Game Review: Mask of Mists (Xbox Series X)

Mask of Mists is a first-person adventure game that is bright, colourful and magical. It’s also short, uneventful and lacklustre in the story/combat department. Developed by 9 Eyes Games, what Mask of Mists lacks in detail and content, it makes up for in charm. For a few hours, it’s possible to become immersed in the world the studio crafted even if it’s rarely that interesting to explore.

You are some random for hire adventurer who is given the chance of getting a huge payday by finding the missing Archmage of a local magic academy. That’s it. That’s the story. Your character is then transported to the area the Archmage disappeared in and must overcome its obstacles to find him.

That’s the basis of gameplay – puzzle solving. Traverse dungeons and paths to find items that can than be used to progress. Some of it can be quite clever, others it’s simply a matter of finding a item and using it. As you progress and explore, items you find can often be used in areas you already passed through to unlock new paths, so backtracking is a must.

It’s the puzzle solving that is the most satisfying part of the experience as the other gameplay elements are less thrilling.

Take combat for example, you will get a sword and later, a pistol. You duel wield, so can use both at the same time. However, outside dungeons, enemies are few and far between and there are only a handful of types. There’s no substantial combat, only one disappointing boss and a lack of heft to the weapons. Swing wildly or shoot your pistol, there’s no skill involved at all. While you can die at the monster’s hands, healing potions are plentiful and this is not what you would call a difficult game.

Exploration is key as often the one item you need to open up a new path is tucked away in some corner of the world. It’s not a massive world you have open to you but it’s substantial enough to get lost occasionally. The game could do with a map but unfortunately, it doesn’t have one.

You’ll want to explore too, as Mask of Mists’ world is very vibrant and colourful. The magical and whimsical look really works even if it’s not exactly on the higher-grade of visuals. This is most noticeable when in dungeons which all look exactly the same (there are six of them).

Earnest players will have this wrapped up in around 2-4 hours. The game has two endings and neither is particularly great. Fitting for the nothing story though.

On the whole, Mask of Mists has a lot of negatives but plenty of positives too. It’s an enjoyable, short ride into a basic but fantastical world. It’s not genre-affecting but does more than enough to make your time spent not feel wasted.