The Wizards - Enhanced Edition

It's definitely a game, and you can play it, but it does nothing to set it apart. Really, in it's core, this game is another wave shooter. The only difference is, you have to walk from one wave to the other. The gestures for casting spells works well enough, and I won't lie and say that I didn't audibly say "oh, sick", out loud the first time I conjured a bow and arrow with nothing but my hands, but the problem is that it offers nothing beyond this base level of interaction. The game loop is very, very simplistic, and it only took about 4 levels before I became bored. 1. Walk to an open area. 2. Kill enemies. 3. Walk to next area. 4. Repeat. Sure, there are props you can pick up, but they don't *do* anything. In fact, they don't even collide with the world while you're holding them. All there is to do is walk from one place to another and throw fireballs at orcs. Also, the combat is boring. The first couple of times you're lobbing fireballs at goblins is entertaining enough, but it very quickly becomes repetitive. After I unlocked the lightning spell, all combat was completely trivialized (and it already felt trivial beforehand). I was expecting some way to actually interact with the environment itself using the spells, and there technically *are* a couple ways, but they're more of a chore than anything interesting. The first time you watch a wall crumble as you pelt it with fireballs was actually pretty cool! But then when you have to do it over, and over, and over again, and each time is the exact same, it becomes more of a chore than an interesting way to interact with the world. I was similarly disappointed to find a body of water, expecting my ice bow to freeze it to allow me to walk over it, or anything like that, only to find out that, no, it does nothing. In the end, this game has some mildly interesting mechanics, but doesn't really take advantage of the platform to really immerse you in any kind of world. The environments you walk around, while decently pretty to look at, are nothing more than a series of boring, linear, sterile corridors, ushering you from one tedious combat encounter to the next. And no, littering the level with inconsequential physics props doesn't do anything but make me wish that they actually did something interesting. If you're looking for an in-depth, VR wizard simulator like I was, this isn't your game. If you're looking for what amounts to a simple arcade shooter with a wizard coat of paint, you might enjoy it.

So far this is one of my favorite VR games. Pros: - Movement. Rather than limiting me to just teleport OR free movement, it allows both simultaniously (right teleports, left is free movement) as well as all the normal free movement that full room VR gives. This is useful in many of the combat situations (teleport out of a tight situation and hit the ground running). I wish more of the other games I have tried used a similar system. Teleporting even makes sense in the overall larger context of the game, it is just one of the spells you cast as a wizard rather than an akward movement mechanism. - Gester based control. I really liked this mechanic. The main problem with gesture control is when you learn a gesture wrong ("Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick"). Luckally they have a practice range to review the gesters and practice. I initially learned the shield gesture wrong so had to go back and relearn it. - Great environments. Many of the environments in game are great. The view from the main wizards quarters, navigating the duststorms, etc. Cons: - Low on the content side. This may be rectified soon since it is early access and more content is coming from what I have heard from the developer. From what there is now it is a good self contained short game, but it seems like a proof of concept for something much larger.

I want to recommend this game, but I can't. I enjoyed playing The Wizards initially, but the annoyances build up over time and become unbearable. (#1) The main issue is that if you die, you don't get to start at what seems like the most recent checkpoint; you have to start the whole level over. (#2) Another major issue I have relates to casting. You learn the spells, you practice them and feel comfortable, then you play a level where you go through a couple of what seem like checkpoints performing flawlessly - you could swear you can cast these spells in your sleep as you fell your enemies with aplomb. But you get to a certain point in the level where the difficulty has mounted and all of a sudden the casting motions don't seem to work anymore. You were literally just casting like a pro two minutes ago, now you're flailing around with your hands trying to get the spell to work, and of course you lose all your health and die. Now, because of issue #1, you end up having to start the level again.

This. This is what VR should be. The last time I felt this badass was the first time I cast fire and lightning spells in Skyrim. I FEEL POWERFUL in this game! The spells are fun, but easy to cast, and the way they lock on to where you're looking is just awesome. Great voice acting and just plain fun gameplay. Seriously, do yourself a favour and just buy this. Its awesome!

The Wizards is a really fun VR title that I definitely recommend playing. Throwing fireballs and casting spells in The Wizards feels a bit like being Harry Potter, and the variety of spells gives you plenty of options in taking out your enemies. I've played this on the Vive, the Rift, and Samsung's Windows Mixed Reality headset, and I think it plays best on the Rift. The Touch controls work much better for those, like me, who prefer full locomotion. However, Samsung's Mixed Reality headset is where you really get a chance to admire some of the artwork that appears in The Wizards. Take a good look at those modifier cards, and you'll see what I mean! Overall, it's a really fun experience!

I've been pretty tired of VR games for a while but I had a good time playing this game. The fights are wave/arena style like every VR game but I didn't mind because the fighting mechanics were really fun and unique. Level design and art assets were top notch. I had a lot of fun playing it, just felt like the gameplay was cut short. It's very similar to Mage's Tale, so here's a quick comparison. The Wizards: 4 hrs gameplay Few puzzles, all easy Fun and varied spell casting gestures Fights were pretty easy. I barely took damage the whole game Mages Tale: 8 hrs gameplay Lots of great and challenging puzzles Combat was okay, but all spells were basically just throwing motions or holding your hand out Fights got harder throughout the game

First off, let's start off with saying that The Wizards is 'Gesture-based'. That means the spells you cast are directly influenced by your own hand movements. It's incredibly satisfying to go from spell to spell, hurling fireballs one second to pulling out a divine shield to save yourself from an arrow to the face. It's important to note that the gestures are all unique, and as long as you don't panic, you'll be a master wizard in no time! MOVEMENT: Movement is an incredibly huge deal in VR with regards to motion sickness. In most other experiences, you choose between locomotion and teleportation. The Wizards allows for both of these simulatenously, and IT WORKS! Teleporting isn't a basic "movement" mechanic. It's another spell at your disposal to use on the horde of monsters.

This is an early VR game from 2018 that has too many issues. As many others have noted in the reviews, the spell casting system is just way too unreliable. Most often it works, but then sometimes it doesn't. The problem is that you get killed very easily when the spells do not work and you must then replay lengthy sections of the game over and over again. This is because the checkpoint system doesn't work properly and you are only given the choice to restart the entire level. As also mentioned in the reviews, enemy death animations are absolutely awful and extremely choppy. The problem I experienced with these animations is that often the game would freeze up in a fatal error because there are too many enemies on screen with these terrible animations. There are also constant frame rate drops in this game. Overall, the entire experience is just too unstable and buggy to enjoy and I cannot recommend it.

A nice adventure with magic, with some humor mixed into it. Where you feel like you are a real wizard, casting spells as fast you can while enemies are trying to gang up on you. Once you start, you cannot stop playing. The only problem, for me anyway, is that all the nice magic effects tends to tire my eyes after more than an hour of game-play. But after an hour or 2 of resting them, I am back in it trying to be the wizard there could be. The challenges is also worth it as you vie for achievements in the game. I truly recommend this.

I thought that a game called enhanced edition would be more supporting. Couldn't get movement to work with Quest 3. Very disappointing.