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[Review] – Magicka: The Stars are Left DLC


Gamercide

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MTSAL-Cover.png Developed by: Arrowhead Game Studios
Published by: Paradox Interactive
Platforms: PC
Players: 1-4

Magicka has come a long way with all of the new updates and DLCs, but aside from the Magicka: Vietnam DLC, they’ve only been robes, items, and levels for the arena and versus modes.  Now finally a true addition to the Adventure mode has been released.  This isn’t a quick, challenging little map like Magicka: Vietnam either.  There are three full chapters with checkpoints, bosses, and cutscenes.

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All the signature humor is there, with various areas, new and old, to explore.  You start with none of your spellbook spells from the main adventure, but a few new ones await, such as a spell for pulling objects and enemies towards you, and a spell to place portals like those in the eponymous game (guess which).  Having not played Magicka in ages, The Stars are Left provided an experience that was both familiar and new.  There are new robes and items to find, and many new Lovecraftian enemies to combat.  The boss fights in particular are quite well done, requiring quick thinking on the part of all players involved.  The final showdown with Cthulhu (not much of a spoiler, who else did you expect to be the final boss in a Lovecraft inspired Magicka DLC?) was one of the most fun and challenging battles I’ve had in Magicka in a long time.

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There were some changes that I noticed that I didn’t care for, though many of these may have been from previous updates and not this latest DLC.  Likely because of a rebalance due to the added player vs. player modes, many spells and effects seem to be much less effective, and last a shorter duration.  Self shield (shield with no elements) in particular seems all but useless now, expiring in a few short seconds if you don’t stop to boost it, and it can’t be renewed with a healing spell anymore either.

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And this was one of the easier puzzles to navigate in the final dungeon, despite all of the enemies that spawn on you as you try to walk along the invisible path.

These are only small complaints, and some of the updates are rather nice.  It is now possible to queue up your next spell while casting, so you can ready your next beam attack and use it right after the previous one to keep up the assault on a tough enemy.  In single player you can now find a faerie at checkpoints that will revive you once before you get a game over.  And perhaps best of all, chapter select and the ability to resume from checkpoints have been added.  You can choose the chapter you want to play when starting single player or hosting an online match.  And now when you exit the game, you will restart at the last checkpoint you reached, rather than having to redo the whole level.

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Changes aside, and back to the Stars are Left DLC, there is enough content-wise to make this a very worthy purchase.  I’ve been waiting for a new adventure mode since I first beat Magicka, and am glad to see the new content, and also cannot wait to see what else Arrowhead Game Studios have in store for the game.  If you are on the fence about purchasing the new adventure, you can join any player that owns the game in co-op without having to own it yourself.  All the co-operative fun of griefing each other repeatedly until you eventually work together to overcome the next tricky area or boss is back in full force in this new DLC, making it a great addition to Magicka that any fan of the game should check out.



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