Charged with keeping the incursion quiet whilst clearing the area of anything the breathes, you load up and head out. codename ‘Gunspell’, returning to active duty within the Order after the conclusion of that game, and are quickly pressed back into service when a demon attacks a local mall. The game’s narrative picks up as a direct sequel of the one found in the original Gunspell title. This feels fine for menu selection and shuffling icons on the board, but when you trigger that huge spell you’ve been playing to power up, it can be a little underwhelming when it doesn’t rock the same level of audio as the fast-paced combat cues. Sound effects are a little weak by comparison, being relegated to the background. There are sadly not as many tracks as I’d like to see on offer, but those that there are manage to pump home the exact tome that the game is looking for. Guitar chords are melded with ominous tones, and melodies have a gothic tone to them sampled with modern instruments that really pulls everything together. The interactive elements of the game are well implemented, with everything roughly figure sized and easy to use with a thumb, and background/monster artwork is of a great quality.Īudio is strong, with use of an ambient and haunting soundtrack and it VERY good from the get-go. Occasionally however the reference photos are a little too easy to spot under the design, and the likeness of Anthony Steward Head (Giles from ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’) is a too obvious to be coincidence. This looks different to the usual American comic or Manga stylings seen in the mobile market and does give a good sense of atmosphere and realism. Graphically the title uses a European comicbook art style that has clearly been drawn over photographs for realistic reference. This makes for some great systems, but the freemium nature of the title still mires it down with login rewards, premium currency and energy meters that can make progression feel gated at times. It’s sequel arrived early 2020 and looks to build on that formula.ĭeveloped by AKPublish pty Ltd, who have also worked on ‘Codex of Victory’ and ‘Magic Siege – Castle Defender’, Gunspell 2 serves as a rare, direct sequel to the campaign mode found in the original title, and doubles down on the RPG in this hybrid title in a way that hasn’t really been seen since ‘PuzzleQuest’ bowed out of the scene in favour of IP tie-ins across multiple mediums. The original Gunspell was released on mobile and Steam in 2014 and stood out in the crowd of anime-styled titles by have a strong WRPG vibe and modern supernatural fantasy setting. The endless tide of Match-3 RPG hybrid titles seems to have slowed down of late, and attempts to really dive into a blend of the two that goes beyond ‘Match-3 that resembles combat’ have become rare.