Longtime Steam users will know that early access games are a gamble. While a vast majority of developers are passionate about what they’re working on, not every project lives up to expectations. Sometimes, feature creep leaves games in early access limbo. Other times, small teams simply cannot achieve their visions, or life gets in the way and throws development off track. Or, in the case of Steam’s Wizdom Academy, performance issues could get in the way of a brilliant concept. Fortunately for this particular game, its developers are working hard to address criticisms, with a recent update leading to multiple positive reviews.
Indeed, when Wizdom Academy launched, many players were quick to criticize plentiful bugs and downright painful loading times. While the core concept of the game had drawn plenty of attention — players are essentially living the life of Dumbledore, serving as the Headmaster of a magical school and controlling the occupants in Sims-like fashion — the performance problems resulted in Mixed reviews from players. However, Wizdom Academy has been in early access for a year now, and its Major Update in July overhauled the early game progression and reduced load times by an impressive 90%. With plans to further increase performance (and an August 6 update squashing tons of bugs), Wizdom Academy has earned its Very Positive recent reviews, making it deserving of a closer look.
Wizdom Academy is typically $22, but is currently on sale for $17.59 based on its Steam Page. This sale ends August 11.
Wizdom Academy Features at a Glance
- BUILD a wizarding school from scratch, designing every room, stacking floors, and so on.
- MANAGE the ins and outs of the school, deciding what is taught where and dealing with staff ultimatums and resignation.
- RECRUIT and teach students, guiding them on their paths to become successful witches and wizards while keeping the best on as staff members.
- ENDURE challenges for the school, from droughts and blackouts to a Directorium that judges the school’s quality and collects taxes.
A 3D builder management sim. You are the Headmaster: build your wizarding academy floor by floor, train students into accomplished wizards, and keep your school alive through mana droughts, staff drama and rival academies. Your school, your rules.
GameRant Quiz
Easy (15s)Medium (10s)Hard (5s)
Wizdom Academy is Basically About Albus Dumbledore Playing the Sims
The first step players will take on their Wizdom Academy journey is crafting the school itself. This is where fans of exterior and interior design in the Sims series will thrive, as they’re essentially making a giant house. They’ll stack floors, place certain classrooms and corridors, and add courtyards and towers at their leisure. Secret corridors can even be added, making the castle feel like the kind of school fantasy enjoyers will be used to seeing in other media. Once the school is built, the recruitment process begins, and the many duties of Headmaster kick into full effect.
Drag weapons to fill the grid
Drag weapons to fill the grid
EasyMediumHard
As the Headmaster, players will send their teaching staff on recruitment minds to collect the most popular students from around the world. As the selected students continue to attend classes, they’ll unlock distinct traits that set them apart from their peers, with certain classmates excelling at different types of magic. There will be over 100 potential traits as well as 50 destinies, resulting in a wide range of outcomes once the students graduate. However, getting the students to that point is easier said than done — some will be magic-wielding pranksters, others will struggle under pressure like blackouts or droughts, and a Directorium representative will occasionally visit to collect taxes and judge the school’s quality.
In Wizdom Academy, players will also be competing with rival schools, and with those competitors come opportunities for the school’s staff. If the teachers want a promotion or demand better quality, and the player ignores those requests, they could resign, creating complications. Fortunately, the best members of graduating classes can be brought on as staff, letting players inject new life into the facility from time to time. Clearly, Wizdom Academy is a well-thought-out experience with numerous possibilities. Obviously, the game can still be improved; developer Kipwak Studio has promised further performance improvements, while reviewers have shared hopes for mid-game progression changes and sounds for the castle inhabitants. Still, this early access game has come a long way, and for fans of builders and management sims, it’s on the path to becoming a must-play.
