Dungeons and Dragonshas a long and successful history of video game adaptations, and in a lot of genres too. There’s old arcade beat-em-ups from many decades ago, as well as modern MMOs and singleplayer RPGs. Wizards of the Coast seems to be enthusiastically returning to the idea ofDungeons and Dragonsvideo games with projects likeBaldur’s Gate 3andDungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance.That isn’t the only fantasy title that it should make into many more video games, though. Wizards is sitting on a lot of potential withMagic: The Gathering,a setting with a tremendous amount of smaller settings backed into it.
There’s just so much that Wizards of the Coast could do withMagic: The Gatheringthat it hasn’t attempted yet. Recently it’s been doubling down onDungeons and Dragonsgames, and there’s no reason it can’t try to do the same withMagic.In fact, Wizards is giving off signs that it might be interested in doing that.Magic: Legendsis a pretty bold venture into theMagicmultiverse, letting players explore some of its most recognizable areas freely.Magic: Legendsshould be a step forward rather than an exception to the rule. There’s just so much that can be done within the world ofmagic.
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Revamping Magic Game Traditions
Wizards has taken a fair few stabs atMagicgames before. The problem with most of these previous games, likeMagic: The Gathering OnlineandMagic Arena,are just video game adaptations of the card game. While it’s nice to see the card game really come to life that way, it really isn’t too different an experience from actually playing the card game.Magic Legendsbreaks from that by letting players make their own characters and explore the multiverse on foot in an action RPG format. TheMagicmultiverse is a lot easier to get attached to when players don’t only view it from a card table.
Magic Legendsshows all the directionsthat games set in the world ofMagiccould go. For instance, Wizards of the Coast could make a story-heavy singleplayer RPG where players play the role of a young planeswalker awakening to their powers and embarking on a quest through the multiverse. That kind of game could introduce a compelling new character toMagic,prompt some intimate and eye-opening interactions with famousMagiccharacters, and allow fans to develop a relationship with the multiverse in a way evenMagic Legendscan’t quite do. That’s only the tip of the iceberg, too. Wizards could get really experimental with something like a combat-free adventure game or a large-scale strategy or sim game about building a plane.
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Following Dungeons and Dragons' Example
All these options boil down to one important thing that Wizards hasn’t acknowledged much:Magicgames don’t have to be about the card game. After all,Dungeons and Dragonsgames usually don’t ask players to roll dice or follow a story created by another fan of the game. Wizards has realized thatDungeons and Dragonshas rich loreand opportunities for combat that make for great RPG opportunities. The same is true forMagic: The Gathering.There’s so many interesting creatures, notable characters, and enchanting settings that Wizards could work with that there’s no point in restricting characters to only seeing the multiverse through what’s in their decks.
Ideally,Magic Legendsis a signthat Wizards of the Coast is starting to realize the potential of theMagicworld. There’s just so much going on that can’t be captured in the card game alone. For many years, Wizards has worked hard to expand the game’s world through novels, short stories, art books, and more. To only view the setting through the cards is to lose out on what these books and stories contribute. Hopefully Wizards of the Coast has more planned thanMagic Legends.For now,Magic LegendsandDungeons and Dragons: Dark Allianceare good signs that Wizards knows that there’s a whole lot more that it can do with these powerful IPs.
Magic: The Gatheringis available at game shops and digitally throughMagic Arena.
