Professor of Magical Studies

Reviewing (mostly) every game (or DLC) in my library, part 587: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆☆☆☆ (5/10) Ngl, I kinda feel bad about giving [i]Professor of Magical Studies[/i] a thumbs down. Like, it's not a [i]bad[/i] work by any means. It has its flaws, sure, but it's generally well-liked and well-written. But the author has a clear vision in mind, and sadly, I did not vibe with it. At all. You see, I was hoping for a "light academia" aesthetic, where I play as a professor, romance a coworker, and tutor the young, bright minds of tomorrow. I got that—somewhat. However, Stephen Granade veers more into the dark academia aesthetic. To be quite frank, [i]Professor of Magical Studies[/i] filled me with annoyance and frustration. The game is less focused on teaching and more focussed with juggling all the different stressors of a junior faculty member—one with magic. You will have to study pattern magic (very cool!), groom your apprenticeship, find love, deal with gentrification, focus on research, participate in service, spend funds, sabotage (or help) your coworker/rival, jostle for tenure, and save the universe. As you might imagine, that is A Lot™️ I found juggling three areas, max, difficult en…

A very good Choice game. Has some rather irritating quirks, like modern Americanisms which almost put me off from playing further (I'm not from US or in US). But the story itself is very well crafted, with deep and believable characterrs, very interesting premise and good execution. Even the romance, which I usually skip in those games (I want to roleplay cool things, romance is usually last thing I want to do in fantastic genres), was done very well here. Was genuinely interesting, with a rather fresh setting. Think Harry Potter but with modern PhD studies and all its politicking, Quite accurate too. Felt like a decent enough simulator, with a sprinkle of magic and complex relationships. A real pleasure to play through. Enjoyable.

As interesting as the story is I desperately wish there were save points. I hate having to replay the entire thing just to redo one part.

Literally none of the main characters were compelling to me. I hated how weak I was made to feel at every turn. By the time the end came I was just hoping for it to all be over so I could never see any of these horrible people ever again.

story feels like you dont really have a choice. characters are a nuisance. you just have to take it. story seems shallow. and i have doubts if the author has ever truely thought about what he or she or they or whatever was writing. like "computers are extremely good at some magical thing. but it might be dangerous. so nobody has ever tried it." sure, thats how humanity operates. sorry, this is ridiculous.

Nice story, even if saving the Universe are too high stakes for my humble taste.