Mage's Initiation: Reign of the Elements Previews
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Himalaya Studios' upcoming Adventure/RPG hybrid Mage's Initiation: Reign of the Elements got a proper release date and a new trailer last month. This spurred a number of media outlets to take a preview build of Mage's Initiation out for a spin, and as a result, we now can check out their fairly positive early impressions below.
VGU:
After reaching the conclusion of the time I spent with Mage’s Initiation: Reign of the Elements, it is clear that Himalaya Studios have put a lot of time and energy into creating a classic adventure game in every sense of the word. The dramatic narrative, alongside the replay value of choosing different elemental specialities and the beautiful retro styled graphics will not disappoint the hundreds of people that invested their money into the game’s creation. Himalaya Studios will be releasing Mage’s Initiation: Reign of the Elements next month on Steam. Be sure to stay tuned to VGU for our in-depth review, as well as a selection of hints and tips on how to use D’arc’s magical abilities successfully.
The puzzles I’ve encountered so far have been quite straightforward; for example, at one point it’s necessary to locate four different tile pieces from within a labyrinth to complete a mural and open a locked door. I remember there being different ways to overcome a challenge when playing King’s Quest VI and the same is true here. When trying to find out a door combination, another character told me he’d trade the answer for a health potion – but in his words were a clue to the code, which I then managed to figure out for myself.
This feature, along with the ability to choose your element and customise your character somewhat as described above, give the potential for a lot of replay value. The branching storyline and optional sidequests also make for a story which doesn’t feel completely linear. It’s obvious the Himalaya Studios team have really focused on giving their fans what they asked for – and adventure / RPG hybrid – and with other titles like Unavowed being positively received this year, I can see this mash-up genre becoming popular.
It is probably a bit of misfortune for Himalaya that Mage’s Initiation comes so soon after Lori and Corey Cole’s Hero-U, but this is a very different game, leaning heavily into the sincere fairy tale wonder and pure adventure aspects of the King’s Quest series. It also relies less on humor and RPG elements, to the extent of offering a path to play as a pure adventure while still building in replayability with four different main paths, as well as promises of optional side quests and branching paths. I am intrigued to see what other spells my character will learn and how much deeper and more difficult the combat elements will get, but I especially just can’t wait to admire even more of the beautiful backgrounds of this technically superb game. Mage’s Initiation: Reign of the Elements is scheduled for a January 30, 2019 release and even six years since its introduction, certainly looks like an adventure worth the wait.
