Gem Wizards Tactics

absolutely terrible mess of pixels

Game Wizard Tactics is an okay turn-based tactics title. There's some fun to be had with the combat due to fun synergies and environmental interaction. The factions are pretty different and have interesting units and abilities. The main issue is that the game is very one-note: there's basically one map layout, one map goal, and so it's very similar fights over and over. Beyond that, for every good feature there's one that feels half-baked. The combat AI is mediocre at best - the difficulty comes from the sheer numbers of enemies on each map. Leveling your team feels like it does too little, the permanent upgrades are very few, and the interface is not great either. You unlock factions, but also get access to every faction's units in every shop and rescued unit, so it doesn't matter much which faction you pick. Things just don't click together in terms of game design the way that some of the best titles in this space have. If the team re-thinks some of the weaker points for their next game, a future title could be a classic. There is potential here, but it's not entirely realized.

It deserves a passing grade but its so repetitive at times. even with a map editor and procedural generation the missions are basically the same...

Wait for a sale. "Into The Breach" if it were far more ambitious but still it is an overall worse game. Did not go far enough to give a game like this a fair thumbs down though I don't expect it gets better. It generally gives you what is advertised and what you expect but none of it was fun to me. Didn't crash or have any issues launching the game or jumping into the action. Also comes with replay value but that would only matter if your first playthrough was fun.

https://youtu.be/KTzy_uu6FdU Weirdness and complexity go hand in hand for this hex based tactics game. It'll take some time to learn the unique units but the quality makes it worth it.

Good game, I wish it got more love from the greater gaming community