Mages of Mystralia is an Action-Adventure game by Borealys Games, released for Windows, Playstation 4, and Xbox One in 2017, and for the Nintendo Switch in 2019.
In it, the player takes the role of Zia, a young mage with an exceptional sense for magic in a country where the use of magic is illegal. Zia then embarks on a journey to handle her magical abilities for which she became exiled for.
Mages of Mystralia contains examples of the following tropes:
- Awesome, but Impractical: With the depth of the games Spell Crafting mechanics, many of the more complex spells you can make end up being this. Yeah you can make an automated turret that shoots off fireballs that shoot more fireballs which in turn shoot yet more fireballs, but ultimately more Boring, but Practical spells will be what you want to actually use in combat.
- Ban on Magic: The Valley was originally ruled by a dynasty of Benevolent Mage Rulers until one of them began to unravel the secrets of forbidden magics, subsequently being driven mad and becoming a tyrant. After he was deposed, the new ruler decided that mages in general could not be trusted and had every mage he could find executed or driven from the land.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: A goblin's color tells you which tribe it belongs to, and which element it is immune to. Red are immune to fire, blue are immune to ice, yellow are immune to lightning, and green are immune to earth.
- Elemental Powers: Zia has four spells, each of which is connected to a single one of the four classical elements. As the game goes on, the player unlocks the ability to make each of these spells channel an element other than their default one.
- Immedi is a short-ranged instantaneous attack that begins as the air element.
- Actus summons a stationary orb of its element that begins as the fire element.
- Creo creates a patch of an element at one's feet that begins as the water element.
- Ego covers spells which affect the caster, and that begins as earth element.
- Hidden Elf Village: After the Ban on Magic, the mages retreated to the hidden refuge of Haven, a magically concealed sanctuary in the woods. From there, they monitor and fight back against magical threats to the valley in secret.
- Magic Wand: Various wands can be found throughout the game, each of which grants the player some boost to their spellcasting when equipped.
- Our Goblins Are Different: Goblins are a common enemy. They humanoids who come in a variety of different skin-tones (each one corresponding a different tribe and indicating which element they are immune to), and range wildly in size, from smaller to a human child to several times taller than an adult.
- Power Incontinence: Zia's powers awakening for the first time were marked by her losing control and accidentally setting fire to her own house.
- Spell Crafting: A central mechanic. Throughout the game the player will collect runes that they can attach to their basic spells, modifying them in a wide variety of ways. Later the player even gains "trigger" runes, which allow them to make spells that cast other spells. One promotional video
by the game's developers shows off how to combine runes to make an automated rotating turret, in order to show off a little bit of the system's depth and versatility. - Video Game Dashing: Attaching a Move rune to the Ego spell causes it to become one of these.
- Yellow Lightning, Blue Lightning: Air magic (which is mostly lightning) is color-coded as yellow.
