Mind Over Magic Review (PC)

I have a stubborn tendency to subject myself to anything with a mythical setting or magical disposition, so when Mind Over Magic bubbled out of the cauldron a week or so back, it sort of felt like the next natural step in the evolution of my career as the ne’er-do-well of witchcraft studies. From what I gathered in the early stages of its release, it was of a similar nature as Oxygen Not Included, which meant that, while I was still teetering more on the act of casting spells and building witchy concoctions in a rather dimwitted but harmlessly gleeful way, it would still feature a colony simulation aspect with deep pockets of intricate detail and tactile jargon. And yet, when I was given the call and formally invited to pull the strings in an impromptu meeting with the mages, it sort of felt like a no-brainer.

To put you in the picture, Mind Over Magic is a wizard-centric colony simulation game in which players alternate between two worlds—one being an educational platform for fledgling mages, and the other being the mysterious underbelly of the school that you yourself have to build, evolve, and graduate. Without shedding light on too many spoilers, there are classes for you to establish, turn-based battles to conquer, questionable plants to incubate, and even a few undead servants to train. And to be honest, I’m barely scratching the surface with this. So, if you’re interested to hear more about Sparkypants’ latest colonial endeavor, then be sure to read on.

Class Is in Session

I’m going to be blunt with you here, but you ought to know that the students and teachers aren’t of a similar mindset as those featured in Harry Potter; they’re not necessarily spiteful towards the educational system, but let’s just say that they’d soon rather graduate and/or retire than subject themselves to an eight-book anthology of wizardly endeavors. What I mean by that is, while the game does allow you to foster relationships with both faculty and students alike, your entire reason for existing is to fill their heads with the spells and knowledge of your ancestors, and then scoot them out of the door to receive the next batch of wand-waving practitioners. That’s a small blimp in an otherwise fun and engaging process, mind you. And, this more or less illustrates my next point — it isn’t the time you’re given, but what you do with it.

Mind Over Magic isn’t so much about building bonds or establishing cliques, but teaching your classes to juggle the needs of the school and the underlying issues that wallow beneath the surface. As the curator of ancient relics and witchcraft-smitten agendas, your work begins with a small plot of land, a handful of professors, and a promise that, should you graduate enough students and evolve their skills, your school and all of its dearest possessions will ascend to a more prestigious institution. But there’s a little more to the process than simply echoing incantations and learning the love language of witchcraft; it also involves engaging in turn-based battles, tailoring class schedules, assigning the appropriate mages to each portion of the school, and upgrading wands and other magical synergies.

Juggling Wands & Other Magical Doohickeys

If you were to scribble down every single ingredient that makes up this specific elixir, then you’d probably lose sight of the basic flavors that make it so palatable. True, there is a lot to juggle as the grand arcane of a booming colonial empire (more so when you take the undercroft and its unnatural dangers into account), but I wouldn’t label Mind Over Magic as a majorly complex simulation game. I’m not saying that it’s a relaxing experience, nor would I be willing to slot it under that “cozy” umbrella, for that matter, as there are several extracurricular activities that you need to consider in addition to your normal contractual obligations — like incubating a rare species of plant, or fostering an undead army to aid your efforts of sourcing the most formidable academic mages, for example. But like I said — a lot to juggle.

Of course, a learning curve is commonplace in a game that prioritizes colony management and economic growth. For me, I found that the more I played it, and the more students I graduated, the easier the process became. I suppose, the same thing applies for most, if not all simulation games that allow you to play the right hand of God; the initial phase can be something of a monotonous slog and an uphill sprint, but the latter portions of the track can, to some degree, be with their own share of sprinkles, perks, and in some cases, witchy incentives that allow you to upgrade your wands, mages, and educational stratagem. To put it bluntly, if you lack the patience to reap what you sow, then you might struggle to find somewhere to hang your broomstick here.

Visually Enchanting

While there isn’t a great deal of depth to the plot in Mind Over Magic, there are several other elements of note, such as the graphics, for example. Although the game does lack the scale of a full-fledged 3D world, it does compress a lot of fantastic qualities in each of its areas, with tailorable components that can easily transform the rustic roots of a barebones facility into enchanting quarters of electric blue and ultraviolet. Its sound design isn’t half bad either, with a lot of a-ha effects and some gimmicky sprinkles of a witchy sort. Combined, Mind Over Magic conjures a lot of hard-hitting audiovisual achievements, effectively adding to the crisp and colorful tone that it tries to convey in its character and world depictions. That’s all great, truly.

The thing that I’m taken aback by the most is the amount of content Mind Over Magic manages to portray on such a small screen. If you can come to terms with the sheer chaos of it all, then you’ll quickly come to find that each portion of the world that you actively develop has its own special features, whether they’re purely cosmetic or stitched into the framework of an in-depth curriculum. And with so much of that material to work with, it’s almost impossible to knuckle in on the same endgame as your last, too. There are ten extra points for replay value.

Verdict

Mind Over Magic’s in-depth honeycomb-building system provides an excellent foundation for fledgling magical entrepreneurs to flex their creative wizardry in a world that’s hardly short of bewildering spells or enchanting innovations. True to its word, the witchy elixir of a thematic sandbox is an elegant, immersive, and oftentimes thought-provoking experience with a lot of viable avenues to explore and incentivize. With a generous selection of class traits, skill trees, facilities, and cosmetic features to unlock and enhance, the game could quite easily snag a handful of your most precious hours — and that’s putting it lightly.

It doesn’t take a wizard to figure out just how much love and affection went into the formulation of this world and its vast wealth of sandbox materials. It’s one of those games that I’d happily return to, and that doesn’t come as too much of a surprise, given how quickly I was able to adapt to the system and start branching out into other aspects of the experience. And while I’m not saying that it’s the easiest field to work in, Mind Over Magic does make a habit of using a plethora of palpable resources and stepping-stone guides to gradually steer you in the right direction. To that I say, kudos, team — you saved me quite the headache.

To state the obvious, if you’re after a melting pot of witch-centric materials and a structurally sound gameplay loop that’s both fantastical by design and satisfying to carve through, then you’re probably going to enjoy throwing your tuition fees into Mind Over Magic. It’s of a similar nature as Oxygen Not Included, too, so if that’s the sort of colony simulation experience that tickles your fancy, then you ought to feel right at home with this underling.