When comparing Magicka vs Dungeon Defenders, the Slant community recommends Magicka for most people. In the question“What are the best local co-op PC games?” Magicka is ranked 12th while Dungeon Defenders is ranked 35th. The most important reason people chose Magicka is:
Since the main gameplay mechanic of casting spells is skill based on how quickly you execute a certain key combination, there's a high chance of misclicking or mistargeting and accidentally attacking your ally. There’s nothing quite like thunderbolting or summoning death on your friends.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Chaotic gameplay that results in amusing friendly fire
Since the main gameplay mechanic of casting spells is skill based on how quickly you execute a certain key combination, there's a high chance of misclicking or mistargeting and accidentally attacking your ally. There’s nothing quite like thunderbolting or summoning death on your friends.
Pro The spell system is pretty unique
Magicka has a unique spell-casting system based on adding elements such as fire, water, and stone to an action queue.
There are eight basic elements (each assigned to a key), of which up to five can be queued at a time. Some elements can be combined in the queuing process (such as fire and water to create steam). The effect of the spell changes to match the elements you add to the queue. Additionally, there are four casting methods: beam (right-click), area (shift+right-click), self-cast (middle-click), and imbue weapon (shift+click).
Pro Funny story and music
Story twists and music create an fun and easy gameplay atmosphere.
Pro Two different gameplay modes
Other than the standard campaign mode there's also a survival mode that's your standard affair with increasingly difficult waves of enemies. There's also an online leader board for survival mode.
Pro Casual fun with friends
Not too complex gameplay allows hilarious time with friends even if they don't know the game.
Pro A mix of tower defense, FPS, and RPG mechanics creates original feeling gameplay
Dungeon Defenders is a mix of many genres, resulting in game that feels original (although it leans most heavily on the tower defense model). This originality creates a situation where the game still feels familiar enough to grasp the gameplay, while still keeping things fresh enough for those familiar with the genres combined in the game.
Pro Combining numerous weapon loadouts with many character classes allows for a ton of replayability
Due to the wide assortment of classes and loadouts, replayability is pretty high. Each class has its own skills, each weapon will require different strategies. Mixing these together allows for numerous possibilities in gameplay.
Cons
Con A bit of a learning curve
With the number of spells you have at your command comes the challenge of discovering and remembering them all. But once you know them, you'll be able to counter anything that's thrown at you.
Con Memorizing spells is extremely difficult
The vast combination of elements make it all but impossible to blindly figure out what spell combos the game has and even the wiki page has no usefulness in finding spells for your play style.
Con Optimization could be better
At certain times during competitive play, the game can lag or slow down (not rare for an online game), which may mess up the timing of skill shots in the game. Being that timing is highly important to the gameplay, having a poor netcode that fluctuates during play can be upsetting, especially if it results in a loss.
Con The screen
Dungeon defenders screen should give everyone the same amount of screen.
Con Single player is boring
Dungeon Defenders shines in its multiplayer mode, but playing alone is just boring.
Con Repetitive gameplay
Once you've played a few maps you'll have a taste of everything this game has to offer.