Wizard of Legend was one of many games Kickstarted in 2016, and the duo known as Contingent99 has delivered on the promises made back in those olden days. It’s billed as a dungeon crawler, sort of a halfway home between a roguelike and an Action RPG, and though those two genres may feel overplayed as of late, I promise you that you won’t be disappointed if you give Wizard of Legend a shot on PC, PS4, XB1, or Switch when it launches later today. This is our Wizard of Legend review on Nintendo Switch.
The game starts with what may be one of the cleverest tutorials in recent memory. You’re a Wizard of great power, bent on fame and fortune that can only be obtained through the Chaos Trials. It’s not a world of medieval trappings though. Rather, imagine that it’s modern day, and magic just happens to be part of everyday life. The game begins with you working your way through the Chaos Trials museum, talking to other fans of magic, and practicing your spells. It’s a really great way to give players the basics of the world and its controls, without being such an obvious “newbie tutorial”. When you get to the end of the museum, a magic relic teleports you to your own private abode where you’ll prep and practice before heading into the Chaos Trials – an effort to prove yourself as the most powerful of wizards, by defeating the four elemental guardians of the Trials.
But that task? That won’t be easy. Wizard of Legend is a Roguelike, so expect to die… a lot. It’s never cheap, but Wizard of Legend is a difficult game. Controls are tight, but enemies are tough and levels are littered with traps and pitfalls. And yes, the levels and enemies are randomized, so you’re never going to face the same challenges twice. Just in case you needed to stay more on your toes.
As you play the game, you’ll earn gems and coins. The gems can be spent between Trial attempts to get new gear, new spells, and so forth. The only problem is that you’re never sure what a spell will do until you buy it and try it, ergo you’ll often have buyer’s remorse (or at least, I did). Levels themselves also have NPCs littered throughout who will sell you new spells, one-time use items, and other powerful relics. All of these upgrades are kind of “shots in the dark” when you buy them, and I would have appreciated more info on what they do when you’re buying them. There was no worse feeling in the game than getting a new spell and finding you didn’t want or need it at all after trying it out.
Ultimately, these are small complaints for an otherwise great dungeon crawler. It’s even better when you bring a friend, as Wizard of Legend has drop-in/drop-out co-op available at any time. Tough levels are still tough, but somehow things seem less daunting when you bring another wizard to be tortured with you. And if that’s not enough, you can also do some fancy wizard duelling in 2 player mode too.
