By Slate Interactive: The Nature Of Magic -ch.1-

2.5 鈥� 3 hours Price: $9.99 USD Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S (Switch version delayed to Q1 2024)

The goal of this chapter is simple: survive the night and escape the bay. But the method of survival is where Slate Interactive earns its genius. Forget mana bars. The Nature of Magic introduces the Phonetic Wheel .

As Kaelen 鈥渉ears鈥� the world鈥檚 hum, a radial dial appears on screen segmented into 24 runes, each corresponding to a specific harmonic frequency. To solve a puzzle (e.g., calming a violent tide or mending a torn sail), you don鈥檛 press a button. You hum. Using your controller鈥檚 microphone (or headset), you must match the pitch of the environment. The Nature of Magic -Ch.1- By Slate Interactive

However, if you are tired of magic being reduced to a damage-per-second stat鈥攊f you long for a game that treats the arcane with the same reverence as Annihilation treated the Shimmer鈥攂uy this immediately.

One point deducted for the microphone sensitivity. My dog howled every time I tried to solve the tidal lock puzzle. You can purchase The Nature of Magic - Ch.1 directly from the [Slate Interactive Official Store] or on Steam. A demo for Chapter Two is rumored to drop during the Winter Game Fest. The Nature of Magic introduces the Phonetic Wheel

Chapter One opens not with a battle, but with a failure. Kaelen, now a ferryman transporting mundane cargo, accidentally drifts his skiff into a restricted 鈥淓cho Zone.鈥� The hull of his ship begins to sing. Moss grows backward. Time seems to hiccup.

Most people cannot hear it. Those who can usually go mad. You hum

Are you going to pick this up? Have you tried humming into your controller yet? Let me know in the comments below. Disclaimer: This review is based on a pre-release code provided by Slate Interactive. All opinions are my own.

With the release of The Nature of Magic 鈥� Ch.1 , the first episode in a planned five-part series, Slate isn鈥檛 asking you to cast spells. They are asking you to listen . You play as Kaelen , a disgraced former 鈥淩esonator鈥� living in the coastal city of Veridian Wake. In this world, magic isn鈥檛 an energy you possess; it is a low-frequency hum emitted by the planet itself鈥攖he "Telluric Bleed."

If the wind is howling in , you must hum F-sharp. If a school of bioluminescent eels are clicking in C-major triad , you must replicate that exact chord.