Bite-sized Review:
Mighty Mage
Mighty Mage
Developer: Afil Games
Release Date: 02 February, 2023
Platform: Windows, PS 4/5, Switch
Genre: Bullet Heaven
By Chris Picone, 05 April 2024
Mighty Mage appears to be, unfortunately, a bit of a cash grab, hoping to join the seemingly "easy successes" of the recent bullet heaven boom. Which is a shame because it actually has the bones of a great game - and one that features enough differences to make it stand out from the rest of the genre. I would genuinely love to see the developers pick this game back up and turn it into the game it was meant to be I can see it becoming.
Aesthetics
The graphics that do exist are nice. The key art's polished, the characters all look nice, the weapons and special effects look good, the level's minimalist but functional and fitting. But that's.... all there is.
Gameplay
For the most part, this plays out like any other bullet heaven, with one major exception - you have to hold a button to "shoot." That's important because you move slowly when you shoot and fast when you don't. You don't collect gems either; enemies appear from designated spawn points and there's a set amount each wave. Between each wave you get to choose a weapon upgrade. Unlike most bullet heavens, your weapons don't upgrade, you just choose new ones. Shooting is automatic but the target is determined by the range that each weapon shoots at. The issue is that that's the whole game. There's only a handful of weapons to unlock, a handful of enemies to defeat, and 15 waves, 1 level. Sure you can replay the game as a different element (fire, water, electricity, earth) but they all play the same anyway. And the game's really easy (read: desperately needs balancing). I barely took any damage even on my first run and never used the dash ability.
Verdict
As it stands, I'm sorry to report that you can probably give Mighty Mage a miss. The game is currently really easy and very shallow - you can complete your first run in less than ten minutes and the whole game is about half an hour. But I genuinely hope the developers continue working on this title because there is some real promise here. A few extra levels, better balance, and better weapon progression would go a really long way.
Links: