WIZ — Quest for the Magic LanternLant

Gary James, 2017

First off, we should really delve into the spirit and story of Wiz. It carries the usual tropes of fantasy flair as we enter the realms of magic and lead Wiz, the last elder wizard, on a quest que to find the Magic Lantern. Lante Suffice to say we won’t be doing this empty-handed either, as our trusty book of magic and spell potions will be at close proximity to deal any damage to any foes crossing our path en route (of which there are plenty!). Seems easy so far, yes? Well, don’t let those cute and beautiful

visuals confuse you, as this game is hard! Not unforgiving, but hard. Every death clearly emphasises a cause of death directly at your actions, and while you can tweak the health and continues to lessen the blow, there is a sense of memorisation needed when jumping from platform to platform to know enemy locations and which can be avoided, and which will need a well-timed attack to clear the way forward.

Take for instance the worm, the very first enemy you’ll meet on starting for the first time. The temptation to use your magic to remove it is prevalent, until you discover that its height falls below your magic’s destructive path, requiring you to jump over it. Easy at first, but devilishly hard when these little blighters are lurking on tiny platforms hovering in mid-air, forcing a sizable backtrack should you fall..

With gameplay feeling a little like Robocod and taking cues from its 1996 sibling Tin Toy, it’s clear that visually a lot of effort was placed into its short but beautiful five levels. However with no countdown timer or urgency to complete each area, Wiz allows for slow tactical gameplay and exploration to uncover every corner at your leisure. Musically too the whimsically magical theme fits the style of the game well. Sure it’s not a chart-topper, or one you’ll have stuck in your head for weeks, but it more than achieves its requirements.

I’ve spent a few weeks with Wiz, and each time I play the game, I always come away feeling that it was a good, but not a great, experience. Given the short development time, it should be applauded that this looks as good as it does. But there are only FIVE levels — now that’s tragic. Its short nature begs for further levels, a hub world, and a tweak in difficulty. If you’ve purchased and played Tin Toy then you might find little here that has been improved in the 20 years between the two games’ releases, but with enough tweaks and changes that make it less a reskin and more a spiritual successor. Should you buy it? Perhaps... if you don’t own its sibling title, but those similarities, alongside its length, stop it short of being a Sizzler for me.

I wasn’t sure about this one at first. I found controlling Wiz a little cumbersome, the music for level 1 a bit like a stuck record, and I wasn’t sure if I could jump on top of enemies (Mario style) or not as success was patchy. The introductory level is also a baptism of fire in terms of difficulty, and death results in being returned to the beginning of the sublevel — all of which almost put me off completely. However, I persevered... and I’m so glad I did! Once you master the controls, and use of the different spells, everything becomes so much more enjoyable, and progress is more rapid after getting past the first part of level 1. I then started to really appreciate the graphics which are really colourful and well-drawn, and although the in-game music is still hit and miss for me, you can always toggle it on/off during the game :) Overall a lovely package which will especially appeal to fans of the genre.