Review: Wizardry – Variants Daphne

Four years ago, when news that Drecom had acquired the Wizardry IP, I didn’t really expect much to come out it. If anything, I figured there might be a handful of Wizardry games released exclusively in Japan, or maybe a couple of re-releases. But I didn’t have my hopes up that we would ever see anything here in the west. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Since Drecom has taken ownership of Wizardry, we’ve seen a pretty drastic revival of the franchise. First, Wizardry: The Five Ordeals was re-released in both Japan and the west for PC. Next up was the remastered version of Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord. This was followed by a handful of novels and mangas (these are also being released here in the US). Recently, we’ve also had the release of two mobile Wizardry games. The first being a blockchain game (something I’m not even sure I want to bother reviewing, but I probably will), and the game I’m going to talk about today, Wizardry Variants Daphne.

If you’re wonder what “Variants Daphne” means, you’re not alone. I’ve played this game for over a week straight and I have no idea what the title is referencing. I’m sure it means something in the minds of the Japanese developers that has been lost in translation. But, at the end of the day the title isn’t really that important. What is important is that we have a brand new Wizardry game that’s actually worth taking a look at. The first thing you need to know is that Wizardry Variants Daphne is a mobile game. There’s been some talk of making a PC version in the future, but I’m not sure if that’s something that will actually happen or not. Being a mobile title, it should be no surprise that this is a gacha game. Gachapon style games are something that I typically frown upon for a couple of reasons. First, they are rather predatory in the way they bait players into spending real money for rewards with insanely low drop rates. Second, they are notorious for becoming laborious and repetitive the longer you play them. With this in mind, I admit that my expectations for this title were pretty low. But so far, I’m happy to admit that I was wrong. There’s actually a pretty cool game here if you can manage to resist the gachapon mechanics.

The game starts with the creation of a main character and a tutorial. The tutorial walks you through the gameplay basics and right from the very beginning, it is clear that this is a classic Wizardry-style dungeon crawler. When the game starts, you are a single character exploring a grid-style dungeon (complete with an auto-map). But before long, you find yourself escaping from the dungeon and into a surface town. This also is modeled after classic Wizardry games. There’s an inn, tavern, shops, etc. And if you’re familiar with Wizardry, you already have a pretty good idea of what you can do at these locations.

Your main character in this game has the ability to “de-age” certain things simply by touching them. This means they can restore things like old rusty equipment back to working order or even restore the remains of dead adventurers back into living beings. It is through this method that you are able to both equip and build a party of characters. As you explore the dungeon you will find corpses of fallen heroes or heaps of old junk. By acquiring these things and taking them to back to town, you can use the “hand of restoration” and see what you end up with. If you’re familiar with gachapon games, you probably see where this is going. This is where the gacha mechanics come into play. Yes, items and characters can be obtained simply by playing the game. But it’s much easier and often more lucrative to purchase them with real money. Of course, you can never simply purchase the item or character you want. Everything is distributed using a loot-box system. It is always up to the roll of the dice when it comes to acquiring rare drops.

One thing that I do enjoy about this game is that way that you have a party that features your own custom created main character, but the rest of the party slots are filled with unique personalities. Yes, there’s generic characters like “Human Fighter” or “Elf Priest”, but there’s also second and third tier characters with unique backstories, special abilities, and their own voice acting. I’d love to see this idea implemented in future Wizardry titles, without the loot-box mechanics, of course.

As is the case other character-theme gacha games, you’re eventually going to end up with multiples of the same character. This game has a system that allows you to merge duplicate characters, thereby increasing the strength of your existing same character. So in reality, even if you don’t get the pull you want, you can still benefit in some way from every acquisition.

It seems that there’s always an extremely rare “featured adventurer” that’s part of some limited time campaign. This of course, is there to entice players to spend money on chances at getting this character. Again, none of this should be a surprise if you’re familiar with the gacha business model. My advice for these types of games is to resist the temptation to spend real money and enjoy the game using whatever free virtual currency you can manage to scrounge up. If you’re having fun, and you want to drop a little money in the shop, go for it. But resist those shiny $40 and $50 packages. If you want to spend $50 on a game, use it to buy an ACTUAL full length game. Spending that kind of money on a game like this is only going to lead to disappointment.

So, gacha mechanics aside, what is the gameplay like? Well, the in-game story is actually quite good. It gives you a reason for wanting to explore the dungeon. The dungeon crawl aspect is probably the best I’ve encountered on a mobile game. The graphics are just amazing, and this game manages to capture that classic “dungeon crawl” experience exceptionally well. The dungeon is multi-level and filled with monsters, traps and treasure. I’m certain that as time goes on we will see the inclusion of new dungeons with additional challenges.

A number of classic Wizardry throwbacks are present in this game. Examples include resting at the inn to level up, alignment considerations when forming a party, disarming trapped treasure chests, and even turn-based combat. This makes me very happy. It tells me that the developers actually understood a thing or two about Wizardry and didn’t just craft a fantasy themed game and slap the Wizardry label on it. But for everything that’s old about this game, there are also plenty of new ideas as well. For example, as with many online mobile games, you can link up with other players using a friend-code system. At the time of this writing, inviting and accepting friends requests grants you small bonuses and rewards some in-game currency. We’ll see if this concept is expanded on with future updates.

Finally, it wouldn’t be a Wizardry game if there wasn’t perma-death. Yes… perma-death is a thing in Variants Daphne. Combine that with the fact that this is a gacha game, and you can see how this isn’t a game for the faint of heart. Thankfully, there are several safeguards in place that making actually losing your characters fairly difficult. But technically, it is possible.

If you’re an old Wizardry fan like me, and you’ve been wanting a mobile Wizardry game then you should seriously give this a fair shot. Yes, the format of the game is likely to be a turn-off for many players. But remember, you don’t have to spend money to enjoy the game. Of course, if you are having fun, and you want to support the developers, you can do what I do and toss a few bucks at the shop here and there. All in all, I have extremely pleased with the quality of this title.

Version Reviewed: Mobile

Difficulty: Variable – As far as mobile games go, this one is a bit on the tougher side. Even from the beginning, lots of monster encounters can be pretty perilous. Things get considerably easier if you come prepared with healing potions – which of course can be bought with both virtual and real money. With that in mind, if you have deep pockets the difficulty goes down considerably. Even so, its quite possible to make progress in the game if you use common sense. Still, the dungeon is dangerous and perma-death is always an option, no matter how distant, so tread carefully at all times.

Multiplayer: Yes.

Story: Dungeon crawlers typically don’t have a very deep story and this game is no exception. Still, the set up is good and better than expected for this type of game.

Originality: This game combines a number of classic crawler elements with modern gachapon mechanics. This, in itself, is no simple feat. But somehow the developers have managed to pull it off quite well. The end result is a game that feels quite a bit different from others games of either style.

Soundtrack: Excellent score and voice acting. Both the musical pieces and the character voicing are top tier. I’ve caught myself humming the town theme for several days.

Fun: Mobile games rarely capture my attention for one reason or another. When they do, it’s usually very short lived. So far I’ve been playing this game for over a week and I’m still very much invested.

Graphics: The ambient spooky dungeons and cottagecore tavern art mixes insanely well with the anime character design for reasons I can’t quite describe. Very beautiful game.

Playcontrol: Touchscreen based controls that are overall accurate.

Downloadable Content: Frequent online updates deliver new content on a regular basis. In-game currency can be purchased with real money and then used for additional characters and consumables.

Mature Content: Fantasy Violence, Blood, Gore

Value:  The game itself is available for free. Optional purchases can range from as little as $1.50 to nearly $100 USD.

Overall score (1-100): 85 – I didn’t expect much when this title was announced, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised. This game manages to capture the classic Wizardry vibe while introducing modern mobile gameplay elements. Somehow, it works. Considering the business model for this game, it’s not going to be for everybody and that’s ok. But still, it’s certainly worth your attention. I’ve enjoyed my time with this title so far, and I plan to continue playing for the foreseeable future.

Original System: iOS, Android

Available today on:  iOS, Android   – (Updated as of Fall 2024)

Best Experience: iOS, Android   – (Updated as of Fall 2024)

Other Reviews In This Series:

Classic Series:

I – II – III – IV – V – VII – VII– VIII

Remakes:

I

Japanese Era:

Gaiden I   –   Gaiden II   –   Gaiden III   – Gaiden IV

Wizardry Empire   –   Wizardry: Dimguil   –   Wizardry Chronicle   – Wizardry Summoner

Tale of the Forsaken Land –   Tale of the Forsaken Land 0

Prisoners of the Battles    –   Absence of Misericordia   –   Five Ordeals

Wizardry Asterisk   –   Wizardry Xth

Labyrinth of Lost Souls   –  Prisoners of the Lost City 

Pledge of Life    –    Heritage of Oblivion

Wizardry Online

Mobile:

Eternal Crypt BC    –    Variants Daphne