Storm Casters Review

By , on July 1, 2014
Last modified 9 years, 8 months ago


Storm Casters
Download on the AppStore
3 out of 5

PROS

  • Fast paced action
  • Responsive controls
  • Fun in short bursts

CONS

  • Lacks depth
  • Random allocation of loot ruins its appeal
  • Quickly tiresome if you play for long periods

VERDICT

Storm Casters is a light-weight dungeon crawler that is fun in short bursts, but it probably won’t hold your attention for long periods.


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You're lost and alone in a forest. Your village has been destroyed. A wizard appears before you. Granting you magic powers to claim your revenge, the robed figure then points you in the direction of the village-ravaging monster's lair, the aptly named Skull Keep.

Within the keep, you are thrown directly into Storm Casters's no nonsense dungeon crawling. A responsive virtual stick guides your hero, with a fire button letting you cast spells at the nearest available target. This simplicity creates a nice clean interface that even the occasional extra attack button can’t complicate.

To supplement your hero's basic abilities you can collect and earn cards. These work like loot, giving you extra powers and buffs. Counter intuitively, however, you don't decide which cards you equip. Instead, before each level, you are given three random cards from your collection. Its an interesting dynamic, but it stops you being able to build the character you want.

Storm Casters does add some interesting time pressures to its gameplay. Stages are not massive subterranean structures, but small rooms that must be cleared at speed before your time expires, and you are warped back to the hubzone. While you can eventually extend the time limit, you still find yourself constantly watching the clock as you race through these randomly generated areas.

With your attacks automatically targeting enemies,you're left to sprint through levels carefully choosing when to attack and when turn and run. This results in combat that is entertainingly frantic, but lacks real depth or strategy.

Boss fights do add a little more challenge. Dueling these massive creatures while the timer ticks down can be intense, demanding you throw caution to the wind and wear the enemy down before you're warped away. 

Even with these big boss battles, though, Storm Casters feels like dungeon crawler lite. Its time restrictions add some spice to the mix, but with its restrictive card system and limited character builds, it winds up being a little bland.

Screenshots

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