Game News Mage's Initiation: Reign of the Elements Released

[Infinitron]

Tags: Himalaya Studios; Mage's Initiation: Reign of the Elements

Himalaya Studios' adventure-RPG Mage's Initiation: Reign of the Elements is finally out today, after an incredible ten years in development. Although a fairly obscure title, some people might have high expectations for it. That's because Himalaya is run by the same people behind AGD Interactive, the group that produced several well-received Sierra remakes back in the 2000s, including an excellent VGA remake of Quest for Glory II. However, from what I understand, the RPG elements in Mage's Initiation are lighter than what you might expect in a Quest for Glory-like. I suspect it might be better understood as a kind of King's Quest/Quest for Glory hybrid, including in terms of tone. Here's the launch trailer:

​

We hope to publish a review of Mage's Initiation within the next few weeks to see how it measures up. If you'd like to check it out yourself, the game is available now on Steam and GOG for a low $15, with a 10% launch discount until next week.

 

[HoboForEternity]

nice. is it good ? Or considered a flop like hero-u?

 

[Ranarama]

nice. is it good ? Or considered a flop like hero-u?

Takes time for a game to flop

 

[Norfleet]

Wrong, truly awful games can flop before they're even officially released.

 

[ArchAngel]

A review? And where is a Kingmaker review?

 

[Baron Dupek]

nice. is it good ? Or considered a flop like hero-u?

does it matter?
it will sell like shit anyway
people rarely appreciate good games even when you grab them and rub them on their dumb faces

 

[Irgsarzh]

A review? And where is a Kingmaker review?

No time for review when you're constantly playing it.

 

[Quatlo]

nice. is it good ? Or considered a flop like hero-u?

does it matter?
it will sell like shit anyway
people rarely appreciate good games even when you grab them and rub them on their dumb faces

True, Heroine's Quest was fucking free and still is barely known game.

 

[HoboForEternity]

Heroine's Quest was fucking awesome. yeah

 

[J_C]

A review? And where is a Kingmaker review?

No time for review when you're constantly playing it.

Just wanted to point out that you registered in 2010, and you have only made 5 posts so far. 2 in the Atom RPG thread, 2 in the Kenshi thread and one here. Interesting. :D You are taking your time.

nice. is it good ? Or considered a flop like hero-u?

Being good and being a flop are not mutually exclusive.

 

[Andhaira]

Games fucking fantastic. The real sequel to Quest for Glory 4 (though I for one really enjoyed QFG5)

Just played a bit and my only few niggles are some overly stiff voice acting (if that makes any sense) for Darc and a few NPCs.
Don't like the fact that Strength stat adds to your spell damage. I know why they did it and it makes sense in the view that you are playing a mage only, but still, using the Josh Sawyer method of RPG design, however minuscule, is still a flaw IMO.

I like the fact that your elements give you cool passive magical abilities, hope there are many more of them and you can choose which ones to get.

Speaking of which I really wish you had 4 classes, or 3 classes instead of 4 mages. I know each mages element and spells are different but it would have been more fun, and IMO not much more work.

 

[MRY]

Speaking of which I really wish you had 4 classes, or 3 classes instead of 4 mages. I know each mages element and spells are different but it would have been more fun, and IMO not much more work.

It would be an entirely different game though, right? Isn't the whole theme/story related to a school for magic?

 

[V_K]

The problem isn't that all the classes are mages, the problem is that instead of different solutions for different classes (what QfG did), Mage has slightly different puzzles for different classes - the solution to which is always to cast whatever of the three non-combat spells you got last. For example, at the beginning of the first quest you'll need a rope.

Spoiler

The fire mage will find the rope tied to a tree and has to cast basic fire spell to burn the knot.
The water mage will find the rope hanging freely and can just take it, because there's no way his basic water spell could be useful there.
The earth mage won't find any rope at all, but will find some wines on the same screen, which he can free with his basic earth spell.
Haven't started an air playthrough yet, so don't know about air mage's solution to that. I expect that he'll just need to blow the rope from the tree or something.

 

[NatureOfMan]

I hope it's closer to QfG than Hero-U was. At least there seem to be classes this time around although I would've preferred a more traditional approach with Fighter, Rogue and Mage or even Paladin if they wanted to be even closer to the Quest for Glory games.

 

[Invictus]

Looks like a true Quest for Glory heir and made by the same guys who did the Sierra remakes like QfG2
Hope they do well
BTW how did Hero U sell?

 

[Boleskine]

BTW how did Hero U sell?

I don't think there are any reliable numbers but Corey Cole recently mentioned that sales have been "very slow."

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.p...of-quest-for-glory.77088/page-61#post-5978024

In hindsight, the arguments for the lower price should have been more compelling, and we’ve had very slow sales so far. Part of this is simply that the game market is extremely tough right now. Thousands of new games are released every month. We are also competing against heavily-discounted classic games, including our own. Players have tough decisions to make, and visibility is hard.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

How does Mage's Initiation rank compared to other Quest for Glory tributes?

 

[V_K]

How does Mage's Initiation rank compared to other Quest for Glory tributes?

About on par with Hero-U I would say, although for completely different reasons.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

How does Mage's Initiation rank compared to other Quest for Glory tributes?

About on par with Hero-U I would say, although for completely different reasons.

Would the ranking of QfG tributes be Heroine's Quest--->Hero-U/Mages Initiation-->Quest for Infamy in this case?

 

[V_K]

How does Mage's Initiation rank compared to other Quest for Glory tributes?

About on par with Hero-U I would say, although for completely different reasons.

Would the ranking of QfG tributes be Heroine's Quest--->Hero-U/Mages Initiation-->Quest for Infamy in this case?

I'm not sure about QfI, I've still to give it a proper playthrough (I know, I know). My understanding was, though, that this one had some actual puzzles?

 

[Luckmann]

The problem isn't that all the classes are mages, the problem is that instead of different solutions for different classes (what QfG did), Mage has slightly different puzzles for different classes - the solution to which is always to cast whatever of the three non-combat spells you got last. For example, at the beginning of the first quest you'll need a rope.

Spoiler

The fire mage will find the rope tied to a tree and has to cast basic fire spell to burn the knot.
The water mage will find the rope hanging freely and can just take it, because there's no way his basic water spell could be useful there.
The earth mage won't find any rope at all, but will find some wines on the same screen, which he can free with his basic earth spell.
Haven't started an air playthrough yet, so don't know about air mage's solution to that. I expect that he'll just need to blow the rope from the tree or something.

That's pretty shitty design, imo.

 

[Darth Canoli]

I'm not sure about QfI, I've still to give it a proper playthrough (I know, I know). My understanding was, though, that this one had some actual puzzles?

Depends on what you call puzzles (QfG-like puzzles, yes, for sure) but there is a couple of opportunities to get stuck (4/5 that i remember at least).

I highly recommend Quest for Infamy for anyone who likes off-beat humor and isn't a snowflake / extremist feminist meaning any codexer fond of QfG-like games should play it.

Would the ranking of QfG tributes be Heroine's Quest--->Hero-U/Mages Initiation-->Quest for Infamy in this case?

For me the ranking is more like :

QfI > Heroïne Quest >> (from what i've read, didn't try these two yet) Mage's Initiation/ Hero U

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

While googling around I just saw Infamy also pop up. There’s list of these with ratings? They’re obviously beyond picture based text adventures (which I played a few notably Kyrandia). I guess I’ll look at a few vids.

 

[Farewell into the night]

focken warcraft vibes

 

[Blackthorne]

Depends on what you call puzzles (QfG-like puzzles, yes, for sure) but there is a couple of opportunities to get stuck (4/5 that i remember at least).

I highly recommend Quest for Infamy for anyone who likes off-beat humor and isn't a snowflake / extremist feminist meaning any codexer fond of QfG-like games should play it.



For me the ranking is more like :

QfI > Heroïne Quest >> (from what i've read, didn't try these two yet) Mage's Initiation/ Hero U

Your check is in the mail, Canoli.