Overall, The Hand of Merlin is a tactical game that plays well if you can look past the long loading times and user interface issues. While it initially put me off with its complicated menus, the decent visuals and engaging battles are fun once you get the hang of them. It’s possibly a tad on the expensive side, but fans of turn-based strategies will likely find some subtle enjoyment here.
The Hand of Merlin
Croteam · Jun 14, 2022
About
The Hand of Merlin is a turn-based rogue-lite RPG in which Arthurian legend clashes with sci-fi horror. Recruit mortal heroes and explore medieval lands assaulted by an otherworldly evil. Search for the lost fragments of your soul, scattered across the multiverse - and save as many worlds as you can.
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Critic reviews
- With an interesting narrative hook and intense small battles, The Hand of Merlin certainly accomplishes what it sets out to do, and fans of the strategy genre will find a lot to love here. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t feel very accessible to newcomers and the frustrating UI leads us to believe that this is a game best played on PC but not on console. Despite those issues, The Hand of Merlin cements itself as one of the better strategy titles out there, and we highly recommend picking this one up (on PC) if you’re a genre aficionado looking for a challenge.
- 7.0The Hand of Merlin still provides an intriguing and captivating experience despite its graphical shortcomings. It's undoubtedly a challenging game while unique in many ways and an excellent take on the roguelike experience. There is a good balance between the game's fighting system and its overworld area. The diversity, however, tends to become somewhat insufficient after a few playthroughs, and the game becomes monotonous rather quickly.
- 8.8The Hand of Merlin throws players deep into a retold legend of King Arthur. The king has died, failing in the mission that Merlin tasked him with. It is now up to a group of new adventures to defeat the Cataclysm.
- 7.0The Hand of Merlin may not bring anything new to the table, but fans of tough strategy games like XCOM will still find plenty to love here. The unforgiving roguelite structure and decision-driven gameplay offer up a lot of engaging content, even if these elements are held back a bit by the boring graphics and an interface that’s not very controller friendly.
- 9.0All in all, what Room-C Games have created in The Hand of Merlin is pretty special, mainly due to the fact that there are so many paths to take, the abilities are random, and because it’s challenging in the right kind of way. It’s a game that will have you going back for more, running the old adage of “Treat ’em mean, keep ‘em keen”.
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