PCOverview
Magicians & Looters is an Indie Metroidvania game that pits three wizard's apprentices against the force of looters that ransacked their wizardry school. The apprentices are attempting to save their teacher and mentor, Versimos the Beardless, from the Looter King and his force of "morgs"; which greatly resemble orcs and goblins.
The game was originally released on the Desura service in January 2014. It has since passed through Steam Greenlight and is purchasable from Steam as of July 2014.
Gameplay
The game is a standard Metroidvania: it has a grid map that fills in details such as hidden items and save points; a non-linear 2D world to explore with multiple dead-ends and bosses; and powers that increase the player characters' traversal capabilities such as a high-jump for taller ledges.
There are also three protagonists that the player can switch between after a certain point in the game, each with their own strengths: Nyn is a fierce, dual-wielding swordswoman who is uniquely capable of sliding through narrow spaces; Brent has a shield to deflect enemy attacks and can also learn to wall-jump up narrow tunnels; and Vienna is a martial artist who doesn't use weapons but instead has her powerful fists, high speed and acrobatics to keep her alive. The player is required to switch between these protagonists at save points in order to access areas the other two cannot reach.
The game also has a magic system with a mana bar that regenerates over time, or while the player character is focusing. These spells include fireballs, which can both attack enemies and light torches; teleporting to previous save points; and attacking enemies with a never-ending wave of fruit. Brent is the best spell-caster in the party, as Nyn and Vienna are more combat-focused, but the other two characters can use spells well enough also.
