The Land of the Magnates

This game has some interesting ideas. For a platformer, the controls are different and they work. The usage of a musical instrument during and outside of fights is also an under utilised idea with good results. I happen to like these kind of games and am willing to excuse imperfections because I’m still having fun with them. This game is no different even though it has questionable design decisions, bad voice acting, repetitive encounters and more. I was willing to leave it with a positive in the hopes the developer improves for the second game. But I’m noticing a negative pattern. My biggest issue is this developer leaving a game unsupported, it hasn’t received a single patch even though 4 achievements don’t work and they promised they would fix them. I had to use unofficial means to get them to unlock which is something I dislike doing when it’s their job to fix them. They did the same with their second game, it released without a single patch even though there is enough to improve on with the mixed reviews it has received. Back to Magnates, I also have issues with how chapter select works. It does not keep track of what you have collected but it reverts you to the first state y…

Gotta give the devs guys respect because it was just two guys that took 2 years to make this game, but after playing it I gotta say they should have left it in the oven a bit longer. The game is decent length, its not terribly ugly (although it doesnt look particularly good either), and sometimes the platforming can work well. The rest is all bad. The running and jumping animations are awful and super finnicky. You bounce off platforms and other times get stuck in things and fall through objects. The fixed perspective can screw you with judging plane of movement with sideways platforming. Theres awfully designed platforms later where you have to freeze them, but when they add multiple in a row with a split second to perform it, and for whatever reason playing the notes doesn't trigger the second one, its rough. This sort of thing happens later in the game regularly, as well as with the holding down charge run across spikes where in order to make it you have to basically predict before theyre going to lower. The story is also told through slow moving still frame pictures with awful dialogue so I tuned out pretty fast, but its basically you saving your dad who falls ill, not real…

Nice visuals, but the controls are awful and the game just lacks any gameplay polish at all.

About 6 hours of playtime (it shows I have 8 hours but 2 of those were AFK for various reasons). I got this for a real good deal so it was hard for me to leave a negative review as I did finish the game and I did enjoy parts of it. It is just lacking in many areas that I can't leave a positive review. The major flaw is the voice acting and the dialogue. For the most part, the voices sound like bored people yanked from the street and asked to read some lines. Some of the dialogue is down right confusing and strangely poetic when there could be easier ways of telling the story. It is too bad as this really detracts from what could have been some nice story telling. Most of the platforming is fun but there are places where camera movement and 3D makes for difficult timing of jumps. The ryhtym sections at first were a bit of a chore but luckily they are short. I almost wished for a "skip" option as I didn't really enjoy them. I did play on the easy difficulty as I didn't feel like struggling in combat. The combat isn't too bad as you have to match the pattern of the enemy with what ever note you play. There is a capable dodge and good jumping for tactics. Again, I did play on easy so…

What if Prince of Persia was also a musical rhythm game? Well, that game exists. It’s called The Land of the Magnates and it’s made by two indie devs from Turkey. Which is a big deal to me because if you’re going to have a Middle Eastern aesthetic, it might as well be authentic. This, of course, is a platformer. And while it’s fairly indebted to Prince of Persia, it’s actually not quite like the Apple II original nor the Sands of Time reboot by Ubisoft—but somewhere in between. It’s a 3D platformer, but you don’t have camera control, and it’s got a fixed isometric perspective. There’s polygons, but they’re cel-shaded. And the cutscenes are full of hand-drawn watercolour paintings. A big part of this game is jumping from ledge to ledge. But there’s also wall-running, and sliding. What’s makes this unique is the musical aspect. You fight enemies and solve puzzles with the power of music, which demands precise timed inputs. Which is so damn charming. The voice acting is over-the-top. But this reminds me of early 2000s titles when, yes, games were expected to have a bit of ham. Devs want you to play with a gamepad. Which is indeed the better experience. Keyboard controls are a …

The Land of the Magnates, developed by Permanent Way Game Co. and published by indie.io, is an ambitious action-adventure platformer that draws deeply from Middle Eastern folklore and mythological storytelling. Rather than leaning on generic fantasy tropes, it builds its world around cultural inspirations reminiscent of Arabian, Persian, and Byzantine traditions, crafting a setting that feels distinct within the indie action-adventure landscape. At its center is Malik Shahbaz, a prince forced into exile who embarks on a journey to cure his poisoned father and restore balance to a fractured kingdom. The narrative framework is steeped in themes of betrayal, redemption, and destiny, giving the game a mythic tone that guides the entire experience. From a structural standpoint, the game blends 3D platforming, environmental puzzles, and combat encounters across interconnected regions. Each area presents a unique thematic identity, ranging from lush enchanted forests to grand marble cities and mechanical realms infused with mystical energy. Exploration is encouraged through vertical level design, hidden pathways, and collectible-based progression that rewards curiosity. Traversal mechani…