Super Cane Magic ZERO Preview

Super Cane Magic ZERO is a game that doesn’t take itself seriously in the slightest. The trailer involves an statement from the developers about how the story mode is taking ages to finish because it’s hard. Super Cane Magic ZERO is a dungeon explorer that takes cues from the early Zelda games, whilst brandishing it with a layer of Adventure Time-like humour. It’s a formula that works well.

The game is currently in early access, so the list of features is currently quite small; there is only a challenge mode and an arena mode. The challenge mode is the only single-player offering currently, that just involves dungeon exploration and linear level progression. The difficulty rises surprisingly quickly, and feels as though the developer really wants you to play co-operatively with someone. The arena mode is local PVP, where you and your mates can thrash each other around for a bit. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to try the arena mode, which makes me quite sad.

The gameplay revolves around dungeon progression, which is done through puzzle solving and melee combat. The combat feels similar to The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, but in an isometric view. A lot of the combat revolves around picking up items and throwing them. You can pick up everything that isn’t tied to the ground, and throw it; you can also eat everything that you pick up, which can lead to some interesting outcomes.

There are several unlockable characters, all with their own powers and personality. My favourite so far is a very old guy called Nonno Laser, because he is old and has a laser. You can equip characters with armour and weapons as you progress through the challenge mode, often found in the various chests players can open. The level of customisation is appreciated as the game lacks a lot of content, so striving for the best equipment is a great reason to keep players going at the moment.

The art style is fantastic; it looks like a comic book being played out before your eyes. All the animations are over the top, giving a cartoon show aesthetic to everything that happens. It’s honestly one of the game’s strongest aspects.

Annoyingly, the game would not work with my controller at all. I use my Dualshock PS4 controller for gaming along with the DS4 program. I’ve never had any issues with other games but for some reason I could just not get it to work with Super Cane Magic ZERO. It’s a real shame as the game is set up well for controller play.

The lack of a story mode really hurts the game at the moment as the gameplay is incredibly  fun, but there is no real reason to progress. The challenge mode doesn’t pull me in as effectively as a fun narrative would. Having said this, based on the characters and small portions of dialogue in the game; I believe (and hope) that Super Cane Magic ZERO is going to have a funny and dynamic story mode. Unfortunately, we have no idea when the story mode is going to arrive.

At the moment, Super Cane Magic ZERO is hard to fully recommend as the game feels quite lacking for £14.99. The game is incredibly polished, and looks great, but the lack of a story leaves a big gap. The game has serious potential, and could be a big future hitter depending on what the developers do with it. For now, I’d wait patiently.