OVERALL IMPRESSION:
Black Clover M is a story driven turn based combat RPG founded on the anime of the same name. It features various gameplay modes that offer PVE and PVP encounters. The visual style is striking and one of the best in the mobile space. It works perfectly drawing inspiration from its anime roots. Characters look true to form straight out of the Clover Kingdom. They have larger than life over the top personalities that add to their charm and a true underdog grit that makes you cheer for them to prevail. Skill animations are some of the best I’ve seen to date in a mobile title. You feel the impact and power of your skills as they crush your enemies in an epic evisceration. Character power is augmented through levelling up, skills, talents, gear and skill pages. Units also fulfill traditional roles such as damage dealer, support, healer and tank. This combination of various skills, ways to power up and team composition allows for combat that is strategic and challenging. The story is an abridged version of the main anime series showcasing major plot points. Overall it’s a fun and engaging mobile game that is easy to pick up and get into.
GAMEPLAY:
This game features both PVE and PVP game modes. The main story campaign is fairly straightforward and with the assist feature you can borrow fellow mages to make it easier to complete encounters even if you don’t have the current meta units. Combat is turned based. Mages come with 2 main skills, an ultimate and a combined skill they can execute with their partner. There are synergies based on the mages base aspect (Power/Sense/Technique/Harmony/Chaos) as well as certain skill mechanics. Additional power is augmented through character levels, skill level, gear, talents, skill pages and duplicate mage copies. This all adds together to create depth and strategy to the combat system and encounters. There are various game modes and special event encounters that are both interesting and challenging that require different team compositions.
On the PVP side there is also depth and strategy to combat. One slip up in who to attack or which skill to use can mean the difference between defeat and victory. Overall PVP encounters can be fun but with a condensed focus on very specific meta units it can also feel repetitive. One of the most interesting takes on PVP that Black Cover does well is that certain special events feature restricted/banned units. Limiting the use of certain meta units and also featuring only common rarity mages. It’s a very interesting take that gives you a reason to use specific characters and provides a welcome mix of strategy and gameplay.
STORY:
The story campaign highlights some of the main plot points from the anime series. The characters are fun with quirky and amusing personalities. The campaign features some voice acting and animated scenes as well as more simple dialogue exchanges in text. If you click with the main characters, the story campaign is an enjoyable ride. It’s structured with a fast pace and jumps into the major plot points without too much exploration. However in doing so it does miss some character moments from the anime that help to fully develop the cast of characters. Overall it’s a fun ride, that doesn’t take itself too seriously all the time with a charming and endearing cast of characters.
ART & CHARACTER DESIGN:
Overall art direction for the game is excellent. This is highlighted in the combat encounters where characters and skill animations look amazing. Since the characters are all from the anime, the character design is unique and interesting. Most characters have captivating quirks and flaws that make them memorable, fun and relatable. Thoughtful and intriguing art design and characters go a long way to make the world interesting, inspired and draw you in.
MUSIC/SOUND:
Music for the game matches similar beats to the anime and exhibit the attitude, grit and heart of the characters. There isn’t as much focus on the music as with other mobile games that I’ve covered so far but the music that is here fits well in the world and for the encounters making combat situations feel impactful and epic. Skill sound effects will make you feel like a badass when you completely destroy an enemy. It’s the icing on the cake to an already great feeling combat system.
GACHA ASPECTS:
Overall the amount of access to the premium currency needed to pull units is better than most other gachas. Seasons usually also allow you to pull one of the featured units for free. Special events and anniversaries also provide much more resources than other games. However, certain units require multiple pulls of the unit and their skill page making some meta characters a very high investment cost. This is augmented with the ability to acquire both character and skill dupes from special events. In the end, it’s one of the better games in terms of allowing a completely free player to enjoy the game and pull units they want.
CHALLENGES:
The main challenge for this game is developing end game content instead of just new characters. This is the one area of the game that feels incomplete. Due to the limited range of true meta units the meta shifts heavily with the release of the newest and strongest mages. This creates very stagnant PVP encounters as you start to face very similar team compositions over and over. PVE can also be heavily reliant on having specific units that can deal enough damage. All of this leads to the need to create new and interesting gameplay modes that don’t feel repetitive and that utilize a more diverse range of characters.
CLOSING THOUGHTS:
Black Clover M is a fun, turn based RPG strategy game with quirky and interesting characters, excellent visual design and engaging combat. Characters and art design is unique and memorable. The story is fast paced and gets to the main conflict and plot without delay. It showcases an array of endearing underdog characters that no matter what you want to cheer for and see succeed. Combat is strategic and challenging with many ways to enhance the power of your mages and teams. Although there are some challenges to the end game content it’s a very fun journey that is easy to jump into.
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GAME DETAILS:
PLATFORMS: Android/iOS
RELEASE: 2023 (Global)
DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER: Vic Game Studios/Garena
GENRE/TAGS: RPG, Story Driven, Turn Based, Strategy, PVE, PVP
TARGET AUDIENCE: Fans of the anime and/or RPG turned based games
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