien species. As the fourth entry in the Galactic Civilizations series, the game adds an artificial intelligence assistant, a scoring system, and a larger galaxy organized into multiple sectors of tile-based maps. The game entered early access in 2021, promising to learn from other 4X games including Stellaris, Endless Space, and Distant Worlds.

<i>Dandy Ace</i> 2021 video game

Dandy Ace is a 2021 roguelike action dungeon crawler video game developed by Mad Mimic and published by Neowiz. It was released for Microsoft Windows and macOS in March 25, 2021. Console ports for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch were later released in September 2021, and in November 2021 for the PlayStation 4 version.

<i>Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War</i> 2018 video game

Warhammer 40,000: Gladius – Relics of War is a turn-based strategy 4X video game developed by Proxy Studios and published by Slitherine Software for Windows and Linux on July 12, 2018. It is based on Games Workshop's tabletop wargame Warhammer 40,000.

<i>Dice Legacy</i> 2021 video game

Dice Legacy is a video game developed by DESTINYbit and published by Ravenscourt and Maple Whispering. It combines gameplay elements of city-building games and real-time strategy games.

References

  1. ↑ Vega, Sin (2019-08-05). "Slitherine hint at making a new Master Of Magic". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Skree" Giongiani, di Andrea (2022-12-12). "Master of Magic - La recensione". IGN Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  3. 1 2 Wheeler, C. J. (2022-09-30). "The Master Of Magic remake dons its wizard robes in December". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Stanton, Rich (2022-10-26). "I played this spellbindingly complex 4X classic, and all I got was a lot of dead halflings". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  5. ↑ Robinson, Joe (11 May 2021). "Fantasy strategy game Master of Magic is getting a reboot". PCGamesN . Network N. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  6. ↑ Boudreau, Ian (29 September 2022). "Master of Magic release date announced, original is a free game on GOG". PCGamesN . Network N. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Vega, Sin (2023-02-16). "Rally Point: Master of Magic, and a dash of Total Warhammer, on balance". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  8. ↑ "30 Years of Master of Magic – The Classic and Its Pretenders". SUPERJUMP. 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  9. ↑ Howard, Jeff (2014-04-22). Game Magic: A Designer's Guide to Magic Systems in Theory and Practice. CRC Press. ISBN   978-1-4665-6787-0.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Tagliaferri, Simone (2022-12-12). "Master of Magic, la recensione". Multiplayer.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  11. 1 2 Dolce, Daniele (2022-12-12). "Master of Magic Recensione". The Games Machine (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  12. ↑ "Master of Magic Remake for PC Reviews". Metacritic . Fandom . Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  13. ↑ Deppe, Martin (2023-01-12). "Master of Magic im Test: Auch eine Strategie-Legende muss sich neu beweisen". GameStar (in German). Retrieved 2023-04-25.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.