Rift Wizard

rift wizard is a prison planet that you can run on a potato

I have seen the Rift. I have looked beyond the veil. I have witnessed the ancient powers that dwell between worlds, the forgotten knowledge of the wizards, and the terrible presence of Mordred. And I have learned one thing. Magic is complicated. There was a time when I believed that power came from understanding. I was young then. Naive. I believed that if I studied the arcane arts long enough, the universe would eventually reveal its secrets to me. The universe did not. Instead, it gave me a spellbook. I opened it. There were spells. I selected one. Something happened. This was enough. From that moment onward, I understood that a wizard does not need to know everything. A wizard needs only enough knowledge to continue being a wizard. There are forces here that cannot be easily described. Fire. Death. Ice. Lightning. Things that summon other things. Things that make those things stronger. Things that make enemies weaker. Things that probably make something else happen. I accepted this. The old masters would have spent decades studying such mysteries. I simply pressed a button. And thus I became powerful. Or perhaps I became s…

Leaving this review after getting my first win. Rift Wizard is very brutal but in the fun way. This game gives you all 140+ unique spells (each having upgrades) and 100+ unique skills ready for choosing right from the start of a new run which seems absolutely absurd. You have so many options that it can seem overwhelming, but that is what makes this game so fun. You aren't meant to get a complete understanding of every spell at the start to pick what's most optimal. You just pick a spell that looks cool. Then you choose a spell or skill you find that complements it. You learn the game bit by bit, slowly optimizing your choices. It feels as if you are a wizard pouring over your ancient tome, saying "Aha!" when you find the perfect skill to compliment your selection of spells. When you do good it isn't because you got lucky, its your strategy. It's balanced enough to where there aren't just a couple of builds that are good, there are ways to make practically every spell work! The game still has a good bit of RNG, there are over 500 different enemies along with randomized floor layouts, items and shrines (buffs you assign to one particular spell), but you can see the entire next leve…

better balanced than 2 at least

I will keep this review negative out of spite, born of frustration of never beating the game even after 100 hours. It will change to Recommended once I complete it. ;)

Poor spell descriptions compared to how much you need to know to make educated choices. RW3 is much better in this regard, start from there.