Epic Manager Review

When developers mash two genres together it can sometimes feel like they've just chucked muck against a wall hoping that some of it will stick. Epic Manager, however, shows that with the right approach something intriguing can be created.

The game, designed by ManaVoid Entertainment, attempts to marry classic JPRGs with sports management games. In the land of Astraeus, decades of war have given way to a sudden peace, leaving crowds of soldiers with nothing to do but hire themselves out as mercenaries to adventuring agencies. Epic Manager puts the player in control of one such agency, part of a regulated system where the least successful firms- those who fail to bash goblins or complete the fewest quests - are relegated into obscurity.

Epic Manager doesn’t shy away from being a full 50/50 mash up - the first action the player must take is pick a starting adventurer from a draft. These drafts come around every so often and allow you to pad out your parties with different classes. Once through to the meat and bones of the game, the player’s main aim is to complete quests and battles to earn fame. The most famous agency is promoted up the ranks and gets access to better quests and mercenaries.

The quests in the game, while your usual “go here, defeat that” in most cases, can sometimes have their own storylines which help to flesh out the lore and history of the land the player traverses. Factions, with which the player can curry favour, can also be wooed by completing quests for them. The game’s map features hexagonal grids, not unlike those found in Civilization. Every time the player moves it takes up a turn, which can often leave you scrambling towards the end of adventuring seasons. Choosing a swift path to your objectives is crucial. The overworld map is also where you’ll encounter random encounters, which usually take the form of a multiple-choice event that can be affected by the mercenaries in your party. They don’t affect the gameplay too dramatically, but are a nice little addition to the bog standard questing.

The tycoon and management side of the game is surprisingly in-depth, so much so that it took me, an avid Football Manager player, quite some time to get used to it. Remaining the best adventuring agency in the division isn’t too much of a chore, yet ensuring that you’re always in the black when it comes to gold can be very fiddly. This is exacerbated when you have to renew your party’s contracts with higher wages, especially when offering a wage deemed too low can cause an adventurer to quit your agency entirely.

Combat in Epic Manager is your usual rudimentary turn-based RPG affair, and to be honest it lets the game down a little. I would have much preferred to have the battles simulated or for the player to take on a manager-esque role and just issues strategies. I found having to learn the best abilities and moves of every one of my adventurers a little tedious. It’s a functional system, however, and for those who like their JRPG-style combat there’ll be no complaints.

Though a lot of thought has been put into the back-end of this game, the visuals leave a little to be desired. The animations are smooth but the graphics are akin to something you might expect to have seen made in Flash. Epic Manager also suffers from a lack of variety in the sound and music department - I found myself muting it in favour of my own music after barely an hour.

ManaVoid Entertainment have created a game that combines two genres together surprisingly well, yet there are some areas that leave it wanting. In trying to be be the best of both worlds, the game doesn’t really manage to excel in either. Functional, niche and well-crafted, the game definitely has its merits, though and should be checked out by all those intrigued by tycoon games with a twist. Just don’t expect anything earth-shattering.