Mage the Ascension: Refuge

Interesting concept, executed in classic prose... a bold initiative I guess. But it was so short there was no time to develop any of the themes introduced. I was expecting a narrative to unfold, but it barely got started. The whole thing felt like a demo - much more like reading a short story with some gimmicks than interactive fiction. A lot of the more surreal passages seemed completely inconsequential, and it wasn't possible to read the death scenes. I feel weird having paid money for this.

i'm a fan of the World of Darkness games, especially the Mage ones and feel this was a huge let down. The story started off well - it was intriguing, there was an awakening of power, trying out your new powers, encountering the different groups...and then it just stopped. It could have worked as a first chapter, but it does not work as it is. The gameplay works well, the sections and choices flow, and overall the game is atmospheric. It feels incomplete and I regret spending money on it.

I wanted to like this game, but it fell flat. I am vaguely familiar with the WoD, and this was my first experience with Mage. From the very beginning I could not relate to the protagonist, and the more I was forced to play as her the less I cared what happened to her. I ended up just clicking through to decision points, which might have impacted the story but did not make me feel like I was in control of it. 2 stars instead of 1 because I want more WoD games in general.

Long time WoD fan and Mage is one of the few I haven't really explored. This does NOT feel friendly to people not familiar with mage. It felt disjointed, way too esoteric to give you any sense of the game or even the setting since everything just kind of happens. No guidance or assistance, and no explanations when you've finished doing something. Maybe it works for established Mage fans? But I think I'll stick with Vampire and Changeling based on this introduction.

Extremely linear. Press "continue" to see the next blurb of text, dripping independently of your actions. Could have been a fanfiction, in a handful pages.

Seriously awesome game. Brought me right back to my days playing Mage, Vampire or Changeling table top. This game was really immersive. I really hope they make more. Especially one for Changeling. Please make more of these.

Honestly not sure if the twitching and flickering screen graphics are a bug or intentional. Either way they hurt my eyes and are just plain obnoxious. Writing was good for as long as i could tolerate reading, but i couldnt get far at all.

Great, immersive story- but perhaps a tad shorter than I'd like The magick is beautifully written, the characters compelling. Worth the cash.

Really cool experience. Almost like a prelude to a mage campaign. A great exploration of how weird that would be.

I love this game. Needs updates and love from developers for choices on other types of mages, but otherwise I love it.

Excellent read. I completed it several times to see all the different directions.

Fun story so far very immersive... until you're called Julia. For a while I there was nothing really specific about the the main character to break my projections on to the main character. It was me, except I was in Sweden. I wish I was given the option to enter in my name and gender. Which would've been just a string and int variable.

game gets stuck at loading main story, tried reboot and also killing and restarting.

All I wish is that there were more of it. I'd like to see new content, even if it's an in app purchase.

Immersive text based experience. Definitely recommend

Significantly more about swedish politics, almost not about Mage at all

i just wish there was another one

i love world of darkness.

The storytelling was nicely done ans very immersive. I was on the edge for most of the game and really vested into it. I am not sure exactly how my choices impacted the story but it felt like they drove it. The design of the app is really amazing at supporting the story and the setting. Definetely recommended. Only played mage for a year, decades long VtM player here.

Excellent concept of a game. The diversity of the story was minimal however and it focuses on a core assumption that letting refugees into Sweden is aligned with 'good' and good for you in the story. There was little decernable character development such as choosing your magical path or learning to cast spells. It was also far to short and ended just as it was starting to get interesting. Needs more work but overall an interesting game concept that should be developed a lot more.

Excellent written interlude to the mage setting. Absolutely recommend it even to anyone not familiar with the World of Darkness. Exactly that feeling that I loved when first time played mage chronicle. And politics fits just fine, it is part of the bigger picture, more like archmage level game. Wish Vampire prelude was more like this.

Mage: the Awakening player here. A nice storytelling experience; flavorful without being boring and at a proper pace. While I agreed with moral compass of the protagonist, I can understand that people with different morals might have been alienated. Thus, as a sidenote, It should give some flexibility into character development. But personaly, I enjoyed it. 4/5 (just because I want you to make more of this stuff)

The game was very enthralling, the one complaint I saw in these reviews is that the choices didn't matter - I suspect that is because the players didn't replay the game. I played through it three times with very different outcomes, from becoming a technocrat, to ending up huddled in a shack hiding from the technocracy, to joining a cabal of traditionalists, to dead, killed by a nefandi... Very interesting game.

This was really disappointing. Mage (and the WoD as a whole) has so much lore and potential, yet this came opts for presenting a rushed, unimmersive, nonsensical story with unrelatable characters and skin-deep depictions of too many factions. There are good ideas here - especially the really uncomfortable relationship with a certain character - but that's all. Everything feels stunted and unfinished. Aesthetics could be better, music is ok.

For $5, there's not enough choice or diversity of storyline. I really hope it gets updated and more mage games get made! Awakening is my favorite rpg.

This was great. I loved this theme and its execution. This is exactly what I was hoping it would be. Would absolutely love to see more Mage the Awakening based games.

I liked vampire story a lot and checked out this one. Disappointed too short no idea what the story was. Didn't feel engaged at all.

Short, and the impacts of your choices are not always clear. Interesting story, though definitely mature.

I played for about 5 minutes, the entire time a massive pink block made me constantly adjust the text so I could read it. No. That's not how a text adventure works. Waste of 5 dollars.

Awesome presentation, but terrible story. Seems more like a political screed than a tale worth telling.