Picture this: you’ve just been handed a letter with a fancy seal, and it’s your invitation to join the magical school of Greifenstein. If you’ve ever fantasized about learning spells and going on enchanting adventures, then Spells & Secrets tries to make that dream a fun reality. But like any dream, it’s not perfect – it has its own set of challenges and hiccups along the way.
The Story and Why It Sort of Works
The story in Spells & Secrets isn’t something you haven’t heard before – there’s an evil group making trouble in the castle, and all the teachers are counting on you, the new kid, to fix it. It doesn’t really make much sense why they can’t help, especially when they’re supposed to be powerful wizards themselves, but let’s roll with it. It’s one of those “because the game says so” moments. The story isn’t the main thing here; it’s more about getting you into the action.
Spell Casting and How Fun That Is
The main fun thing about this game is casting spells. As you play through the castle, you get to choose three spells to use. When you beat parts of the game, you unlock new teachers who give you powerful new spells. There are also items that change how your spells work, like making anything you pick up shoot lightning. It’s a blast to mix and match these spell combinations.
The fights are pretty easy at first. I got to the final boss on my first go but didn’t quite beat them. Yet, every time you start over the game gets a bit harder, which keeps things interesting.
Picking Spells Should Be Easier
Even with the fun of slinging spells left and right, not everything is perfect. My biggest issue is that you only get to pick three spells to take with you, and that feels like too few. There are so many cool spells for attacking, defending, and getting around, it’s tough to pick just three. This meant I didn’t get to try some of the neater spells because I always needed ones that were good for fighting or a must-have like Levitate.
Playing with Friends Could Be Better
I played this game together with my girlfriend, and we had our fair share of laughs. I made her character float in the air a lot, and she tossed me around with her mind. It was fun, but not perfect. The way you have to play together on one screen isn’t the best. Using a game controller was tricky, especially when it came to aiming spells. If we could play together over the internet n two seperate PCs instead of just on one screen, this game could be even better.
More Than Just Fighting
The game isn’t just about fighting. There are also cool challenges that give you neat hats and outfits, and there are groups you can join for special spells. After you’re done with a run, you feel good because there’s always something new to do or a spell to get better at. It helps keep the game feeling fresh.
A Few More Things I Noticed
- Combat: It’s a surprise hit. Running around zapping things is more fun than I thought it would be, and finding the best way to combo spells is cool. Don’t be fooled by how cute the enemies look. Some are pretty tough to beat.
- Spells: You find teachers who teach you spells for the in-game experience you collect. Spells are sorted by years and you must learn all spells from one year before moving to the next. You can also make spells stronger through their teachers.
- Puzzles: These offer a nice break from combat. Some are really clever and help you explore the castle more.
- Exploration: There’s a helpful map to track where you’ve been, which is handy when you’re wandering around the castle, and to find things you might’ve missed.
- Challenges and Factions: You’ll find stuff to do like not getting hurt on a floor or solving puzzles. There’s also student factions to join, but I haven’t gotten too deep into that yet.
- Performance: No bugs or technical issues here. I’ve played with a mouse and keyboard and it feels right. It also works great with a controller.
Verdict
Spells & Secrets is a game that has a lot of good going for it. The magic and puzzle-solving in the run-down castle is a blast. But there are things that could be better, like handling a lot of spells more easily and making it more fun to play with a friend.
This game is like that shiny new toy that has a few buttons that don’t work exactly how you want them to, but you still like playing with it a lot.
It’s a great game if you want to feel like a powerful wizard, even with its few rough edges. For spellcasting fun and a magical time, I’d say give it a try. It might just cast a spell on you, as long as you’re okay with some little annoyances.
My score: 7/10