

Necromancy does what it says on the tin, turning fiends into friends when the grim reaper comes to visit, while corruption allows you to spread an epidemic of tumorous growths and ravenous parasites. I grew fond of a slaughterous trio comprised of necromancy, corruption, and ice. It’s easiest to describe these types of magic in light of the more complex sigils, such as kinesis and delirium, which allow you to control the battlefield in various ways, turning enemies against each other or halting them in their tracks. To turn an archer into a pile of ash is simple enough with such a missile: hold a mouse button, then release that flaming projectile and watch your target skeleton dissolve into the wind when it hits.įorgive my focus on fire and ice. A focused spell might take the form of a continuous ray of elemental energy or a ball of filth, though I was most taken by homing missiles, which I could fire off in quick succession or charge up for a more thorough display of destruction. Each sigil allows for three casting techniques: a focused attack, an area-of-effect attack, and a parry-termed a nova-that typically offers its own kind of offensive enhancement. If you want to keep your distance during rough battles like this, craft shields that give you unlimited access to the short-range teleport called "blink."Ĭasting these spells from Lichdom’s first-perspective feels oh so good, and they come in three types of magical flavors, called sigils. Wizards and skeletons spawn into the level from nowhere, and you fling icicles at them or soften them up with a hive of buzzing parasites that floats above your head. The only cooldowns you need consider are the intrinsic casting times of the spells themselves, not additional timers that dole out casting permission at specified intervals. There is no mana bar obstructing your access to deadly magic. Lichdom: Battlemage is built around the most satisfying spellcasting this side of Kingdoms of Amalur, and it’s this one system that drives the adventure from beginning to end. Let’s return, however, to those initial hours. Elemental powers aren’t the only ones you command in this magic-driven action game, but they are the two that define the initial hours of Lichdom’s overlong campaign, which hobbles to a close long after it milks the joy out of its excellent but single-minded combat. A chorus chants from within, urging you to chill your personal demons with the ray of frost you blast from your fingertips, and to burn them with showers of brimstone. The song you hear calling from the center of Lichdom: Battlemage is one of ice and fire.
