With the unlikeliness of combining magic and guns, Arcane Trigger turns these two unlikely subjects into a fun auto-battler, roguelite. This game and its charming sprite-based visuals is an easy to digest roguelite to pick up and play. Runs don’t last very long and there are a variety of ways to build your characters. I’m here to give you a run down on how Arcane Trigger works and what to expect.
Gameplay Basics
Just like roguelites, every run will be vastly different based on the character and bullets you find. Each bullet is assigned an element and has their own unique effects. As mentioned prior, the game is an auto-battler, meaning you must prepare your bullets in a certain order. Every fight your bullets are randomized in terms of what position they’ll be in. Upon starting a fight, the bullets will fire from left to right at the enemy waves. Positioning your bullets will matter greatly based on the synergy of what bullets you have chosen. For example: Say you have a bullet that does more damage to enemies who are frozen. The bullet that you would use to freeze them is better off placed higher in the bullet order.
Understanding Bullets
Along with understanding the general flow of the game, it is also important to know that every bullet is assigned a specific element. The elements being Fire, Ice, Rock, Wind, Lightning, and Light. Of these six elements, certain characters that you chose before a run only have access to only four elements. The starting character, Magician Lilia, only has access to Fire, Ice, Rock, and Wind bullets. The next character you would unlock, Archmage Henry, only has access to Lightning, Wind, Rock, and Fire. There’s some overlap with the characters, but by doing so they each have their unique bullets to choose from. Even characters who share the same elements get unique bullets specific to them.
Upgrades
A common aspect of roguelites is that even if you may have lost all progression in a run, you are still rewarded by having means of improving later runs. After a run is finished, whether win or lose, you are rewarded with Magic Crystals. Magic Crystals can be spent on either Runes or Carpets. Runes are your permanent buffs throughout runs. They progressively get more and more expensive the further you go down the skill tree. These can range from higher chances in seeing rarer bullets in the shop to increases in resources. Carpets are the other upgrades you can spend your Magic Crystals on. Carpets are similar to the runes in that they get more expensive the more you buy and that they provide buffs for your runs. However, Carpets have to be equipped and you may only have one active at a time.
Conclusion
I would say I had a fun time playing through Arcane Trigger. The game is very easy to get into and runs generally don’t take very long. Although that sentiment changes based on what difficulty you’re on. There are a variety of ways to create builds via focusing on one element or splitting focus on two or more. The success of your runs will greatly depend on what bullets you choose and how you position them. Arcane Trigger is available on Steam for $8.99 USD.
