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Falk · Aug 22, 2017

In celebration of the PS4 release:

Launch Trailer

Developer:
Borealys Games, story by Ed Greenwood of Forgotten Realms

Genre:
Action Adventure, Spellcrafting

Platforms/Release:
Steam: May 18th ($19.99)
PS4: Aug 22nd ($19.99 PSN)
XB1: Aug 25th

Est. Playtime:
12-15h

Reviews
Metacritic PC: 75, User 8.4
Steam User Reviews: Very Positive

You play as Zia, a girl cast out of her village for possessing spellcrafting powers. As you set off on Zia's adventure first to come to terms of this exile and eventually to save everything (because video games), she will visit old friends, make new ones, do sidequests for everyone (even a goblin), visit wondrous areas, discover ancient knowledge and come to master the four elements and combine them into myriad spellcasting tricks, from building bridges to cross to previously unreachable terrain, to raining destruction on hapless forest fiends.

The world of Mages of Mystralia is a charming fantasy setting with the works - forests with goblins and trolls, settlements, mountains, swamps, rivers, ancient ruins, caves, ice caves, LAVA CAVES, the works. Each map contains more than a few secrets, collectibles and most importantly puzzles, many of which can only be solved after finding the right tools and figuring out the right solution.

Spellcrafting games often devolve into a set of 'best combinations', yet MoM's take on its systems is fresh, and the opportunities are endless. There are very deliberate combat-focused spells and enhancements, and very deliberate puzzle-solving ones (who needs a fireball that veers off to the right?) but the beauty of it is they're all integrated into a single system so if you wanted to have a spell that creates an ice statue of yourself that rotates clockwise for no apparent reason, and use it while fighting bosses, you can!

What can I say? I really enjoyed my time with the game!

p.s. music written by GAF dude Reveirg

edit: PSN link isn't working right now. Will update later.

ced · Aug 22, 2017

This looks pretty neat.

Flunkie · Aug 22, 2017

Too many good games.

rudger · Aug 22, 2017

I thought a weird sequel to Mystaria suddenly got announced...excited for no reason. Still looks nice.

Intel_89 · Aug 22, 2017

We had a chance to review the game for the PS4 thanks to Borealys Games, I gave it an 8/10. If you like Zelda this should be a no brainer, the game also runs pretty well for a 3D Unity game on PS4.

Falk · Aug 22, 2017

Isn't it only really Vita that struggled with Unity? Glad to hear performance is good on PS4, regardless.

Banjo-Kazooie · Aug 22, 2017

It's out on Xbox Friday also

Edit: It looks very beautiful from the screenshots, I'm going to have to watch some gameplay trailers now!

Falk · Aug 22, 2017

Thanks, edited.

Jachaos · Aug 22, 2017

Downloading it as soon as I get back, excited for it to release on PS4! Played it at PAX East and loved it, and the user reviews have been good too!

Intel_89 · Aug 22, 2017

Falk said:
Isn't it only really Vita that struggled with Unity? Glad to hear performance is good on PS4, regardless.

There are a couple of Unity games on PS4 with performance issues, Broforce and Galak-Z are the ones that immediately come to my mind.

But I guess I can't really put the blame solely on the tools when other developers have managed to achieve great things with them. Regardless, for those that might've been worried about this I can confirm that the performance is pretty solid on PlayStation 4.

Jachaos · Aug 23, 2017

Got it installed and everything now, love it so far and I haven't even gotten to the point where you can create insane spells like in the demo they had at PAX. I played for about an hour and the performance is really solid too.

Intel_89 · Aug 23, 2017

Jachaos said:
Got it installed and everything now, love it so far and I haven't even gotten to the point where you can create insane spells like in the demo they had at PAX. I played for about an hour and the performance is really solid too.

It takes a while to get going in terms of getting a sizeable collection of runes but you can come up with some insane stuff later on.

danowat · Aug 23, 2017

Quite tempted to get this, looks right up my street, although I would have prefered full on turn based.

How does the real time - pause mechanic work in this game?, flow well? I always found the mechanic in something like Transitor a bit jarring between real time and turn based.

Falk · Aug 23, 2017

Errr, while there's an element of strategy and spellcrafting, it's not a tactical game. It's more top-down action. The prep stuff is generally done outside combat.

Some gameplay of an early game boss

edit: that guy does come up with a rather... interesting solution, lol

danowat · Aug 23, 2017

Falk said:
Errr, while there's an element of strategy and spellcrafting, it's not a tactical game. It's more top-down action. The prep stuff is generally done outside combat.

Some gameplay of an early game boss

edit: that guy does come up with a rather... interesting solution, lol

Huh, I must have either missed something, or been thinking about something else!

So it's more an aRPG?

Edit : Lol, ok, so I thought this was Masquerada: Songs and Shadows

Mystralia - Masquerada, sorta similar!!!

Falk · Aug 23, 2017

I'm not sure if I'd classify it as an RPG - depends if you classify Zelda as an RPG, I guess, haha.

Like, while there are different wands, and different spells do different amounts of damage to different things, it's definitely more execution based and less number crunching.

danowat · Aug 23, 2017

Falk said:
I'm not sure if I'd classify it as an RPG - depends if you classify Zelda as an RPG, I guess, haha.

Like, while there are different wands, and different spells do different amounts of damage to different things, it's definitely more execution based and less number crunching.

Yeah, it's a different game to the one I was thinking off! see my edited post.

edit : but this also looks pretty cool, so it'll go on my PSN wishlist.

elementalsin · Aug 25, 2017

So performance on the PS4 has been solid? Curious how the xbox version will perform. Looks like a fun game! Will have to pick it up

elementalsin · Sep 3, 2017

Sorry to double post here, but wanted to bring a little more attention to this gem.
Played it on PC and xbox... Has been an absolute joy of a game. The spell combo system is incredibly fun and if you spend a little time with it, has more depth than you might first suspect.
The story isn't Shakespeare, but is a fun little adventure, with a "moral to the story" that is pretty obvious from the start. The art and graphics are charming and beautiful, but don't let the "toony" look throw you off Wind Waker style (if you aren't a fan that is). I've put roughly 12 hours or so into the game (I admit, with a lot of wondering around and toying with spell combos) and haven't finished it yet. I'd probably guess somewhere around 15-20 hours for competition?
Anyway, highly suggest giving it a whirl, and it's worthy of a double post imho.

Falk · Sep 3, 2017

maybe we should put PUBG in the thread title or something

Sonicbug · Sep 3, 2017

Yeah, this is one of the few unity games on PS4 that doesn't suffer from rampant random hitching. Although the load times between areas are pretty slow.

I'm pretty close to the end of the game now but I'm trying to platinum it, so it's going to take me a bit to find all the gems. It's a cute little action-puzzler, although the story is really bare bones.

elementalsin · Sep 4, 2017

Falk said:
maybe we should put PUBG in the thread title or something

Hah, it would draw some attention!
Mages of Mystralia |OT| PUBG with custom spells... and no PUBG

It is sad the limited attention this seems to be getting. Game has a lot going for it and I again say how much I've enjoyed it.

The xbox version I've seen some frame drops when spells get heavy/hectic, but otherwise it has been pretty smooth sailing. Load times seem fine. I do hope they get to do another one, or something in a similar vein.

Morrigan Stark · Sep 4, 2017

So it's not real-time-with-pause at all, right? Because that'd be a dealbreaker for me.

The basic concept reminds me of Magicka, but I found those games to be really clunky and not very fun, even if I thought the core ideas were cool. Does this play better?

Eusis · Sep 4, 2017

I'd just been kinda sitting on it since backing on Steam. It's a neat game though!

Exentryk · Sep 4, 2017

First time hearing about this, and it actually looks pretty decent. It's giving me Transistor vibes which also allowed combination of abilities in various unique ways for interesting outcomes.

Shame it's not on GOG, but I might pick it up on Steam.

Falk · Sep 4, 2017

Morrigan Stark said:
So it's not real-time-with-pause at all, right? Because that'd be a dealbreaker for me.

The basic concept reminds me of Magicka, but I found those games to be really clunky and not very fun, even if I thought the core ideas were cool. Does this play better?

No, that was a confusion with Masquerada.

(Which is another excellent often-passed-over game, mind you)

I think this is leaps and bounds over Magicka, but I've never been fond of games designed around trolling your friends as a good time, so take that as you will.

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