Lichdom: Battlemage

 PC
User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 179 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 94 out of 179
  2. Mixed: 39 out of 179
  3. Negative: 46 out of 179

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  1. Ndi
    May 12, 2015
    6
    So much potential, so much wasted.

    * Tech issues: No-vsync has at least SOME tearing, VSync locks to 30. Inexplicably can only do 62 FPS on a 79 series AMD when facing a wall. It is smooth and decent, but I can't help but feel like it wasn't optimized correctly. I should be able to render a rock at 62+ FPS if I can render 1000 rocks at 50. Maybe. * Gameplay: Encourages    So much potential, so much wasted.

    * Tech issues: No-vsync has at least SOME tearing, VSync locks to 30. Inexplicably can only do 62 FPS on a 79 series AMD when facing a wall. It is smooth and decent, but I can't help but feel like it wasn't optimized correctly. I should be able to render a rock at 62+ FPS if I can render 1000 rocks at 50. Maybe.

    * Gameplay: Encourages experimentation, punishes you for the useless combos. Encourages you to experiment combinations, makes you lose progress if you switch sigils. Encourages you to try-and-die, with limited, non-regenerating shield boosts, kills your loot if you die. No quicksave or quickload. Very linear levels. VERY. Making me painfully slow doesn't make the level bigger. Can't jump. Designs levels so you can see ahead, but have to go around for 20 minutes (not ACTUALLY 20 minutes). Weirdly spaced checkpoints. No difficulty settings.

    This is how you do Early Access wrong. You listen to (or are) 15 year olds (inside) who believe games are challenges. Nobody cares if you beat Battlemage, dude. Nobody. There is no point in not letting me save. I'm tired. I'm done. Keep me in your game for more than I want at your own peril. Reset my progress at your own peril. Put checkpoints before cutscenes at your own peril.

    There was a discussion on Early Access with someone suggesting that people with 2 year old child simply cannot play long sessions. Developer responded that checkpoints work fine, you don't lose your loot. As if loot was the *** point. Repeating fights, that's the point. Dying replenishes your shield, checkpoints don't, so it encourages you to jump off a cliff.

    And don't get me started on enemies that take control from you, flying and dodging enemies, cheap enemies that spawn behind you, and enemies that spawn other enemies, SO YOU NEVER HAVE CONTROL OVER DIFFICULTY.

    Eurogamer review has it right: These have all been tried, and abandoned, long ago. You're innovating the wrong way.

    Also, the crafting system is nice, but the UI is weird, the walls of text unnecessary, look at Magicka for clues. 250 components? Why? We all play Fire, because by the time I get anything cool I already like the levels I have, plus, Fire has solid damage.

    * Story: Manually shoved exposition, not very captivating story that seems eerily similar to may others, including Spellforce, bugs in dialogues make the story painful even if it WERE interesting. Pausing the game pauses MY voice, but not the other guy's, so, if you escape to check on something and resume everyone talks at the same time. Combine this with trigger for dialogue different from triggers for animations and you have people who have long gone still talking, and then me replying to ... a bit of tree? Also, you can skip the intro (good) but, because the game does almost entirely in-game exposition, there is no skipping. A**holes pop out of the air and the follow you around like Assassin Creed beggars, doing exposition you don't want to hear, giving you bits of info you don't want to pay attention to because there's stuff on screen.

    * UI: Text is small. Seriously small, people, come on, letters in a game should not be half the size of those in a browser, and should not be blue on black. Also, how hard is it to make the on-screen prompts and help actually reflect the bindings? It kept blathering on about [TAB] even though I never used it, because I'm not a WASD player. No matter. Also, if you bind the spells to M2 and M1 instead of M1 and M2, then it's REALLY confusing.

    There's quite a bit of stuff wrong with the game. It has good things in it, in fact, most things are good with it. But for some reason it feels like a good team is lead by an idiot. Technically well made, good idea, and then shot in the knee by checkpoints and the refusal of the developer to let you sneak on an enemy. Maybe they were afraid they'd get another Skyrim.

    If you are the developer, and read this, let me make this clear. You would never get Skyrim. Skyrim lets you save, switch weapons, roam around in a decent map, and WILL allow you to kill a talking NPC just to shut it up.

    Also, Skyrim wasn't very good, it's the mods that make it what it is.

    So, overall, I'm opting for a 6. Above average, before I get stuck replaying a checkpoint 1000 times and I feel like giving it -4.

    It's a good stepping stone for the studio's next game. Let's hope they learn something from this one and stop with the childish notion that difficulty settings are for wimps, that quicksave will make it too easy, and that cooties are real.    … Expand
  2. Knifestyle
    Sep 3, 2014
    7
    The game itself has a pretty straight forward gameplay. It has a beautiful enviroment but the enemies are everywhere! The story is plain and not comprehensible but the fighting system is good. All in all a solid game. 7/10
  3. adff500
    Sep 10, 2014
    5
    +++ Pros +++

    1. Graphics and effects are really good. 2. Soundtrack,background sfx and voiceovers are also good. 3. 4 Episodes campaign divided in sections is ok (perhaps we can get more in DLC or expansions). 4. Various spells and customization to your playstyle. 5. Enemies and their variations are (plus bosses and minibosses) interesting. --- Cons --- 1. No Co-op (there are    +++ Pros +++

    1. Graphics and effects are really good.
    2. Soundtrack,background sfx and voiceovers are also good.
    3. 4 Episodes campaign divided in sections is ok (perhaps we can get more in DLC or expansions).
    4. Various spells and customization to your playstyle.
    5. Enemies and their variations are (plus bosses and minibosses) interesting.

    --- Cons ---

    1. No Co-op (there are 2 characters ready in campaign) or versus multiplayer (mages vs witches would be a blast).
    2. Forced Autoaim (no crosshair), no jump, no sprint (only run), no melee or kick (very lame), no inventory (no trading).
    3. Pathetic motion blur is ON (hidden in custom settings) and when you get hit the screen gets blurred (blur filter - cannot be turn off).
    4. Only one difficulty and the game cheats (player has extra wide collision, enemies unlimited spawning, no collision when they shoot through each other, 4000 HP later in the game and minibosses or champions 50000 HP,less and less checkpoints and so on).
    5. Ocasional crashes during gameplay and loading (especially loading effects).

    Serious Sam: Mage Edition. If you like games like Heretic, Hexen, Painkiller, Serious Sam or Dark Messiah,this game might be right for you.    … Expand
  4. El_Burrito
    Sep 2, 2014
    6
    Lichdom Battlemage is a nice try to make you feel like an all powerful mage, but I feel like it fails in most areas. The base of the game, combat, which you will spend most of your time doing feels rather unsatisfying and sluggish, with a large pause between letting go of your mouse and your character actually firing a spell.

    The spell creation system is poorly explained and a torrent    Lichdom Battlemage is a nice try to make you feel like an all powerful mage, but I feel like it fails in most areas. The base of the game, combat, which you will spend most of your time doing feels rather unsatisfying and sluggish, with a large pause between letting go of your mouse and your character actually firing a spell.

    The spell creation system is poorly explained and a torrent of confusion seeks to overwhelm you. After looking at it several times and eventually figuring it out, it came off as just another factor that felt limiting. You can't make a spell strong unless you obtain drops to allow you to make a strong spell, which is either random or done at set points in the game.

    The story is passable, and I was delighted to hear Clancy Brown, Troy Baker and Jennifer Hale, which I was not expecting.

    Overall, I feel like the game fails in its primary goal to make you feel like an uninhibited mage, but with some nice ideas. There's barely any reason to stop using fire spells, but there are quite a few other sets of magic (ice, lightning and kinesis at least) to mess around with.

    Wouldn't recommend for full price.    … Expand
  5. akarnokd
    Jan 11, 2015
    7
    Quite a good looking game. However, the levels were really long, tedious and a bit boring. Maybe I didn't get the crafting system, but as the game progressed, it took more and more hits to kill an enemy. At the end, I only used lightning because the chain effect would deal damage to other enemies, saving time. The story feels a bit disconnected, never understood how we got from one boss toQuite a good looking game. However, the levels were really long, tedious and a bit boring. Maybe I didn't get the crafting system, but as the game progressed, it took more and more hits to kill an enemy. At the end, I only used lightning because the chain effect would deal damage to other enemies, saving time. The story feels a bit disconnected, never understood how we got from one boss to the other. Some UI text were really tiny (~5 pixel), barely could read them even from up close my monitor.… Expand
  6. Soujirop
    Sep 4, 2014
    6
    Great graphics, great voice acting... And sadly, that pretty much sums it up. Only 8 spells available despite the fake advertising "of thousands of spells". You can modify the spells to a degree, and with a "degree" I mean changing a burst DPS spell to a DOT spell, because not much more is allowed, and most of the time, the animation/magic visual effect does not even change. My advice toGreat graphics, great voice acting... And sadly, that pretty much sums it up. Only 8 spells available despite the fake advertising "of thousands of spells". You can modify the spells to a degree, and with a "degree" I mean changing a burst DPS spell to a DOT spell, because not much more is allowed, and most of the time, the animation/magic visual effect does not even change. My advice to those wanting to play the game: put those 40€ in Skyrim and download some magic mods. It will be an overall better experience as a "battlemage". Period.… Expand
  7. sisho
    Sep 5, 2014
    6
    I made a big mistake in reviewing this game with less than 5 hours played.
    As much as I liked the atmosphere, the magic crafting system, the setting and everything else, there's one thing I can't ignore: It IS a boring game. Spending more time playing It made me realise that every good and spectacular characteristic of the game is shadowed bay the poor slow pace and repetitive gameplay.    I made a big mistake in reviewing this game with less than 5 hours played.
    As much as I liked the atmosphere, the magic crafting system, the setting and everything else, there's one thing I can't ignore: It IS a boring game. Spending more time playing It made me realise that every good and spectacular characteristic of the game is shadowed bay the poor slow pace and repetitive gameplay.
    In the end, Lichdom: Battlemage ends up feeling like a showcase for a really cool magic system that could be implemented into some next gen RPG.    … Expand
  8. Ghost67
    Dec 31, 2014
    6
    Lichdom; Battlemage's idea is simple; you rampage through the game casting spells and causing general mayhem. The game has good things and bad things going for it. If you are thinking about getting the game, you'll have to weigh the good and the bad. Unfortunately, the main problem with Lichdom is the core gameplay of actually casting spells. It's a weird experiment that's KIND OF goneLichdom; Battlemage's idea is simple; you rampage through the game casting spells and causing general mayhem. The game has good things and bad things going for it. If you are thinking about getting the game, you'll have to weigh the good and the bad. Unfortunately, the main problem with Lichdom is the core gameplay of actually casting spells. It's a weird experiment that's KIND OF gone wrong.

    In this review I will be covering the Good/Bad/Ugly, but in order to do so I have to explain the combat system, so bear with me.

    Lichdom seems to draw inspiration from Skyrim, but melds Skyrim's magic combat with the structure of a classical run n gun shooter, with linear stages.This is not open world, so if you are looking for something more freeform, Skyrim is that way. This is just like a shooter, much more simple, but with magic instead of guns. The magic itself, and your attacks, are *freeform* part of the game, but it comes with a big catch.

    The Good:

    + The graphics/art and environments are great. Alot of hard work has gone into crafting the stages you'll be running through.

    + The voice acting is excellent. You have heavy hitters like the almighty Clancy Brown.

    + The story/lore isnt that bad either. It's not great, but it's not bad either. It's satisfying. A revenge quest? Sure, let's do it. Simple, but effective. Sometimes simplicity is best.

    + The loot and crafting system is great. You receive different parts that modify a spell combination from kills.

    The Bad:

    - The main problem of that game is the gameplay. Lichdom suffers from the fact that it should still be in beta, and feels like it. The gameplay has not been tested outside of the office, and it feels like it.

    There are 3 main different kinds of spells. Your standard projectile, an AOE, and a shield/block attack. You can hold your buttons down to "charge" these spells for a critical and additional effects. Your shield/block, when timed correctly, produces a "nova" effect, like a fire wall.

    Sound's good so far, right?

    Well, here are where the problems come in. Charging becomes extremely important because of these additional effects. These include things like stunning, freezing, rooting, critical, etc etc. Unfortunately, Charging and casting spells is really sluggish. Even when you don't charge, it takes a long time to cast a spell - about 1- to 1.5 seconds. This is a VERY fast paced game. Charging takes an average of 3 seconds. During these 3 seconds, you will be filled to the gills from enemy fire.

    So, what do you do? You basically spam Fireballs. Fireballs are the most efficient way of killing enemies. Most enemies will die from 1-2 crits from Fireballs. So, why bother to stun or root when you can kill in 1 shot? Yes, you can add damage to crowd control spells, but the damage from Fire is much better. The other posters here arent lying when they say that you will run through the game spamming fireballs. It's that simple.

    - This extends to the fact that you have really cool spells, like a frost ground trap, that is hardly used. Who tested this? During those 2 seconds it will take you to place your trap, you already soaked arrow fire and lost 1/3 of your health.

    - The game's advertising of *thousands* of spells is err, somewhat misleading. Of course, it's marketing. See, technically there are thousands of spells, but they are really permutations of baseline spells.

    The Ugly:

    - The tutorial is god awful and composes of quick videos explaining parts of the game that are critical for your survival.. These are extremely important and can be very complex, including "mastery" debuffs that I still don't understand. It's really poorly explained

    - You have 2 different inventories, which are confusing as hell. None of this is explained. The tutorial basically said, "The advanced inventory are for advanced players only." And that advanced inventory is really, really important for crafting those cool spells you want crafted.

    - The difficulty curve is brutal. Make no mistake, once you are past the first boss sh!t gets crazy. We're talking hordes of RANGED enemies. Remember that shield with nova? Again, NO REASON to use it when you can kill with fireballs from afar. And the fact of the matter is that there are more ranged enemies than melee, which really throws this out of the window.

    - The game has a "loot rarity" level system. Basically, as you advance you gain levels up in the rarity of spell components you gain. This loot rarity level is RESET when you DIE. Why? The developers havea half-assed explanation on their boards on Steam but it really doesnt make sense. This just ends up punishing players and is cruel. This ends up rewarding safe and easy gameplay - basically, fireball spam. And there is no save option.

    Lichdom is not a bad game. But it's not worth the $40 spent on it. Lichdom, for all the fancy voice acting and graphics, is still in beta and needs more work. Hopefully the sequel will be better.    … Expand
  9. Potitoman
    Dec 28, 2014
    5
    Good concept, good graphics, very competent technical execution. The problem is that it's so BORING!
    This should be called a backwards walking simulator. You just spend your whole time walking backwards, waiting for your spell to power up.
    It feels that this game was so close to being something awesome but they padded the hell out of the game to artificially make it longer and it    Good concept, good graphics, very competent technical execution. The problem is that it's so BORING!
    This should be called a backwards walking simulator. You just spend your whole time walking backwards, waiting for your spell to power up.

    It feels that this game was so close to being something awesome but they padded the hell out of the game to artificially make it longer and it ultimately becomes repetitive and very, very predictable.

    I do hope they make a sequel as I'm sure they would have learned from their mistakes.
    A game that you can see had a lot of promise but missed the mark by a looooooong shot.    … Expand
  10. ave
    Jul 21, 2018
    5
    Well, I sincerely tried several times to give Lichdom Battlemage its chances, but I simply ended up not being excited by it. Maybe it's the magic / runes system that is too complex to approach and memorize, maybe it's the slugginess of combat, maybe it's the slot-machine feel of rewards, maybe it's the Excel feel of crafting spells... For me its was either : do a turn by turn game ; orWell, I sincerely tried several times to give Lichdom Battlemage its chances, but I simply ended up not being excited by it. Maybe it's the magic / runes system that is too complex to approach and memorize, maybe it's the slugginess of combat, maybe it's the slot-machine feel of rewards, maybe it's the Excel feel of crafting spells... For me its was either : do a turn by turn game ; or make it more like the old Heretic / Hexen. Or maybe I'm just getting to old for this.… Expand
  11. Tomle1202
    Jun 16, 2016
    6
    Lichdom: Battlemage flashes its colorfully magical powers before your eyes to hide its painfully repetitive nature, lazily written story and annoyingly technical issues.
  12. CamyVero
    Sep 23, 2021
    7
    Se trata de un buen FPS de la vieja escuela, en vez de tener armas tienes hechizos, con un sistema que te permite craftearlos y combinarlos. Aunque el desarrollo es pasillero tiene un pequeño componente de exploración para buscar ciertos artefactos coleccionables. Batallas con grandes jefes y bellos y bien detallados escenarios. Se puede encontrar a precio de saldo por ahi, eso sí enSe trata de un buen FPS de la vieja escuela, en vez de tener armas tienes hechizos, con un sistema que te permite craftearlos y combinarlos. Aunque el desarrollo es pasillero tiene un pequeño componente de exploración para buscar ciertos artefactos coleccionables. Batallas con grandes jefes y bellos y bien detallados escenarios. Se puede encontrar a precio de saldo por ahi, eso sí en perfecto inglés. Recomendado… Expand

Awards & Rankings

31
#31 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 22
  3. Negative: 1 out of 22
  1. CD-Action
    Oct 24, 2014
    80
    After the first 5 hours I was delighted with Lichdom, shocked by its awesomeness even. Then repetitiveness reared its ugly head and my enthusiasm started fading, especially when around the 12 hour mark (when the game should have ended for its own sake) I realized that the story is far from over. Anyhow, Lichdom has a spark that makes you want to come back to it and the spell crafting system is truly amazing. It’s just better to enjoy it in small doses. [Nov 2014, p.68]
  2. Gamers' Temple
    Oct 20, 2014
    78
    A fireball on the verge of a meltdown.
    Read full review
  3. Everyeye.it
    Oct 14, 2014
    60
    The graphics are really, really good, but all those shiny things end up clashing with a lacking gameplay, and that's a true shame.
    Read full review
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