The Spell Brigade Reviews
If you have a few chums to play with, The Spell Brigade will quickly become your go-to multiplayer Survivors-like funfest for sure. 🧙‍♀️
The Spell Brigade separates itself from the pack of Vampire Survivors-adjacent games by letting up to four players engage in unruly, wave-based chaos. However, the power climb is locked behind a steep grind that takes too long to feel rewarding.
Fun Survivors-like experience with a varied group of wizards to choose from
The Spell Brigade doesn't do anything wrong, but it also doesn't do anything to make itself stand out in a sea of survivors-like games. Its gameplay isn't all that exciting, its art and sound design is ho-hum, and any meaningful upgrades take far too long to unlock. There are plenty of other games in the genre that are far more rewarding to play.
The Spell Brigade is a surprising game to come across our board to review and I’m glad I picked it. It’s a fun survivor game to pick up and invite others to play with. If you have a controller, this game allows people to use either control stick. You don’t need to explain yourself, just know you have the option to make that choice. So pick up a copy and see if you get assistance from a celestial wizard like myself popping in to rid the forces of Cthulhu. Or you can do it yourself. I give The Spell Brigade the Thumb Culture Platinum Award
The Spell Brigade is a fun, slightly rough, but highly replayable experience that works best when you lean into its co-op systems. Some of the systems need refinement and expansion, but it is deep enough to make you want to play it again. The Spell Brigade could be much more than that in the genre with continued updates.
The Spell Brigade offers an interesting twist on the survivor-like genre. The more intricate map design combined with the quest system adds more strategy to runs, but the slow unlocking of these systems and the lack of enemy variety make the game sometimes feel repetitive. The safe choice to not deviate too much from genre staples also adds to this feeling. Multiplayer is fun, but the lack of synergy between players makes it feel like you are just playing next to each other instead of working together. The game can be used as a social experience when you and your friends love to play survivor-like games, but don’t expect any big changes to an already existing formula.
The Spell Brigade is excellence in the survivors-like genre, offering players a chance to partake in some whacky, chaotic co-op wizardry. While designed for online play, solo players can still appreciate the title, though they may find progression to be a slower grind overall.
The Spell Brigade has delivered a 1.0 release that really does shine! Wizards and spells are abundant, and co-op play is a lot of fun. Though the core gameplay loop is a little too familiar at times, there’s no denying that this is still one of the best recent entries in a now crowded genre.
The Spell Brigade delivers chaotic and highly entertaining matches, whether played in co-op or solo. The spell system combined with friendly fire creates unpredictable moments that work especially well with friends. On the downside, repetition sets in early due to limited enemy variety, maps, and objectives. On the base PS5, performance issues in later stages and a bug that freezes the selection screen also impacted the experience. Still, with potential fixes at launch, the game remains a solid option for those seeking carefree fun.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The Spell Brigade offers a chaotic and enjoyable co-op experience, with creative spell combinations and strong teamwork moments being its biggest strengths. However, its excessive grinding just to unlock the next thing, small handful of maps, and general repetition, leaves this initially fun experience feeling exhausting. It’s better in short bursts rather than extended play sessions.
There’s a fair amount down to chance in this game other than your starting weapon since that’s intrinsic to your wizard. Upgrades to your spells can be rerolled a few times once you progress far enough. Being able to gamble a reroll on the choice of augmentations and relics at the expense of health is a cool mechanic. This is incredibly valuable at higher levels when you know the playstyle of the wizard you like and what spells you need to make it work. That said, the only thing you can’t reroll are the spells. As frustrating as this is it does encourage players to try out new combinations. Plus, you won’t get stuck in ruts too often. This is a big part of what keeps this game feeling fresh every time. Embrace it!