Wizard of Legend, developed by and published for Steam by Contingent99, is a dungeon exploring game where the levels are randomly generated. Little information is divulged early on about the character you assume the role of, but you do appear mysterious, donned in a hooded robe with glowing eyes. The game is designed to appear in 32-bit graphics, but Contingent99 has gone above and beyond my expectations for what is possible with this scheme. The non-player characters, and later on your enemies, all have noticeably different features. It feels like the right graphic style was chosen for this game already, but I would enjoy seeing the game in stronger detail.
Ahead is the Lanovian Museum and seeing as there was no place else to go, I began exploring. The museum turns out to be the tutorial for the entire game. Speak with the people at the desks to earn arcana and how to use them. Talk to the non-player characters to learn some lore and history about the Chaos Trials and the wizards of the council. Simple and yet lacking. At some point, I started to wonder if that was all. I had no idea where this could possibly be headed. Would a princess be kidnapped? Would the museum be sucked into a vortex and sent across space and time?
Not so much. Upon inspecting the last artifact of the museum, I was transported to a new place within the same realm. A mirror named Veres informs that I’ve been chosen for the trials that I just learned all about in the museum. Outside the building I was teleported to are shops to purchase new arcana and relics using chaos gems, however they offer no description of the item that catches your interest. That’s when I start connecting the dots. In the museum, I was taught that I needed to customize my arcana because I could only hold so many in my Arcana Grimoire, so I needed to make the best combination to suit my playing style. There’s a variety of spells that involve fire, ice, lightning, and wind. I was pleasantly surprised to find you can swap which arcana is assigned to each button. There are also different relics to increase health, defense, attack, or a plethora of other options. Lastly, you also come across new robes to purchase that have different benefits.
After I ventured through the village I came across an insignia on the ground. I step on it and finally the action begins. Instantly it becomes obvious that this is a randomly generated game. The three areas are either earth, fire, or water, which also appear in a random order. The beginning location of the dungeon is always central, but the enemies, the vendors, and the dungeon boss are constantly in a new location. Now I’m getting excited, and the music helps keep my blood pumping for the next battle!
I actually only learned the dungeons were completely random after my first game over. On that note, this game is unforgiving. The relics you pick up are gone once you die, and you start from the beginning of the six dungeons. If you love a challenge, and slinging magic to make awesome combinations, this game is for you. Each dungeon is crawling with deadly archers, spearmen, demons, zombies, ninjas, and just a little bit of everything. Death comes quickly while using the keyboard and mouse. Then, switch to a gamepad, and my skills drastically improve. I tried a third-party controller first and that didn’t work, but my Xbox One did, so first party gamepads should be fine. The game seems to be designed for Xbox One as the buttons displayed are A, B, X, and Y in their corresponding colors. The movement was smooth, however aiming an attack proved a struggle. More game time might help improve my skill though.
We tried out co-op mode and this helped increase my chances of completing the dungeons. In this mode, when one or the other dies, there is the possibility of being revived by collecting green orbs. Alas, I am no legendary wizard. I was constantly thwarted before the end of the second dungeon. In co-op it can be easy to lose track of your character, even if you are all wearing different colored cloaks. Picking up a potion for a hundred coins heals all party members. I highly recommend this as a cooperative game to play with friends, as long as you coordinate which corridors to take first.
Overall, I will be coming back to play this game. The difficulty might be a deterrent for some, but the more I played the better I became. Combining spells and dashing at the right moment are extremely important. The action in this game is tough to capture in words, so check this game out for some fast-paced dungeon action and see if you are a Wizard of Legend. Happy gaming!
