Yet another idle auto-battle gacha RPG

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SHOULD I PLAY MAGIC CHRONICLE?

Probably not, unless you’re dying for a new idle game. Magic Chronicle is the latest in a long line of idle auto-battler gacha games that are essentially just clones of AFK Arena with nothing new to offer. The presentation in this one is high-quality enough, if generic, and there’s at least a lot of different modes to keep players distracted. But in the end, there’s just not a hook here that’s likely to pull in players long-term, especially if insane levels of pay-to-win monetization put you off.

TIME PLAYED

How do you quantify the eternity that I’ve spent playing idle gacha RPGs over the last two years? In one sense, you could say that I played around ten hours of Magic Chronicle over the last week, unlocking fifty-some heroes, leveling my main players up beyond level 60, and completing stage 7-30 of the main campaign, alongside a healthy portion of side content. But in another sense, you could say I’ve always been playing this game—or some interchangeable game just like it. I’m playing Magic Chronicle. I’ve always been playing Magic Chronicle.

WHAT’S AWESOME ABOUT MAGIC CHRONICLE?

• Tons of game modes. Beyond the traditional auto-battle stages, where I had to set up five of my characters to take on five opponents, Magic Chronicle has a whole bunch of side modes that kept me busy. There’s a player-versus-player arena, a board game, multiple roguelike modes where your party earns bonuses as you explore, and more. My personal favorite was “Valley,” an exploration mode that plays out something like a Heroes of Might & Magic game, with your party exploring a map and uncovering various treasures bit by bit. In fact, I kind of wish that had been the main mode that the game focused on!

WHAT SUCKS ABOUT MAGIC CHRONICLE?

• Pay-to-win to the extreme. If there’s a way of monetizing free-to-play games that exists, you’d better believe Magic Chronicle has put it to use. I’m talking subscriptions, multiple battle passes, permanent buff unlocks, top-up rewards, VIP bonuses, and just straight-up buying specific heroes and gear. I was bombarded with limited-time offers to buy packs at “SIX THOUSAND PERCENT VALUE” (!!!) after every handful of levels I completed, and it’s clear that the players who open up their wallets early and often will be topping the server leaderboards.

• Slow unlocks for features. As I mentioned before, Magic Chronicle has a ton of content, but it’s also very hesitant about giving players access to it all. Even at this point, I haven’t unlocked features such as the Manor, the Assistant, and...Spaceship?! What the hell! Spaceship sounds awesome, but I need to clear stage 9-4 just to find out what it even is. Ugh.

• It’s all just the same old shit. Pardon my language, and I feel like I’m probably repeating a point I’ve made in a previous review of a gacha game, but well, they keep repeating themselves too! If you’ve played any idle auto-battle gacha RPGs on mobile released in the last five years or so, you’ve probably had the exact same experience that Magic Chronicle offers. I still love these games when they pull me in, but at this point, they’ve got to be extremely polished or offer something special to get my attention, and this one just doesn’t.