Magic Cauldron - Dungeons

On release this game had some severe bugs. By now this has been resolved as far as I can tell. Only some slight visual glitches remain. It is a very simple dungeon crawler. If you are looking for some relaxed exploration with easy combat that doesn't require a lot of thought, this is exactly right. Being turn based, it avoids the constant dancing around the enemies which most real time first person grid systems have. A crafting system allows making potions which are helpful in combat. You go through the levels in a non-linear way. Graphics are charming in an old-school way, except maybe for the high resolution mouse cursor. On the other hand, if you are looking for deep character systems, difficult combat or a story, this is not the right game. I gave it a thumbs up since it falls in a niche which is not occupied by many old-school dungeon crawlers.

Some reviews compare this game to Eye of the Beholder, Might & Magic, Dungeon Master or Bard's Tale. However, it is nothing of the sort, there is no leveling up, no stats, no armor, clothes or magic items, and not a great variety in weapons, inventory items or enemy types. There are no secrets or puzzles to speak of, no NPCs, taverns or shops. Magic Cauldron is a very simple game, You explore a series of interconnected maps, collect ingredients for potions and fight enemies. There's not much variety in how these maps look, either, because most map use only one or two textures for walls, so all forest maps look the same, all swamp maps look the same, all dungeon and tower maps look the same. You still don't get lost, because the game has an automap. However, there are only a few symbols on the automap, and while there are individual symbols for stairs leading up and stairs leading down, the "!" represents either a fast travel marker, an exit that leads north, east, west, or south, a hole in the floor or any point of interest (where you click on a hovering sphere and see one of the illustrations with a description in a yellow text box). This makes navigation a bit tedious at times. Fighting's a very simple affair, too. You can equip multiple weapons, and each weapon has its own cooldown period. So you can simply attack with each weapon in turn, and the cooldown periods have no effect at all. I am not sure if this is intentional or a glitch. Speaking of glitches, sometimes you can see items through walls, which is weird. And if you are in the world map, which you reach by clicking on a signpost, don't press escape to get back, this kicks you out of the game without saving. I would still recommend this game for children or inexperienced players, or anyone who simply does not feel up to much of a challenge at the moment. It looks nice, plays well, and can take your mind of other things.