Ikenfell is a magical school, and much like Hogwarts, it seems to be in a constant state of disaster; unlike Hogwarts, it doesn’t make me grapple with the moral conundrum of its author’s troubling world views. The world of Ikenfell is filled with crazy spells, boisterous characters, and some very engaging turn-based combat. Some of these ideas pan out better than others, but either way, our Pyromancer Marriette has put a spell on me.
Ikenfell (PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox One [reviewed])
Developer: Happy Ray Games
Publisher: Humble Games
Released: October 8, 2020
MSRP: $19.99
Our story begins with Marriette, a non-magical headed towards wizarding school searching for her sister, who hasn’t returned home for her regular school break. After a brief introduction, Mariette suddenly finds herself with fire-based magic. A group of ghosts guarding the path to Ikenfell makes it clear this sort of magic has never been seen. That idea becomes more important as the game presses on, and more unseen magic is springing up all around the school. Other party members also find themselves gaining unique new magical abilities.
Combat makes up the bulk of Ikenfell’s gameplay. You can support a party of three of the six playable characters at once and square off against foes in turn-based combat on a small tactical grid. The grid is roughly three by twenty squares. The use of the elongated but cramped battlefield makes every step in combat feel more important; This is even more so the case later on as enemies and allies alike gain abilities centered around laying traps on the battlefield.
The classic JRPG combat is shaken up with the presence of timing-based button prompts. Every attack comes with a unique animation that requires pressing the attack button with precise timing to land the attack. You also need to time a defensive action perfectly with enemy attacks. When you’re being hit with a lethal blow, a perfectly timed defense will even save your life. Timing is a massive part of the combat, and if it proves too difficult for you, it can be toggled off in the difficulty settings.
Each party member also has a unique feel in their actual abilities and the animations surrounding them. All of Mariette’s fire-based skills are fast and pack a punch, while your party alchemist excels with healing and short-range damage over time attacks.
These elements of combat all come together in a way the mostly feels rewarding. However, with such a large variety of enemies and attacks, I found myself consistently messing up with the same moves and failing defense actions on the same enemy attacks. These moments feel frustrating if not insurmountable.
When you’re not beating down magical monsters or other wizards, there’s some light puzzle-solving to be done. For the most part, these puzzles are pretty basic, flip a switch here, push a block there. Enough to keep you engaged and break up the combat, but a handful of these puzzles just feel poorly designed. One, in particular, had me searching a moonlit courtyard for gate keys. There was no obvious indicator for where the keys might be. I spent roughly thirty minutes pacing around smacking the A button, and it eventually panned out.
The story mostly feels like a parody of Harry Potter. Your core group of characters feels very much like a gender-flipped version of the Potter Books core trio. The game spends a lot of time pointing out what effects the actions of a group of kids regularly getting up to magical antics at a school would have on the other students. The main problem here is that most of that stuff ends up being surface level, and apart from our core six characters, nobody seems particularly eager to help these kids save the world. As you explore the grounds and building, you meet more than a handful of teachers who eagerly believe that you’re on the path to save the world but aren’t about to lift a finger to help you.
The story also feels to drag quite a bit once you’re past the halfway mark. There were several moments where I assumed I had to be nearing the finish line, and the story continued for another four hours after that. If I hadn’t felt so enamored with the combat, it might have been tough to carry on.
On the plus side, in what has to feel like a big screw you to Potter author J.K. Rowling, Ikenfell is positively bustling with queer characters. Getting to know the cast of six party members and seeing flashbacks to their years together at school is the highlight of Ikenfell’s narrative.
As you explore each section of Ikenfell’s grounds and classrooms, you’re met with a different set of phenomenal chiptunes tracks. Unfortunately, the battle theme rarely changes, and by the end of my roughly twenty-hour play through, it began to feel a bit grating.
Verdict: Ikenfell is charming and filled with engaging and rewarding combat if you’re willing to work with some of the frustrating hurdles it throws your way. The story is rocky, often falling into some of the same plot holes; it seems to be mocking, but overall is heartfelt even if it overstays its welcome a bit.
Buy it
Gamepass owners should move this to the top of their queue.
Author: Rich Meister
[This review is based on a retail build of the purchased by the reviewer]