Scholar of the Arcane Arts Preview

Scholar of the Arcane Arts is a game developed by one person named Endo. The game is now in Early Access for players to check out. Arcane Arts is a Roguelike Action RPG where you find that the five different planes of magic have invaded your world. To survive you must learn how magic spells work and what they are strong and weak against to make it through. Currently, the only mode that is playable is the Roguelike mode, a Story Mode is shown but you can’t currently play it.

When you start the game, you are asked if you want to play the tutorial (which is recommended) or skip it. I accidentally skipped it when I was plugging my controller in, so I had to figure out on my own what to do. Luckily, the game is pretty straightforward so I was alright. Morello is a spell book who is your companion and your guide through the tutorial if you choose to play it. There was apparently some kind of explosion and he is surprised that the two of you made it out alive. The explosion has messed up his teleportation powers, so he knows where you are, just not when. He spotted a Crystologist’s workshop to the north of your location, so you head there first to check it out.

You play as a scholar, decked out in black, complete with a witches hat, and you follow the floating book to the new location. On your way you find spells laying on the ground, one of the first you pick up is the fireball spell. It comes from the school of Pyromancy, and shoots a fireball that does five plus your current power level. At first, you are only at a power level of one, so it will deal six, but as you get stronger the amount will go up. If you go into your spell inventory, you can equip this spell to one of your buttons or a key on your keyboard. 

Whilst travelling, you discover a wrecked town, with a formation that is not a natural structure. It looks like someone placed it there with a spell to block off that gateway. That rock wall would have been created with a Geomancy spell, so you can use a spell that will counter it. 

Pyromancy beats Geomancy, Geomancy beats Hydromancy, and Hydromancy beats Pyromancy; it’s just like a magical version of a Pokémon game. Since you found that fireball spell, the rock wall can easily be taken out. Channel your spell (make sure you have it selected), then hit the button again to cast it. Once the structure is destroyed, enter the gateway, this will transport you to a new location. You have a minimap that you can access to get a view of this new world so you have an idea of the lay of the land. Be sure to search any corpses you come across so they don’t go to waste, and you might as well find some spells to add to your repertoire as you are sure to come across hazards in the environment that you can use magic to block.

As you explore this pixel world that feels like an old school videogame you will meet other scholars and helpful characters. They will help you power up your scholar and the magic spells you can use on your journey. You will learn to combine different spells to create something completely different. One of my favourite combos was mixing the hail sphere with the water sphere. The hail sphere on its own is quite strong, but once you mix the two it is very deadly and works great. I can’t wait to spend more time concocting new spells as I explore and learn new attacks. This is a great addition to the game that really makes it feel special compared to a lot of other magic-themed RPGs.

If you are a fan of RPGs featuring magic and pixelated visuals, Scholar of the Arcane Arts is worth checking out. Especially when you have the freedom to mash together any spells you want to create something new. It felt totally different from any role-playing titles that I have played in the past. I can’t wait to see what the game is like once it is finally released along with the story mode. Based on what I’ve seen here, it will be a ton of fun!