Secret Agent Wizard Boy and the International Crime Syndicate is the latest game from the Szymanski crew who you might know from the likes of DUSK, My Friendly Neighborhood and other games. It's basically a Harry Potter rip-off that's pretty comically good.
I know calling it a rip-off might seem harsh, but — just look at it. I do mean it in the nicest possible way as well. What you get is an overly silly wizarding sandbox game to run around in and cause some ridiculousness either alone or with friends.
Testing it on Linux with Proton 9.0-3, it does work well. Although you need an extra install step before playing with the Microsoft Visual C++ runtime that pops up.
Running around you can collect wizard biscuits, which are the currency here, that look suspiciously like delicious party rings. This allows you to buy things from the shopkeeper, rather than steal them and have them chase you down with a massive sword.
After a while I lost count of the amount of times I died. You can die in so many stupid ways it's pretty funny. From being bounced around and squashed between things, to stepping on pads and having the walls move and turn you into a pancake there's a lot to find. At one point I used the beginner spell on a random girl standing around, and she came up to me and just insta-slapped the life out of me — ouch.
From the Steam page:
Secret Agent Wizard Boy is going undercover again to topple the international crime syndicate run by Grumblemort. He must use his wits to infiltrate Grumblemort's wizarding school and crack the evil vault deep within the castle. Or, Wizard Boy could choose to ignore his mission entirely and instead use knowledge of spells and espionage to wreck havoc and destruction.
He can also team up with fellow Wizard Boys in cooperative(?) multiplayer to explore (blow up) the castle together.
FEATURES
- A multitude of spells to learn and inflict on others.
- Physics-based mayhem.
- Open-ended goals to accomplish (or ignore) however you see fit.
- Online multiplayer.
- Retro-themed third person action, straight from the days of Unreal Engine 1.
- Landmines.
Direct Link
It's janky bootleg Harry Potter that looks like it was made for the PS1 with silly physics. Give it a try.
Check out the demo as part of Steam Next Fest on their Steam page.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Last edited by Stella on 15 October 2024 at 1:16 pm UTC
Quoting: StellaI feel like that's gonna be taken down because Warner Bros. think their IP has been stolen or something stupidIt’s a slapstick comedy parody physics game, that takes nothing from WB IP to get taken down. Being similar or inspired by is not a reason to get taken down, and they definitely don’t have exclusive rights on Wizards lol
Quoting: pilkThing is, among all the other disgusting things she is, You-Know-Who is a known copyright troll that sues anything she doesn't like.
If that were true she'd have gotten rid of Hairy Pothead when it was published some 15 years ago. But now there are sequels.
QuoteI know calling it a rip-off might seem harsh, but — just look at it. I do mean it in the nicest possible way as well. What you get is an overly silly wizarding sandbox game to run around in and cause some ridiculousness either alone or with friends.
"Parody" is the word you're looking for.
Last edited by emphy on 16 October 2024 at 12:13 am UTC
RandomizedKirbyTree47 Oct 16
Clearly not much of a Harry Potter rip-off if it doesn't have any of that.
The trailer actually looks pretty good. Maybe I'll try the demo later.
Quoting: RandomizedKirbyTree47Is it going to have you checking the genitals of girls
There seem to be plenty of games like that on Steam these days already...
Quoting: RandomizedKirbyTree47Is it going to be pro-slavery? Is it going to be pro-drug-assisted-sexual-assault? Is it going to have you checking the genitals of girls to make sure they are the right kind of girl?That was probably supposed to be funny...? But it was only annoying.
Clearly not much of a Harry Potter rip-off if it doesn't have any of that.
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