MAGICKA 2 REVIEW

THE JOKER INVOKER

Reviewed on PC and PlayStation 4

→ MAY 28, 2015 I’ll give Magicka 2 this: it completely commits to its imaginative spellcasting system, sometimes to its hilarious benefit, and sometimes to its frustrating detriment. There were moments when I felt like a true sorcery savant, furiously tapping out the perfect elemental combinations in the nick of time; at others, my efforts felt artificially thwarted by cheap, unavoidable deaths, especially when playing solo. Magicka 2 can be an unreasonably cruel mistress, but its charming world and sophisticated mechanics kept me coming back, particularly when I brought a friend or two along for some chaotic co-op.

By entering combinations of 10 magical elements one button at a time, Magicka 2 lets you experiment to discover a crazy number of different spells – and amazingly, all of them wind up being useful at one point or another. There’s a clear logic to how the spellweaving works: fire and water make steam, water and cold become ice, and so forth. Once I got the many rules down, I almost immediately went mad with power. Need a circular wall of stone that protects and heals you? Go for it. Need a spell that arcs to multiple targets like lightning, but burns like fire? Create it. For as much power as Magicka 2 gives you, it’s well-matched by encounters that require you to wield that power intelligently.

For example, you might get drenched walking through a shallow creek. Suddenly, casting lightning spells becomes a 

painful and ineffective mistake. I handled it by heading back to 

water and happily pump my sword up with as much lightning as I pleased while my enemies charged towards me all soggy, ready to take tons of bonus damage from my melee attacks. Through its relatively short six to eight hours, Magicka 2’s campaign had me thinking and chuckling in equal measures, with a constant drip of sly pop-culture references to shows like Archer and Game of Thrones peppered throughout the ever-more-devious combat scenarios.

The thing is, situations like the one I just described require you to remember all those combinations, and to enter around 10 to 15 button commands in a matter of seconds on the fly. It’s a complexity that reminds me of a fighting game, which is great, except that unlike a fighting game there aren’t any proper “low execution” options to lean on when you’re under pressure, so even simple situations can be mechanically demanding depending on how you want to approach them. There are hotkeys for certain powerful spells, but those are more long-cooldown heavy hitters than general use tools. Magicka 2 is demanding, to a far greater degree than its playful, colorful countenance would seem to imply. If you manage to get it all to click though, there’s a unique sense of mastery to reward your hard work.