[i]Magic Research 1[/i] is a fantastic short form game. It has the length of the likes of [i](the) Gnorp Apologue[/i], [i]Max Manos[/i], or [i]Increlution[/i], but the depth and structure of a true idle game.
[h1][i]Magic Research 1[/i] is genius; here's why.[/h1]
The subtleties of how all different systems come together and the subtle interconnections are going to be difficult to describe in text - and [b]the full game [i]IS[/i] the game the demo suggests it is[/b] - so let's focus on the highlights.
[h2]Genius offline progression[/h2]
The game finds [b]the golden mean[/b] between [b]full offline progression[/b] of idle games and absolutely [b]no offline progression[/b] of the short-form incrementals, and it works [i]perfectly[/i]. After being offline, you receive Time Pieces, which then can be used to, in the order of decreasing efficiency: instantly gain 25 minutes of time-consuming research, speed up the gamespeed x2, speed up x5, or just skip 10 minutes forward. This incentivises the player to "spend" offline time on the most time-dependent aspect of the game, while allowing the impatient players to barge through the more active parts anyway, and also both alleviating pains in late-game completionism and supporting niche idle farming use cases.
Which leads us to the next point:
[h2]Genius balance of idling and attention[/h2]
Firstly, [i]Magic Research 1[/i] works both when you're playing it attentively with a few moments where you put it in the background, while also allowing for extensive idling to maximise your stats or over-sow for a big harvest.
Secondly, as you progress, [b]your undivided attention[/b] is needed for one or several bossfights per run, but eventually you only need it for the last two bosses. And you only need to beat them once, without [i]completely[/i] cannibalising most of your loadout slots just to beat them. [i]<wheeze><hack>Melvor Idle<kheh><ergh-choo>[/i]
[h2]Genius hint system[/h2]
A huge part of progression is completing storylines, which appear in place of generic random events when quite specific - seldom even semi-random and [i]unexpected[/i] - preconditions are met. Instead of using blind experimentation or having to dig up guides, you eventually unlock a way to get tasteful hints, increase the appearance chances, and even trigger them instantly - but you need to arrange your loadout for that and steer your metaprogression to make these more effective and efficient.
And, in a nice touch, you [i]never[/i] get hints for events that are still gated off and are impossible for you to complete, which prevents spoilers.
[h2]A satisfying ending[/h2]
This is not exactly a sign of genius, but you'd be surprised how rare a good ending is in the conjoined twins of a genre that's idle/incremental games. (It helps the writing in general flows nicely.)
And, y'know, the lead-up/[u]final challenge[/u] is actually significant ([i]<shakes fist at [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/dragomok/recommended/2237970?snr=1_5_9__402]Outpath[/url]>[/i]) and follows reasonably from the premise of the story ([i]<shakes fist at [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/dragomok/recommended/1473350?snr=1_5_9__402](the) Gnorp Apologue[/url] that is not an apologue>[/i]).
You got to appreciate two-eyed people in the land of the blind where even the rare one-eyed man tends to have advanced cataracts, y'know?
[h2]It's not all rosy[/h2]
Of course, there are some negatives.
[olist]
[*]The [b]post-game challenges[/b] honestly sound to me [b]grating, stressful, painful[/b]. This means I'm never going to get 100% achievements, but I'm completely okay with that after 18 days of fun journey to the ending.
[*]Some random events allow you [b]to pick unethical/evil choices[/b] but these seem to have [b]no consequences at all[/b].
[*]There are some [b]minor flaws that are completely improved in [i]Magic Research 2[/i][/b] (limited inventory being a mild nuissance, no option to wait until fully healed before fighting the next enemy, some other tiny things I haven't realised were iffy until MR2 fixed them) but they are so small that they mostly faded from my memory before I rechecked them.
[/olist]
"Some" is not a lot.
[hr][/hr]
[h2]In conclusion,[/h2]
[i]Magic Research 1[/i] is a great game to play on its own, a good entry point for the idle game genre (before moving on to, say, [i]Unnamed Space Idle[/i], [i]Territory Idle[/i], [i]Idle Wizard[/i], or [i]Antimatter Dimensions[/i]), and it's going to make you appreciate [i]Magic Research 2[/i] even more.
