Macie's Magic Melee

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"Macie's Magic Melee" is a rather poorly made third person hack'n'slash arena fighting game with low poly graphics. It seems to have been intended for mobile phones but is somehow on Steam instead, where, well, it didn't prove to be all that popular. This features fairly low quality low poly 3D visuals which will deter a lot of gamers, understandably. Gaming is a visual medium, and it's clear the developers behind this didn't understand that. Not every "free" game really is. There's often MTX, or content locked behind DLC, or donations being requested, or any other number of things that could mislead gamers, but in this case I'm glad to say this really does appear to be a fully free game. Nothing demonstrates a developers belief in themselves and their work than giving it away without any remuneration. This is a service to themselves, and the gaming industry, and should be applauded. Of course, just because something is free, doesn't necessarily mean it's valuable. Even though this is "free", it failed to appeal to the 120 million+ gamers on Steam. SteamDB showed the game peaked at only 2 concurrent players... this is a dismal public reception. This was so bad they could…

You really want to beat this game as fast as possible. That is why as a speed-runner, I love it. I currently hold the world record for the stage 1 any% category at a time of 24.3 seconds (unofficial, waiting on speedrun^com to add the game). I really like how the devs allow for us to experiment using the movement system they've created in order to push it to its limits. I also really appreciate that the devs dont immediately patch out the speedrun tech. Unlike many "other studios," they really listen to the speedrun community when we say to not touch any aspect at all. Currently I am one of 5 active speedrunners but I am sure are community will continue to grow as long as this game doesnt receive any updates!

Lovely to see Spineless studios once more! I enjoyed the gameplay loop despite a few bugs. I found the combat system fun and especially the fairy enemy difficult. The game thrives as it uses time as a resource similar to many roguelikes but by punishing the user for failing to be fast, The environment looks great as well. The environmental theme of a young girls environment creates an amusing and heartfelt aesthetic.I see the vision behind this game exceedingly clear. Some of the bugs get in the way of achieving this vision but nonetheless this product is one the developers should be proud of. Good student game exploring mechanics and modeling. And, as always, cannot beat the price :) I appreciate the often difficult transition from a card game with simple player interactions to a far more complex 3D action game. Excited to see where the developers head next! Congrats on finishing another achievement on the old resume belt UCSC students/grads!