Unity - Completed - Love of Magic [B1 v1.6.7d + B2 v1.0.12] [Droid Productions]

First, kudos to the dev for avoiding the I'll pretend I don't know Patreon content will leak in 0.00002s and you pretend to believe me shenanigans. That alone deserves a pledge.

The characters' design strays away from no bra made by men could ever hope to fit those tits. Younger characters have more "humble" proportions, while older ones have more generous, but still human ones (irony noted, but unintended). The lewd scenes are not groundbreaking, but the lead up to them is well constructed and elevates'em.

The story is lore heavy, but delivered in small doses, so it never becomes overwhelming. Each character has a distinct personality and actions to fit it; changes to those personalities happen, but are justified in game and feel natural.

While not a porn Deadpool, the dev is quite aware of what kind of game this is and the tropes that go with it, using it in humorous self-awareness, often making you laugh out loud.

The gameplay might be a problem to those unfamiliar w/ poker, as it can turn the combat system into a chore. Past that, stats in the middle point between simplistic and overwhelming, a balanced time frame between main events and a good number of side quests make a enjoyable experience, which will keep you entertained, instead of absently clicking away, wondering when the next lewd scene will pop up.

TL;DR: Holy crap this game is better than I ever predicted it to be. If you're not playing it, you're missing out. It's good for story, sex and grammar.
EDIT: Updated for latest updates.

It takes a very different approach to most of the titles on this site, the closest parallel I could draw would be to Reluctant Archon. Both are fantasy stories in which the player character is a powerful magician, with a lot of beautiful women around them. Both are set in modern times, with a magical element there. Love of Magic draws from mythology more than biblical sources however. King Arthur, Werewolves, Kistune etc. The story of this game just keeps getting more and more interesting with each update, and the developer has released a sort of roadmap in his discord showing we're still only just nearing the end of the first act.

The card based combat system is quite fun, if a little rough around the edges (e.g you can only play cards in the corners to make a diagonal, and sometimes the cards in my hand would not display properly). The story is engaging and well paced, and there's a lot of content in there - it took me at least 5 hours to get through (yes there is sex and lewd content). I didn't notice any glaring grammar errors (despite the game being set in Scotland, 0/10 for realism)

The artwork is brightly coloured and well lit, though there are no fully rendered scenes - it's 3D models on photographic backgrounds. This never broke my immersion and wasn't an issue for me, but I understand some may not feel the same.

The game being based on Unity is not a huge deal for me. There are quality of life features similar to Renpy's in this game, such as rolling back through a conversation, hiding the UI and both manual and autosave slots. DroidProductions has a tireless work ethic, and is constantly releasing bugfixes and correcting typos, as well as giving old content some new love to make sure that players get to experience the game's best from minute 1.

Excellent writing - overall plot, humor, "lewdness", inventiveness (no cliché plot)
Very good graphics and animations
Good music score
No annoying cheap-ass sounds effects (silence is much better than stereotypical "slurp", "moan")

The good
great renders
great character design
they have personalities
interesting story concept

Unsure about
interesting combat mini game mechanic but didnt really like it and if felt like the npc had the advangage most of the time as far card combinations go (maybe i just suck at this mini game)

some of the dialog felt long winded or un nessasary just give me the taks with a little humor or emotion to set the scene and move on already

navigation wasnt terrible but i could have been a bit better since you have to go to each area then the final destination. It does have a quick port options so.

The bad

didn't see a task tracker of any kind .

the dialbog or events just stop and you have to click on them again to keep it going it can be a bit confusing

the game doesnt seem to know what it wants to be it kinda feels like a VN but has a half assed free roam in it and has some RPG mechanics .

not a fan of dialgo options that make you miss scene opertunities or lock out content especially when i don't really feel like reading everything and there is no hard stop to keep form clicking on the choices unknowingly

the above wouldnt be so bad if you could save while the options are up but it wouldn't let me do that maybe i was doing ti wrong

there is no way to scroll back though previous text not sure if unity can do this or not but its annoying with all the text options to not have that.

i didnt see any scene animations but then again i didnt get that many scenes before getting bored and dropping the game. The animitions i did see where for the models to make them less static during dialog.

The UI felt clunky for some reason i found myslef searcing for my char stats wasnt sure if there was an inventory didnt know where to find how much money i had. No idea what the calendar is for. The icons were kinda small and didn't stand out since they are all just flat back and white.

Conclusion

with some UI tweaks some animated scenes (there may be some i only saw 3 or 5 scenes and got bored) and definetly something to keep track of what your supposed to be doing that game would be be fine despite my dislike of having to wade through all the text.

The card battle is new and different but not a fan of it. still better then most the same old rpg classic system or crappy qwerty minigames.

This game is fucking great! The women aren't the same regurgitated models and the story is actually really captivating. It's original and very, very cool. Thank you and well done. It's light on the fetishes, and I didn't really think I would enjoy it as much as I have. Looking forward to the next updates. Now I'm gonna try your other game!

Looking through F95, there are some good games and (rarely) excellent ones. And among these, there are - from time to time – precious gems. Love of Magic is one of these.

Its like: everything is perfect – story – graphics – sound - No cons I can think of. Fills the heart with joy. Thrilled with waiting to continue…

________________________________________________________________________
Edit: After almost 1 year, with end of book 1, I have to say, I am just overwhelmed. Beyond words... breathless. Brightest star on heaven

The game is definitely in my TOP list. Great job! everything at the highest level. Wish You guys to achieve Your goals and finish this amazing project. I'm glad - from dozens of projects - to catch such a good one, which demonstrates evolution of adult games.
Thank You!

v0.2.10a review

WOW, what a game. First of all the graphics and animations are amazing. Crisp and animated with a blend of real life pictures for the background. The only time they ever threw me was the ex quartermaster in the library that sells the gems, using a motorized scooter instead of a wheelchair, it just felt odd. Otherwise every single aspect of the visuals really strikes home.

There's a lot of game play mechanics at work here, and while I wouldn't say it's the best game, for a lewd game it's top 1% of actual game play mechanics. With the battle mechanics, to the attack customization through gems, to the free form roaming in a dangerous other world later in the game, there's just a lot to do when you get into free play time.

All of this is structured around a time clock that's ALWAYS ticking. You may want to try to level up your strength or intelligence, but you also need to work to gain money, so you've got a delicate balancing act before the next scripted event happens to push you along. This all happens to keep the game from feeling grindy, as time waits for no man, and you must make choices and then live with them.

I would say that the only criticism I have with the game is that each day is divided into morning, evening, and night... but really it's only morning and evening, because with one or two exceptions for scripted events, the night time is basically just 'go back to your room and sleep.' This feels like an unecessary step, and it could just be 'morning' and 'evening' instead with the sleep being automatic unless there's a scripted event. Likewise I wish that if the night was going to be available you'd be allowed to read a book or train, or work in the bar. Maybe limit night options, but don't give us none, ya know?

Anyways, the fappability of this game is fairly low, as the game is sexual, and sexy, but also not overly burdened with a lot of constant lewd scenes, instead of focusing on story and plot. Personally I don't think this is bad, but someone looking for a quick wank might have a problem with it.

Anyways, having just completed chapter 2, I think this is an A+ game and one that everyone on f95 should at least check out.

Captivating, well written story. All the characters have their distinct and funny personalties. The story is filled with well thought out hints, that will make the player think and when figured out get a better idea as to where the story is going. AND a lot of funny pop culture references. Great game! Keep up the awesome work Droid!

Just recently found this game and am very surprised. It's well put together and the story is very engaging. I have a soft spots for fantasy/magical games, so this is right up my alley. The renders are top notch, and I greatly enjoy the poker mini game. The explanation for it and its use make sense and doesn't feel like your usual mini-game. The game definitely deserves support, and if nothing else give it a try. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Excellent start, with quality (and mostly unique) assets. The story pulled me in more than I expected, and has me eager to see what's in the next chapter. I would have liked to see more content with the girls, but with things just getting started I can understand we are building up to it. I hope to see more of this game, and will be waiting to see what happens next!

just download this game and play it..
that is the short version.

this is a polished game with a great story. it is already on my watch list for the next release.

you will need to know how to get points in poker for the combat parts ( will make sens once you get there)

the only bad thing i have to say about the game is the time constraint, but it makes sens in the game story.
time constraints have a tendency to force you to optimisme you game play where in one handed games i enjoy fumbling around and still "win" but that is a worry for another time.
the game has not gotten this problem at the time of writing this. the only thing you have to "rush" is get 10 in all 3 stats to get the bonus scene. i will leave it up to you to find that

( i got about 11 to 13 in all 3 stats when i got to the game end so you have time to get there)

story: just fucking amazing,and very well writed.

draws and animations (cg): AMAZING.

characters: funny and so amazingly done.

music: epic and not anoying at all.

gameplay: ( i dont like poker) really well done.

scenes (erotic ones): actually they are not too many, but they are really hot.

scenes (the other ones): SO EPIC and funny.

ambient and sound: really well done.

conclussion: this is probably, one of the best games you can find in this page.
the story, characters and stuff that you can find this game is SO EPIC, the fighting system is really fun to play, the "choices" could use more work on it, but what it have, is already is good.
the epic music works all the time, even when you are buying coffe (best coffe in the world with that music) or that the game is tottally in modern times, but you still feels like is necesary to slay a mithyc beast in any moment (and that will happen)
the NAVIGATION on the game feels so cool, and the backraound is on spot.

this game TOTTALLY deserve your time and money.

psdt: the game is far from being finished it needs some fixes there and there.
you can already see the path it takes and is a promising one...but they already are selling out other games, wich is kinda cute and funny.
if they put something like " if you wanna see the end of this buy the dlc!" i will riot.

Updated after Act 5:

The game continues to impress. The story gets bigger but the game still doesn't lose focus of what made it great to begin with. The characters are rich and full of life, the MC has a distinct personality which sets the game apart from many others as well.

The sexy scenes are rather erotic but still capture the feelings of all the people we have gotten to know.

There are many shocks in the story that constantly keeps you on your toes. I have trouble finding words for how amazing this game is. On top of all of that, the dev shows time and time again that he actually listens to the community and accepts criticism. He always is looking to improve the game.

Many people come to play AVNs just as an alternate for porn, but games like Love of Magic show that AVNs can be an art form and just so much more than just porn.

5/5 - Play it. If you don't like mini-games, there is an auto-play feature. If you only play Ren'Py, this game has basically all of the features (rollback, quick save, etc). No reason not to try this.



Updated review after Act 3:

The game has certainly grown since the last time I played it. The game stays true to what it originally was but simply upgraded every aspect. The game play is fluid, most of the bugs are fixed, and the story is still interesting.

Still have high hopes for this one and cannot recommend it enough.



Act 1 (Original Review):

Very interesting game. Obviously a very unique take on a game, the renders are very life-like and breathtaking and the story certainly grasps my attention.

It is clear the MC is something far bigger than anyone really could imagine. That also makes it apparent some kind of conflict is inevitable between the MC and the royal family. Especially considering the meeting with the father.

The ending was a bit sad, things were progressing nicely with the Princess, hopefully things can be revived perhaps. As I stated earlier, I am really curious to see where this goes and in spite of the bugs this game has a lot of potential and is worth a shot.

The dev also seems very responsive to feedback which is very refreshing and reassuring. If all goes well, this game could shape up to being a really impressive tale.

It's still in a very early stage (first release), but the art is awesome, worldbuilding and story interesting and I really like the game mechanics. Finally a proper game (not VN) with nice art and good mechanics. The only downside is the bugs, but the dev is amazing, actively encourages bug reports and fixes them fast, so the rating is a no-brainer.

Solid first release, I really enjoy the game so far, keep it up !

Pros :
- Story
- Dialogs (the quote about evokers almost reminds me of the quote about fear in Dune)
- Characters (both models and personnalities)
- Music
- A lot of content for a 1st release
- Dev is responsive
- Even if the combat system may be confusing at times (see below), there is an easy mode where you can't lose, so you won't get stuck

Cons :
- Some bugs or unexpected behaviors (not a lot, and the dev is actively correcting them)
- The combat system is a bit confusing sometimes, namely the fact that some court cards appear as aces, and some implicit rules concerning poker hands are a bit obscure to me (maybe obvious for poker players, but not for me)

EDIT : I come back here after Act3, and by the horned one, this is really good ! The characters are still awesome, the story is coming along nicely and I cannot wait to see more !

Very impressive for a first release, fantastic graphics, amazing soundtracks (I can practically dance to the cafe one), very cool poker gameplay and best of all, the story: "I am the Evoker. Fire burns before me. Death walks behind me. In the center, there is only me." This is a line that should appear in movies!

A lot of work and a solid start with a fair amount of content for essentially an initial release. sure it has some bugs, but dev is responsive about fixing them and crashing the game doesn't seem to break it. If you just came for the sex scenes go play a VN somewhere else! I plan to review again later when this project has more flight time.

OK updating my rating:
• Still stands at 5 stars, I'd give it 6 stars if I could.
• One of the most undiscovered treasures to be found at f95zone.
Game is excellent :
• Well researched, deep story line.
• Detailed Character development
• Unique High Quality Art
• Attention to real life (and fantasy) details that create an immersive quality
• Engaging, Fun and so much more than just a VN!
...and one of the finest, most responsive Devs, I have ever had the pleasure to encounter.