Given the fact that sometimes reviewing indie games can be a challenge, I have no doubt that creating them must be infinitely tougher. Part of the charm of the indie scene is coming up with unconventional ideas, or at least spins on known types of gameplay, and doing something that feels fresh. That’s absolutely something that involves a high degree of risk, since gameplay styles that are unproven can often not work out in a satisfying way. Tap Wizard 2, for me, falls into this trap, absolutely doing something a bit different, but unfortunately taking me out of the game in the process.

One particular indie title that has really taken the gaming world by storm in this generation is Vampire Survivors. While there are other examples of what I’d call auto-aim dodge-em-ups out there, Survivors somehow took that ball and ran an exceptionally long distance towards greatness with it. Not surprisingly, with that success has come quite a number of titles looking to copy elements of that experience and grab a piece of that pie for themselves, with varying results.

With respect to the fact that Tap Wizard 2 doesn’t go this more direct route of copying another game’s style outright, it at least deserves a little credit. The problem is that it takes a big swing that I don’t think works well, at least not for me, so the value of that new take on play can only go so far. The biggest change here is that not only do you lose the ability to aim your weapons and their firepower yourself, you also lose direct control over your hero, and are left as more of a coach on the sidelines trying to help them survive indirectly. The majority of the control you do have is in changing your active spells and making upgrades once they become available. You can also use the very clunky on-screen cursor to sort of try to guide your hero, but honestly this is implemented so poorly there’s little point in trying. 

In the PC world, idle games or “clickers” as I’ve also seen them called, I suppose make some amount of sense, even if I’ve never been a fan. Seeing such a game come over to the Switch without being at least marginally optimized for a controller, and a more console-focused experience, just makes that style of play fall apart further. I get that not everyone is hooked on the need for action and direct control, but this implementation is just sloppy beyond a distaste for its gameplay style roots. If you’re interested in this sort of experience, it’s really better to at least play it as intended on a PC.