There are Souls-like games, Metroidvanias, first-person shooters, and, in the last few years, survivorlikes. This is now a genre that has popped up and exploded in popularity, largely due to the near-overnight success of Vampire Survivors.
And like those other genres, differentiating yourself can be tough. The Spell Brigade is up for the challenge, though, with some really great style, easy-to-understand mechanics, interesting levels to conquer, and the opportunity to do it all with friends! There is some really great meat on the bones of this one. After a successful Early Access period on Steam, the 1.0 release brings needed depth and additional content, making this an even better experience than it already was.
But The Spell Brigade is not without its faults. Even though I’ve actually had a ton of fun, I also have this lingering feeling that I’ve been here before.
A Charming, Challenging Start to The Spell Brigade
Like with many games in this genre, I felt pretty underpowered as things kicked off. Choosing your early wizards gives you a minimal choice of starting spells and a few attributes, like increased dodge or the possibility of dropping more health potions. But regardless of which character you pick to play your opening hours, you’re still playing a survivor-like: spells auto fire, you run around dodging melee and projectiles, and you collect XP orbs.
Moving around and defeating enemies is pretty enjoyable, if not commonplace. Small bugs come towards you, and some truly interesting character designs soon litter the battlefield, trying to stomp you down. Though this sounds pretty familiar to anyone who’s put dozens or hundreds of hours into similar titles, there are a few fun additions and innovations that really work. Mainly, the random objectives that pop up a handful of times per level.
These brief, but unique moments will spawn after a few minutes of play in each stage. Some will require you to light torches in a particular order, some will require “sacrifice” as you kill enemies within a small circle, and some even have you hear wild animals. The variety is actually quite enjoyable, and although the playlist of occurrences is not infinite, they never felt repetitive or boring to me. As they populate in new stages and in different areas of any given map, it always felt like a fun mid-game goal to accomplish with or without friends. And that’s another great innovation here: co-operative play.
The Spell Brigade may not be the only game in the genre to do this, but it does create a really good team-up feel I didn’t expect. Running around to collect orbs will add to a shared XP pool. Up to four wizards can work together to tackle any stage or objective, and any combination of spells and wizards can be used. Even without voice chat enabled, I found communication through sheer movement and text prompts intuitive and helpful. It’s also quite cool to look at other players’ builds and how they’ve optimized their approach.
Variety is also present in the wizards themselves. The 1.0 release will now include 15 different spell casters. I haven’t tried them all, but pretty much any one that I choose feels good. The more you play them the more XP you’ll consume, unlocking familiar stats like health bonuses, armour, pick up range, cast speed, and more. Additionally, each one has their own set of cosmetics to reveal and choose from. These Enchantments are long-term upgrades and are shared throughout your roster.
Unlocking spells is always enjoyable! There are dozens to choose from and upgrade as you level up in each stage. Some are projectiles, some melee, and many of them stack and combo with each other in a very satisfying way. On top of that, upgrades aren’t just about power and speed; they also allow you to infuse them with elemental damage like fire, lightning, plasma, ice, and poison. Once further upgraded, things get even more exciting, as you can combine them to unleash even greater power!
It was actually so much fun to witness what I was unleashing. The visuals flourish, and sound effects of a Frostbite (fire + ice), Flux (lightning +acid), or even fully upgraded base spells like fire are just straight up awesome! Enemies slow down, explode, squash into pieces, and more! Then seeing how this all works on massive bosses was also very satisfying.
Design and Personality Go a Long Way
I love the look and feel of this game! The Spell Brigade caught my attention with its opening cinematic, the trailer posted above, and even in the menu system. The sound design and music are satisfying as each orb is obtained, a spell is cast, the boss roars with anger, and more. Add what I feel is a fresh design choice with The Spell Brigade’s wizards, and you have what I feel is one of the best-designed games in the genre.
The cartoon-like nature of the entire game really works for me and I’m glad they stuck with it from the start! Some elements remind me of a sadly shut-down game in Inkbound, which also created a great co-op experience for players.
For those looking for lots of unlocks, achievements, or trophies, The Spell Brigade has 114 Steam Achievements, each unlocking something new and giving profile progression even more incentive.
And while all of this is great and it is fun to play, I often felt like The Spell Brigade still felt a little too conventional. I don’t fault the developers at all. I can imagine that trying to make a game that truly forges its own path in this genre can be tough. Overloading a title with so much to unlock or having too many deep systems can actually backfire and feel overwhelming. Thankfully, this game doesn’t do that. It actually excels in its unlockables and overall design!
Where it does falter a bit, though, is that it still remains a game that doesn’t stray too far from its inspirations. Don’t fix what isn’t broken, sure. But sometimes I need just a bit more than that.
Verdict
The Spell Brigade has delivered a 1.0 release that really does shine! Wizards and spells are abundant, and co-op play is a lot of fun.
Though the core gameplay loop is a little too familiar at times, there’s no denying that this is still one of the best recent entries in a now crowded genre.
[The publisher provided a copy of the game for review purposes.]
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
