[b]secrets of magic 5[/b] plays almost exactly like the [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/dohi64/recommended/453780]first[/url], [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/dohi64/recommended/713430]second[/url], [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/dohi64/recommended/1351250]third[/url] and [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/dohi64/recommended/1467060]fourth[/url] games in the series, so my review will be very similar as well.
beatrix, victoria's student from som4, is back. I was hoping she'd turn evil and breathe some life (and narrative) into the series again, but it wasn't to be, they're just watching over the school while the boss is away. so all the dialog is about [b]mandatory decorations[/b], just like in som3. the devs went with the 'every item has a bunch of variations' approach, which I first saw in [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/dohi64/recommended/388450]spooky bonus[/url] (I think), so you can buy something, then change its appearance at will.
there's still [b]very little difference from the previous games[/b]. typical match-3 action on [b]100 levels[/b] unlocked one by one, matching 4+ tiles creates various power-ups destroying stuff in different shapes, and there are chests and keys to bring to the bottom, the latter to unlock more of the level. one change is [b]created power-ups can't be clicked anymore, they have to be swapped to trigger[/b]. the swap doesn't need to end in a valid match, but they're a lot less useful now and a lot more annoying on levels where they're completely walled in. great job on changing something for the worse for no reason.
even though you learned and upgraded everything in the first game, then again in each sequel, [b]you start with nothing and have to unlock all the power-ups yet again[/b]. understandable from a gameplay perspective, not so much otherwise. and after re-unlocking all 4 early on, there's not much else going on, only a few typical mechanics get added to the mix. [b]no spiders or imps this time[/b] either, but new things include portals, cannons and snow blocks affected by gravity, plus [b]multi-screen levels[/b]. just click an arrow to switch between boards.
[b]relaxed, challenge and timed modes, the middle means a move limit[/b], no star rating once again, but there's a scoreboard for every level after completion. and there's a [b]second layer of difficulty[/b] regarding the amount of obstacles and power-ups: [b]casual has fewer obstacles and more power-ups, expert the other way round[/b].
[b]same lovely and varied tilesets and backgrounds with fitting music.[/b] the decorating screen went back to 2d, thankfully, with much nicer-looking objects, but the background here is not as good as the loading screens. well, it's not good at all. separate volume settings, windowed mode, custom cursor, tutorial and match hint toggles, in-game representation of achievements and some languages. there's also an on-screen keyboard when you type your name. accessibility and all that, but it covers the ui buttons and can't be closed for good, so type, close keyboard, click ok. lame. also, [b]ui buttons can be pretty unresponsive and any and all keypresses advance dialog[/b], making alt+tabbing and taking screenshots problematic during conversations. never been an issue before, again, great job.
[b]optional hidden object, jigsaw and tile-swapping levels[/b] are also new. there are 8 total, the skip button needs some time to charge, hints are available. tile-swapping is just that, jigsaw is jigsaw, new pieces appear as you move them from the bottom and mouse controls are floaty and uncomfortable. hidden object scenes are in 3d, and the guy from som4 was either fired or learned a lot because these look a lot better (only 15 years old instead of 20). the camera can be moved by clicking and holding the arrows on the side, not that great, but no penalty for frantic clicking.
since it's pretty much the same as the other games, which are among the better match-3 titles on the market, I can only say the same about this: [b]worthy addition to anyone's collection, unless you don't want more of the same[/b]. though at least the other kind of levels and a few new mechanics provide some much-needed variety, so even with the issues ([b]the board can bug out[/b] too, 2 tiles overlap, leaving an empty tile, only restarting the game fixes it, though it only happened in windowed mode), I'd say [b]this is the best entry since som2[/b].
