The original Magicka was something of a surprise hit for publisher Paradox Interactive. The top-down, dungeon crawler by way of twin-stick shooter was a big enough seller back early in 2011 to sustain half-a-dozen updates since, including Magicka: Vietnam, an iOS spin-off, minor paid expansions, and of course a MOBA tie- in the form of Magicka: Wizard Wars.
The popularity of the series probably has something to do with the inbuilt sense of humor. Magicka was a colorful, light, and pun-filled fantasy parody with wizards endlessly lighting each other (and themselves) on fire with a silly and incomprehensible magical combo system. This is especially surprising from Paradox, a company otherwise known for its dry European war simulations and political strategy games.
Magicka 2, the first direct sequel to the original, continues that tradition, but without the original developers at Arrowhead Game Studios. They’ve since moved on to games like Gauntlet and Helldivers—titles that continue to play on the idea of accidentally screwing over yourself and your friends, but with new twists and styles.
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