In Frogsong Studios' Spellsworn, competing wizards battle it out in small arenas, flinging all kinds of vile magic at each other and trying to be the only spellcaster standing at the end of the round. The game, which is available via Steam's Early Access, has recently entered its alpha phase, adding bots to the mix and ensuring that you'll always have someone to play against. Even if human opponents are are more fun to be around, these computer-controlled adversaries can definitely hold their own.

Before each match, you pick a bunch of spells and after each round, you can distribute extra points to further improve your loadout. What's rather impressive is the number of different spells, which allow for all kinds of crazy combinations. You can go all-out with offensive magic, hurling fire, ice, and magical homing missiles, or you work in a few defensive charms as well: shields, teleport magic, you name it. The best defense may indeed be a good offense. Fireball coming your way" Throw one yourself and watch the two collide halfway. Pushing your opponents out of the playing field is another valid tactic. Nothing like a nice acid bath to get rid of the competition, eh" Having something on hand that quickly gets you out of this predicament and back into the fray is pretty important.
It might take a few rounds and a lot of crushing defeats until it finally clicks, but when it does, Spellsworn is a thing of beauty. It is fast-paced and surprisingly deep f...