Incremental games are tricky beasts. I think the best ones are like Farm RPG and Melvor Idle, which share a handful of common traits:
- An emphasis on pathing and napkin-level theorycrafting, where you feel rewarded for your mastery of simple mechanics by getting from point A to point B 10% faster than you would have otherwise.
- Calm progression punctuated by bursts of epiphany and dopamine (a rare drop that changes your plans; a new skill or item that dramatically unlocks a genre of work).
- A overall feeling of a good time, and sufficient levels of facade to distract you from the fact that you're essentially incorporating Progress Quest into your daily routine.
Wizrobe hits on some of these — particularly the second — but not all three simultaneously, and once the excitement of midgame progression is over, it's a bit of a letdown. There are too many systems for you to feel great and in command of the gestalt, and many of the mechanics are simply underwhelming (the adventure/combat system perhaps most notable). It simply does not sell the illusion of agency strongly enough; you feel Skinner's influence a little too strongly, with little outcome to show for it.
★★
