Seemingly I have this obsession with titles such as Vampire Survivors and Brotato, they require minimal input with your controller but are ever so addictive. Since the success of these mentioned games, we have seen a swathe of imitations some great and some not so great. I actively seek these experiences out though and after spotting the screenshots of Spellagis on the Xbox store and its crazy low price point of £3.35, it was a must-try. On my first session with this game during my review, I easily racked up four straight hours of gameplay and honestly couldn’t get enough of its moreish addictive gameplay loop.

Seriously Addictive Gameplay

The premise of Spellagis is simple and that is to survive fifteen waves of enemies that increase in both time and difficulty. Between each wave, you’re given the option to purchase different power-ups with coins accrued from slaying enemies. These buffs could be simple such as +3% damage or movement speed with pricier options giving several options to power your mage further. Occasionally you’ll be given a friend that will give you a helping hand like a bee that acts like a drone that follows you and helps with killing enemies.

The strategy element comes in the choices you make by spending your coins wisely. You may want to evenly spread your options between increasing your health, increasing damage and speed. I found that focusing on just one area set me up for failure and I died a fair few times. When you hit wave 15 you’re going to want to have speed and power on your side as you’re swarmed with hordes for a good minute. Once you have completed all the levels with the mages then you should have that sweet 1000g and you can probably achieve this in a good 4-5 hours.

Graphics & Audio

When it comes to the visuals, Spellagis is a little basic and this is understandable with the low price point and probably given the size of the project against the budget. It is no different than what you’d expect though and the retro pixel aesthetics suit the atmosphere of the game. You’ll be controlling mages throughout your gameplay runs and these differ in colour and abilities as you progress. It would have been ideal to see more variance in enemy types but there aren’t too many you’ll come across, ranging from green and red blobs to snakes and ghosts.

When it came to the sound, I found I had to turn the music off almost immediately simply because it became annoyingly overbearing and repetitive. It would have been better if a few different music tracks looped instead of the same one repeatedly. Collecting coins has a satisfying chime to it each time you pick one up and the projectiles and shots from your character connecting with enemies is another sound effect that comes off as expected.

Final Thoughts

Spellagis is 100% worth less than the price of a pint for the return in hours you get from this. All achievements on this one are obtainable simply by putting the hours in and the scope for replayability is there as no two runs ever feel the same. I’d liken this one to the excellent Brotato and whilst it doesn’t quite have the same shine and polish, it really does come close and gets its hooks into you immediately. If you like the genre of twin-stick shooters and fighting off waves of enemies then I would highly recommend this one, it is a hidden gem.

 

Overall
  • 80%
    CX score - 80%
80%

Summary

Pros

  • Very addictive gameplay loop
  • A generous range of character builds to play with
  • Just as challenging as Brotato

 

Cons

  • Doesn’t have the depth of similar games
  • Those who don’t click with the genre may tire of the repetitive nature
  • Replay value might not be there for some after winning with all mages

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