Spells & Secrets

My first run through the Academy of Greifenstein felt like cracking open a children's fantasy novel that someone had quietly stuffed with roguelite loops. The premise is familiar territory: you arrive as a fresh first-year student, something immediately goes wrong, and you are inexplicably the only one equipped to fix it. What Alchemist Interactive does with that setup is less about subverting expectations and more about creating a warm, unhurried sandbox where spell-slinging is the point, and the story largely steps aside to let it happen. The core loop is isometric and twin-stick-adjacent: you move through procedurally assembled corridors of the school, fight magical creatures, pick up artifacts and potions, and die just often enough to send you back to the safe-zone hub outside the castle walls. Permanent upgrades purchased between runs keep the sense of forward motion alive, though the early hours demand patience. Your starting loadout, a sluggish magic missile and a levitation spell that reads as useless until you realize you can float enemies off ledges or into each other, does a poor job of advertising how inventive the game becomes once the spell roster widens. The key design idea, that every spell can affect every target including environmental objects and even boss encounters, gives experimentation real teeth. Spotting that the first boss is not immune to its own fire-puddle hazards is the kind of small revelation the game quietly rewards. The hub area adds texture through bulletin boards with scraps of school lore, faction leaders who unlock new spell trees, and classmates to rescue from inside the dungeon, which all give each run a gentle narrative anchor beyond pure mechanical repetition. The grind is real, though. Progress can feel cumbersome for stretches, and the story never quite builds on its intriguing setup of a magically rearranging castle and a mysterious invading faction called The Crown. Critics who found the writing apathetic are not wrong. The world has charm in its visual presentation, a clean colourful isometric look that communicates whimsy without clutter, but the characters populating it rarely leave much of an impression. On PC, where mouse-and-keyboard control lets you aim and cycle spells without the awkward button-overlap issues reported on console, the game runs at its most fluid. The co-op is where Spells and Secrets arguably justifies itself most confidently. Split-screen local play turns the spell sandbox into something genuinely playful; levitating your partner into a pack of enemies while they try to cast back is the kind of low-stakes chaos that makes it an easy pick for an evening with someone who does not usually finish action games. The character creator is quietly excellent, with gender-neutral options, mix-and-match hair colours, and adjustable height that signal genuine care from a small team. Casual players and roguelite newcomers will find the low skill floor welcoming. Veterans looking for the relentless pressure of a Dead Cells or Hades will find it a bit too gentle and a bit too grindy in the middle.

Kai · Scout Team

Indie & narrative

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