Rogue Wizards
Release Date: September 27, 2016
RPG, fantasy, turn-based, roguelike, isometric view, indie games, singleplayer
OpenCritic
Steam
A roguelike game by Spellbind Studios. The production is set in the land of Rilfanor during a war between two factions of the Council, which associates wizards. While one faction approves of women and lowborn people joining their ranks, the other remains faithful to old traditions, according to which only nobles can become members of the Council. During the game, you explore procedurally generated locations and fight enemies.
Rogue Wizards is the work of the independent American team Spellbind Studios. As the title suggests, the gmae represents the roguelike genre. Interestingly, while the PC version is a premium title, on mobile devices the game is distributed in the free-to-play model.
Story
Rogue Wizards takes players into the fantasy land of Rilfanor. For centuries, only representatives of aristocratic families could boast of their magical abilities. They enjoyed numerous privileges resulting from belonging to the Council, i.e. the guild of people who are sorcerers. Over time, however, their power weakened, and magic began to mark its presence not only in men, but also in women, as well as in people coming from lower social strata.
This led to a split in the Council - while some are open to women and common people, others remain faithful to conservative values. The main protagonist, a character wanting to hone their magic skills, lands in the middle of the conflict.
Mechanics
The action of Rogue Wizards is shown in isometric view. The pillar of the game is the exploration of procedurally generated locations, combat and the development of the hero. The battles take place in a turn-based mode, and we are faced with a range of opponents (each of the more than thirty monsters has an individual set of strengths and weaknesses) as well as eight powerful bosses.
Our task also includes developing the character we control, improving their individual qualities and abilities (eighteen spells representing six schools of magic are at our disposal) and gaining more and more powerful equipment; melee and ranged weapons, magical costumes and clothing elements can be additionally modified, using the crafting system.
A moment of pause between successive expeditions into dangerous areas is ensured by visits to our base, i.e. the Tower, within which we erect useful buildings. In this way, for example, we provide ourselves with access to new equipment and resources necessary to cast spells on the battlefield.
Game modes
The core of Rogue Wizards is a story campaign planned for about ten hours of fun. We can play it on two levels of difficulty - if we decide to have fun in the more difficult variant, we have to take into account the fact that death is permanent and involves the need to start the adventure from scratch. The same applies to the Gauntlet mode, which is an endless series of dungeons.
Technical aspects
Rogue Wizards presents a decent level of execution. The whole thing adopts a cartoonish style, and is complemented by an intuitive interface.
Last updated on March 15, 2020
Videos and Screens
[1:05] Rogue Wizards Nintendo Switch trailer
[1:04] Rogue Wizards trailer #1
GameSpew: 7 / 10 by Alex Decker
Rogue Wizards is inherently difficult, but for the most part, it’s a rewarding, challenging difficulty that keeps the player engaged
PC Invasion: 5 / 10 by Tim McDonald
Light and simple isn't a bad thing, but Rogue Wizards is too light and too simple, and a tad too slow for its scaled-down design to feel deliciously more-ish. While it's not bad, it didn't leave any real lasting impression barring a mental sigh at what could've been.
The Outerhaven Productions: 2 / 5 by Aaron Sanders
The random nature of so many of Rogue Wizards' elements guarantees experiences that are dynamic, but the repetitive core gameplay and tedium of inventory management can also make them monotonous. The Story mode's narrative doesn't add anything to make the gameplay more compelling, so you may be better off with the Gauntlet mode's endless dungeon. Either way, this game works best in casual play sessions.
Rogue Wizards Summary
Platforms:
PC / Windows September 27, 2016
Switch July 15, 2021
Xbox One July 20, 2021
Apple iOS May 25, 2017
Developer: Spellbind Studios
Publisher: Spellbind Studios
Age restrictions: none
Rogue Wizards System Requirements
PC / Windows
Minimum: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz, 1 GB RAM, graphic card Intel HD or better, 750 MB HDD, Windows XP