Love of Magic Book 2: The War

Midplayz
Oct 3, 2024
4 min read

Updated: Feb 11

Imagine If Love Spells Were Real

So, Love of Magic Book 2: The War continues the saga of an Arthurian Urban Fantasy with a blend of adult visual novel storytelling and sandbox RPG elements. Following the events of Book 1, where you rose from a novice mage to the King of Camelot, Book 2 plunges you into a war against the Outsiders—an alien force devastating Central America. The stakes are higher, the characters are familiar, and the sex content still simmers in the background, but does this next chapter cast the same spell? Well, it’s a bit of a mixed bag.

About This Game

Storyline

At its core, The War picks up right after Book 1, and you’re now tasked with defending Earth from the Outsiders. The fantasy mashup continues to feel epic, with gods, magic, and plenty of Arthurian lore woven into a modern setting. The plot is engaging, especially with the tension building up as you forge alliances and face brutal battles.

But—and this is a big but—while the main storyline holds up, some elements fall flat. For instance, some monumental story events just don’t hit as hard as they should. The game introduces new characters and quests, yet a lot of them feel underutilised, like they’re there just to take up space. A few of the returning side characters are practically ghosts now, which is a bummer if you were hoping for some development. Also, the whole "alternate timeline/universe" setup feels a bit too convenient—a way to hit the reset button if the plot runs into a wall.

Gameplay Mechanics

The game leans into its RPG roots more in Book 2, but the mechanics are a bit hit-or-miss. You’ve got the classic visual novel dialogue choices mixed with quests, resource management, and the poker-based combat system. The combat is still driven by a poker-like mechanic, which worked well in Book 1, but hasn’t seen much evolution here. It’s a bit of a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” situation, but I kind of wish they would’ve shaken things up more.

What’s new is the overworld map, and let me tell you, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. It sounds cool in theory, but in practice, it slows things down a lot. Fast travel? Gone. Instead, you’re stuck navigating this map that feels more like padding than a necessary gameplay feature. There are also some time-management frustrations where certain quests can only be completed during specific time slots, forcing you to waste in-game days just waiting for things to line up. And don’t get me started on those side-quests that seem to stall for no reason, leaving you running around wondering if you missed something or if the game just wants you to wait. Annoying!

Visuals & Audio

Visually, Love of Magic Book 2 sticks to the same style as its predecessor, which means it’s still a mix of nicely drawn character portraits and pretty rough animations. The full-screen scenes and some of the more detailed character posing have seen some improvement, but don’t expect a massive overhaul here. The animated cutscenes still look awkward, and the character movements are often stilted and weirdly posed.

As for the audio, it’s mostly stock music, but there are a couple of new tracks thrown in that fit the mood well. There’s even one banger of a song that pops up and might catch you off guard in a good way! Overall, it’s serviceable—nothing groundbreaking, but it gets the job done.

Pros

Engaging Main Story: The Arthurian lore mixed with modern-day fantasy is still a winning combo. If you liked the world-building in Book 1, you’ll enjoy diving deeper into it here.
Character Moments: The emotional rollercoaster is still present, with moments of love, tension, and even a bit of humour sprinkled in.
More RPG Elements: The poker-based combat and the ability to customise your magic through gem sets offer some depth, even if it’s not revolutionary.
Some Improved Visuals: The more detailed full-screen scenes are a nice touch, though overall, the visuals could use a bit more polish.

Cons

Underused Characters: Many of the side characters from the first game get sidelined, and the new ones don’t make much of an impact. Feels like a wasted opportunity.
Clunky Overworld Map: The addition of the overworld map is more of a chore than a fun feature. It drags down the pacing and makes navigation feel sluggish.
Eroticism Dialled Down: For an adult game, the erotic content is oddly restrained. Sure, there are some steamy scenes, but they feel more like an afterthought compared to the main plot.

Conclusion

Love of Magic Book 2: The War delivers a solid continuation of the story from Book 1, with its mix of Arthurian legend and urban fantasy still standing strong. However, it stumbles in a few key areas. The sidelining of characters, underwhelming time-management mechanics, and clunky overworld map detract from the experience. And while the erotic content is present, it feels tame compared to what you might expect from a visual novel in this genre.

That said, if you loved the first book, you’ll probably find enough here to keep you engaged, especially with the main storyline and those intense emotional moments. But if you were hoping for major improvements or a game-changing experience, this one might leave you wanting more. It’s a decent sequel, but one that doesn’t quite reach the magical heights of its predecessor.

If you’re in it for the plot—and I mean the actual plot—this is still a ride worth taking. Just don’t expect it to blow your mind.

Rating: 7/10

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