▷Super Cane Magic ZERO review: RPG in Sio sauce 🥇

After a hugely popular crowdfunding campaign e 5 years of development (flanked by an almost as long beta phase on Steam), "Super Cane Magic ZERO – Legend of the Cane Cane”, the video game developed by Studio Evil and the cartoonist Sio, is among us! The full game in fact, the 30st May per PC, PlayStation 4 e Nintendo Switch, and we at, after trying it, are now ready to share our opinion about it with you.

Our review of Super Cane Magic ZERO

The first thing to say about this game is that if you are a fan of the style and humor by Sio, this title is absolutely a must-have. The plot, the jokes, the characters, the settings: the artist's imprint is pervasive and in no apparent way restrained by the videogame format.

This is also true on the contrary, that is, the video game is not limited by Sio's creative drive, and indeed benefits a lot. A push that takes a RPG otherwise average and turn it into something original e entertaining (although certainly not flawless, but we get there).

Let's take a step back for a moment, talking briefly about the plot, or rather the pretext that starts our adventure: the magic dog AAAH!, destroyed by the death of his master, the Cake Wizard, upsets, with its canine magic, the entire planetoid WOTF. Our task, as heroes, will be to find the 6 wizards and witches dell 'Academy of Poptarts and bring the world back to normal.

Once we pass a very fast, almost lacking, tutorial level we will find ourselves in front of an incredibly vast world, made up of different areas all to be unlocked and explored. Between extremely extensive and different levels self-generated dungeons from time to time, we have a fairly high longevity game, with an estimated story mode of more than 20 hours. A time that will become even greater if, like me, you are the kind of player who in Zelda has to break every damn pot he meets in his path.

To further increase longevity, although certainly not in a positive way, are also the endless loading times when moving from one level to another. Let's talk about 1 2-minute for a simple change of map, relieved at least the first few times by a bit of humor signed by Sio. Too bad that, after a while, even the beats shown in the loading screen begin to become repetitive, only ending up contributing to the frustration of waiting. This slowness, hardly justifiable in a game 2D in 2019, it is also evident in some situations with a large (but not too much) number of enemies. The problem, known to the developers, seems to be at least limited to the version for Nintendo Switch.

Another defect of the Switch version are the commands: the need, in fact, to have to use the left analog to move and the right analog to aim, with the need, at the same time, to perform actions such as attacking, throwing and picking up items goes really badly with the asymmetrical position of the analogs on the Joy-Con. This defect, however, is certainly to be attributed more to the platform than to the game itself. The use of a normal joystick (such as the Pro Controller) or, trivially, of mouse and keyboard (ideal candidates for this game) will probably greatly reduce the initial friction of having to learn the controls.

What are, however, these phantom actions that we will be able to access once the controller is tamed?
Apart from obviously moving, we can first and foremost gather objects of various kinds. This dynamic, although apparently simple, shapes many aspects of the game: the collected objects can in fact be launched, using them as weapons or obtaining other items, or eaten. Eating an object can recharge our life, give us some particular temporary effect, harm us or a combination of these things. For example, bananas are a safe food to eat, but they can also be thrown like boomerangs: the effects of the various objects are unpredictable, and add an extra level of discovery to the game.

To the refined technique of throwing-of the- (stone / Japan / globe) -to-the-enemy and his close relative, the throw-of-the-enemy-stunned-against-a-hard-surface, a more traditional way of dealing with enemies is added, namely with weapons. In fact, we will be able to equip a weapon of your choice among those collected along our path, and attack our enemies. As for the items to eat / throw, the weapons and in general the elements that can be equipped are extremely numerous and varied. Each piece will change our stats differently, and will be more or less suitable for facing a certain type of enemies or following our style of play.

Speaking of statistics, even the simple action of level-uppare is highly customizable: starting from the basic character, with his own well-defined class and power, as we level up we could increase our skills and stats through a system of tree enhancement with many choices and options to explore.

There are therefore all the cards to play this game in an extremely studied way, carefully weighing the equipment to bring with you and the upgrades to choose from. At the same time, however, and I say this as a reassurance for those who prefer a more relaxed gaming experience, it is also totally possible to "give up" and play, successfully, following the style of play that we like best. Obviously, this speech can only be done net of the fact that against certain enemies some weapons will be totally ineffective, and that beyond a certain level of difficulty, if you want to hope to overcome the various levels, you will still have to play aware of the various effects of our equipment.

Last (but only for this review) key aspect of this game is the multiplayer. Strictly locally (also implementing the online version, according to the developers, would have been incredibly more expensive), it is possible to play in more players (up to 4) both in co-op and colliding in an arena mode. Two aspects that certainly contribute to the longevity of the game, at least in theory. In fact, I have not had the opportunity to try them, as, given the complexity of the controls, it is not enough to have the Joy-Con to play with at least two people. A big problem for someone like me, whose Switch-equipped friends don't live around the corner, and for whom the ability to play online would certainly have been appreciated.

To buy or not to buy?

But now it's time to take stock of Super Cane Magic ZERO: is it worth buying or not?

The answer is a "it depends". The game itself is certainly valid, both as a videogame incarnation of Sio's humor and as an RPG with original dynamics and complex gameplay. So if you are a lover of one of these two things, I highly recommend it, not recommending it instead, unless you want to experience something new, to others, as they will find nothing but these two things.

I have no way of expressing myself on the possibility of buying the game as a pastime in company, having not tried it in this mode, and I can only tell you to make sure you have enough controllers for everyone.

Finally, I don't particularly recommend buying this title for the Switch, even if it would be the ideal platform for playing on the go. Between the slow loading of the levels and the game itself in some points, with even evident drops in framerate, and the non-optimized commands, it probably makes more sense to buy the PC version, where the game also costs € 5 less.

Download QR-Code Super Cane Magic ZERO - Legend of the Cane Cane Developer: Studio Evil Price: 19,99 €

You just have to decide whether or not to give this title a chance, and if so, let us know your opinion about it. We also leave you, for more information on the availability of the title and any updates, the link to the official website.