The remake of 1994’s 4X strategy classic Master Of Magic should be out in early autumn, MuHa Games and publisher Slitherine announced today. The release window was revealed during Slitherine’s Home Of Wargamers livestream, which showed off the game’s revamped visuals with some minotaur-on-bear battle action. There were also plenty of cockatrices.
Much of the core of the original turn-based Master Of Magic from 28 years ago is still present and correct in the remake, just with a snazzier modern graphical presentation. You’ll still be picking from 14 different fantastical starter races ranging from the insectoid Klackon and scaly Lizardmen to Tolkienesque Halflings, Orcs and High Elves. There’s 14 unique wizards too, including OG sorcerous bad boy Merlin. One change to Master Of Magic that probably won’t bother anyone is alterations to some of the town names – no longer will you spot Birmingham and Coventry in the game’s two planes of Arcanus and Myrror.
Elsewhere in the stream, it was confirmed there will be more than 200 spells in this new version of the game, and Slitherine stressed that each one will feel unique. Quest designer Mila Undro said that the complexity of Master Of Magic’s spells was one of the most challenging parts of the game’s development. Master Of Magic also features diplomacy among the game’s many wizards that takes the form of communication through a magic mirror, a bit like in Snow White, but plays out a lot like talking to leaders in Civilization or GalCiv.
Slitherine first said they’d bought the rights to Simtex’s Master Of Magic back in 2019, which really excited Sin at the time. In her Have You Played for the original Master Of Magic, she said: “What if you focus on building up hero units, clearing out dungeons and magic nodes for their powerful items, and turning them into unstoppable single-figure armies? What if you researched a spell called ‘Armageddon’? You pretty much HAVE to cast that. I mean, come on. I rarely finish any 4X campaign. I almost always finish Master Of Magic.”
If the prospect of casting an even more ridiculous version of Armageddon in this new remake intrigues you, you can still sign up for the Master Of Magic public beta at Slitherine’s site. The Master Of Magic remake will be available on Steam later this year.
