Scholar of the Arcane Arts

i love the game for the most part how the spell interact with one another is very fun and new but i don't like losing everything when i die. it would be better to unlock spells and change them out as needed.

I didn't expect that after I died I'd lose all of my spells. The plus side is you'll get access to some different spells. I've enjoyed it thus far, but I'll probably wait to play it again. Wait until it is out of Early Access, that is.

Gameplay is pretty fun, with the magic combo system being very awesome. There's a little bit of luck involved with getting the proper spells, as my run ended because I didn't have spells that allowed me to properly deal with avoiding poison. Aside from that I felt the difficulty was well paced and well implemented. I rarely had too much trouble with enemies.

Level design is alright. Each area looks mostly the same, just different enemies and colors. I think it fits the "magical realm" aesthetic fairly well though, so I'm not complaining. There's also a village of sorts you'll make upgrades to, which gives you some purpose for all of the shenanigans I think.

Overall I've been enjoying it, and look forward to seeing the game after it leaves Early Access.

I like it. Takes some getting used to but it's worth it. Keep working hard!

Simply stated, this is an absolute triumph of a game. Don't be put off by the early access tag! I know we've all been hurt before, but this isn't that game or that developer. My hat's off to Endo for being committed to the true spirit of game design! Now, lets get down to the nitty-gritty.

GAMEPLAY:
This is a game not just about magic, but the study and application of it. Your classroom is a hellscape of elemental chaos as beings from higher planes wage war for control of your world. Weaving spells comes naturally the moment you have more than one on your hotbar, but mastering the art of it is more of a constant pursuit than an achieved state. The spell codex contained in Morello, your leatherbound companion, is both fun to complete and invaluable to study as you wage war on the elemental demigods that threaten Villa and its inhabitants. Perhaps the most addicting aspect to the gameplay is just how much it MAKES SENSE.

GRAPHICS:
I'm not about to come in here and give a back-handed compliment like "The art is amazing considering this was all done by just one person." The art is amazing in this game and it, along with everything else, was done by just one person. Wow. This pixel style is nostalgic for me as it reminds of games like Maniac Mansion and Hugo's House of Horrors. The fluidity of motion and clarity of form is executed brilliantly on so many different models that don't simply get rehued for a different zone. Mindblowing amount of effort and detail.

SOUND:
Admittedly I play with my own music on most of the time, but that is a preference thing. The OST slaps, and spell sounds are absolutely played at full volume so I can immerse myself in the raw power I'm unleashing with these godly spell concepts. Even opening chests is a bumping good time.

9.5/10
The game isn't finished yet, but not for a lack of content. This is a beautiful entry into gaming this is still growing and becoming what it will absolutely go viral as. There is an amazing community of Scholars on the Discord server who are happy to share their knowledge with anybody thirsty for it. If you're even a little bit curious what this game is like or about, its a bargain fee to find out. You owe it to yourself.

I had a lot of fun with this game! The spell interactions are cool, and I like the different types of spells in the game. The game wasn't too challenging (I beat it on my first run). While several of the spells serve the same function (but as a different element), there's still a good amount of unique spells in the game. The only issue I had with the game that I want to mention is that one of the puzzles required outside knowledge to be able to solve, which felt out of place as the rest of the games puzzles seem to all be solvable using the mechanics and knowledge from in the game. Overall though, I'd recommend this game to anyone that enjoys playing as a wizard and/or is looking for a roguelike that isn't as difficult as many other games in the genre but still makes the effort to have a lot of cool spell interactions and build options.

Scholar is a game about two things:
the second: war between a mage and the world
the first: doing a general sweep of the areas that are affected by this war

how fighting works:
you pick up spells and then select up to 7 for your toolbar, which you can cast on a cooldown basis
The special part is that the spells can combine with each other for more effects.

[hr][/hr]

Suffers from lack of content and basically non-existant balancing.

great core of a game so far

this great game has a lot of qualities and its fun to build the way you want will be playing more in the future

This has potential to be one of the best wizard games on the market, but be aware that this is VERY early access, like: some spells don't have names but are in the game early access. That being said, the game is 4 dollars at the moment and is, at least for me, entirely worth the price it's at right now. The spell interactions are fun to play with, the upgrades have a nice balance of power per rank of upgrade, and there's a decent variety of spells and enemies in the game for the current stage of development. Solid reccomend, but be aware of what you're getting (and that bosses are immune to statuses).

Game is a blast. Most fun I've had playing a roguelike in a while. Doesn't fall off but I still can't wait for more content!!

I'm really enjoying what I see here currently. I love the artstyle, sound design, and core game play loop. It feels almost like a dance having to rotate spells for hidden combinations against enemies while simultaneously repositioning. There isn't a whole lot of content yet since it just released, but this is a game that I'll look forward to future updates to see how the developer improves it. Although the price tag is similar to what we now call a "Vampire Survivors Clone" this plays more like a traditional Roguelike, and has almost no similarities to VS so don't look at the screenshots then assume its just another one of those.

Another thing that needs to be emphasized: the "combine" aspect of the spells is actually a game play mechanic not a upgrade/progression mechanic. You will not be going to a menu to fuse acquired spells, but instead need to use the normally acquired ones in a way that coincides with others during the active game play segments. This isn't a bad thing, but when reading the store page description I foolishly misinterpreted the spell combining as a upgrade mechanic rather than a gameplay one. So just wanted to clarify that.

I also love that there is no MP/Mana system. Just spam your skills as they come off of cool down without needing to worry about "conserving energy". It allows to to take on each encounter to your fullest potential instead of feeling the need to ration. HP is still a thing you need to be cautious with losing, but that is a staple with nearly every Roguelike.

A few things that I would critique, or love to see in the future...

• There is a massive emphasis on spell rotation. The game is designed to make you switch to the next one after each cast. This is done through a keybinding. I was able to adapt to this quite easily because of my mouse, but for those that do not have a mouse with extra buttons this may come as a difficult thing to overcome because you would have to move your hand from the W,A,S,D keys to move onto the next spell. I think the best solution to this is to implement some sort of option "auto rotation" setting so after one spell is cast then it immediately moves to the next one the player chooses.

• There is a map you can view by pushing TAB, but there isn't a minimap option available on the main screen.

• A mild annoyance with the shift/sprint because most of the time you will be met with "there a enemies nearby". I would've rather seen that key tied to a dash with cooldown instead of a sprint that I can barley use.

• Currently only two forms of upgrades during a run. Boosting spell power, chest bonuses, and reducing spell cast speed (up to instant). Cooldowns cannot be reduced which makes sense if they want you to rotate spells, but I would just love to see additional forms of juicing up during a run.

In conclusion, I do recommend snagging this game if you are a fan of roguelikes especially for the base price. It may be worth waiting a little bit before doing so to see what direction the developer takes it. Although there is a lot of potential.

Good start, I'm eager to see where this goes.
The game in its current form feels very early stage development - if you're only interested in a finished or nearly finished I advise you wishlist it.
Hoping the levels will be more interesting eventually and not just some blocky roads. Some spells are definitely less interesting than others too so proper balancing will be important.

I haven't had this much fun slinging elemental combo spells since Chrono Trigger
Dev is extremely responsive and open to feedback from the community
What's there now is an absolute blast and I cannot wait to see all the wonderful innovations to come!

Amazingly fun game to play, cannot believe it is so cheap for the content you get! Combining spells to make new combos is a really unique idea. The difficulty scales really well, can't wait to beat the final boss!

Nice game, so much customization! its fun to try different things and i only had one hour to try! 100% getting back to this, also i love my mushroom companion :D

It took time to realize how to combo spells. Some of the builds are so fun!

This games a blast! Hits that sweet spot of nostalgic pixel art and fun/deep mechanics

fun quick paced crawler with plenty of decisions to make

Game has amazing potential, its already lots of fun creating powerful spell combos. Can't wait to see what future content may come down the line!