Madoka Magica Magia Exedra Review
A series near and dear to my heart, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, got a brand new mobile game titled Madoka Magica Magia Exedra. It’s certainly a mouthful, but is it any good?
Magia Exedra comes as a successor to 2017’s Magia Record, another smartphone game with an original story and characters that was later adapted as an anime. As a game, I never really got into it, but I quite enjoyed the anime adaptation of the story. When I saw there would be a new, much prettier game with some promising gameplay, my gacha gamer interest was perked.
In Magia Exedra, you take on the role of a nameless, formless magical girl who has forgotten everything. She finds herself in someplace called the Lighthouse, alongside a green Kyubey-like character named A-Q. At the Lighthouse, memories of other magical girls gather, and by exploring them, perhaps you can reclaim your own memories, or create a new self.
It’s a decent setup, but so far it’s only used to retell the plot of the original anime, which more than likely players have already experienced. There are small scenes between the player character and A-Q, but so far those have amounted to very little. It made me want to watch the original anime again, but also made me begin skipping the story almost immediately.
Considering Magia Record had entirely new story and characters, turning this into a rehash of existing stories is likely disappointing for fans. I’m interested in learning more about the Magia Record story that wasn’t covered in the anime, but for people who already know that story there really doesn’t seem to be much here.
Thankfully, the gameplay is a lot stronger. I don’t want to be too reductive, but this does seem like a case of copied homework from Honkai Star Rail. You field a team of 5 characters who have a basic attack, a skill using a shared resource, and a special attack available after filling a meter. Enemies have a break gauge that is reduced by attacking. Once emptied, it puts them into a vulnerable state where you can dish out increased damage.
Now, Honkai Star Rail is an excellent mobile game, so there are certainly worse places to crib from. The break gauge has an interesting wrinkle in that once an enemy is broken, the damage multiplier can further be increased. This allows for some interesting setup to really maximize damage.
Characters fall into one of 6 roles, Breaker, Attacker, Defender, Healer, Buffer, and Debuffer, and have one of 6 elements, Light, Dark, Flame, Aqua, Forest, and Void. So far, the roles and element system is pretty straightforward, the role gives you a quick idea of what their kit will be, and certain enemies take increased damage and break damage from the elements they’re weak to.
Each character can equip a portrait, usually a scene from the anime, to boost their stats and provide special effects. Thus far, I find these a little lackluster compared to Honkai Star Rail’s equivalent light cones. They usually just provide a small stat boost like 2% more defense, rather than a unique effect or stat boost with specific trigger conditions.
What does seem to be missing from Magia Exedra is a gear system. On the one hand, this significantly cuts down on grinding and rng, on the other, this is where a lot of build and theory crafting comes into play. I’m somewhat glad it’s absent, but also worry team/character building will be too simple that it won’t be able to hook me in the same way.
Overall, I’d have to say that the gameplay is solid enough to keep my interest, but might not be strong enough to really get its hooks in me. There is a PvP mode, which is somewhat rare for gacha games, but I have to wonder what will really differentiate my team from another. If I field the exact same team as another player, only our equipped portraits might differ, as everything else seems to be a linear upgrade.
Now, the elephant in the room here is that this is a gacha game. While not my favorite game model, I understand why it exists, and I know it’s probably not going anywhere. I think monetization for gacha games can be done fairly, striking a balance between letting all players enjoy them, and incentivizing people to spend money.
Magia Exedra’s monetization is egregious. You will need 200 pulls for a guaranteed character, with no carry over between banners. Honkai Star Rail uses 80 for a guaranteed 5*, and 180 for a guaranteed banner character, both of which carry over. The price per pull in Magia Exedra also appears to be higher, though the drop rate is slightly higher.
The launch rewards are also somewhat lackluster. Overall, it just feels stingy. Now the banner characters don’t appear to be limited, which is nice, but the economy of this game both disincentivizes me to spend real money, and creates friction that will likely wear on me over time.
Magia Exedra lands in a tricky spot for me. It’s a beloved IP with strong visuals, plenty of characters I like, and is a competent game. However, it only retreads stories that are better told elsewhere while dropping hints at an original story, though that may take a long time to unfold. The gameplay isn’t as deep as where it’s pulling inspiration, and build customization seems rather shallow.
The gacha system really leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Even if it’s not too different from other titles, it’s all about how it feels to the user, and this feels bad. Rather than know there’s a safety net where I will get a 5* character eventually, any built-up pity will eventually disappear into the ether, and given the cost per pull, I feel less interested in spending money rather than more compelled.
The beauty of a live game is that it can be updated, and with some smart updates and decisions, I think this could be a really strong title. Honestly, I’m rooting for this game, and I would love to see it succeed. With deeper character customization and a fairer monetization system, this game could reach its full potential.
