Worlds of Magic
A spiritual successor to Master of Magic with mixed reception.
Wastelands Interactive created Worlds of Magic, a single-player fantasy turn-based 4X strategy game, for Windows in 2015. Ports to PS4 and Xbox One arrived later that year as Worlds of Magic: Planar Conquest, sometimes called an improved sequel. This version reached PC, iOS, and Android in 2016 as Planar Conquest, with a Nintendo Switch port in 2020. Intended as a spiritual successor to Master of Magic, it earned mixed reviews.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Wastelands Interactive
- Released
- 2015 (WW)
- Genre
- Turn-based strategy
- Modes
- Single-player
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows
- PlayStation 4
- Xbox One
- Nintendo Switch
- iOS
- Android
Facts from the source article.
Development
Wastelands Interactive launched a successful Kickstarter bid in April 2013 to fund the game, which was intended as a spiritual successor to Master of Magic. Designer George Edward Purdy, who had worked on Master of Orion and Master of Magic, joined the team. The game entered late alpha testing on August 8, 2014, and went into Early Access on September 11. It officially launched at retail outlets and on Steam on March 19, 2015. Its PlayStation 4 release made it the first 4X game available on that platform, according to Softpedia. The project was Wastelands Interactive's biggest up to that date.
Reception
Worlds of Magic holds a Metacritic score of 52, placing it in the mixed or average range. A 2015 Rock Paper Shotgun review pointed out that its Kickstarter budget left it with far fewer resources than games like Age of Wonders III or Endless Legend, and that this shortfall is evident in the gameplay, which was called rickety and forgettable. GameSpot criticized the game as a tepid mix of half-formed ideas and unnecessary obstacles, with bland art direction, a lack of conviction, and numerous bugs, glitches, and crashes. On the positive side, two Explorminate reviewers said it is unpolished but still manages to deliver the old-school, hardcore feel and fun of Master of Magic. The PS4 version received a 3.5 out of 5 from digitallydownloaded in 2016, which noted issues but called it a lot of fun. Another 2016 PS4 review on Medium gave it a 7 out of 10, with the main complaint being lackluster graphics. A PC review of Planar Conquest scored it 5 out of 10, praising its incredible depth while criticizing frustrating controls and boring combat. The mobile version, reviewed by PocketTactics, earned 3 out of 5 stars (with a note that it would be 3.5 if half-stars were allowed), with criticism of the user interface and sound effects but praise for its rare level of detail and complexity on mobile. In 2017, TrueAchievements gave the Xbox One version 1 out of 5, stating that even though the platform has few 4X games, this one is so plagued by design and gameplay issues that it is not better than nothing. Finally, PCGamesN noted in 2019 that, based on Steam reviews, the game failed to capture the magic of Master of Magic.
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