When comparing Magicka vs Insurgency, the Slant community recommends Magicka for most people. In the question“What are the best 4-player local multiplayer games on Steam?” Magicka is ranked 13th while Insurgency is ranked 20th. 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 Slow and measured gunplay creates a more realistic atmosphere
In an effort to be more realistic, the gunplay is slow and measured. This makes for an immersive experience, both because of how real it feels and because of how different it is from other FPS games.
Pro Mature community means more people can experience enjoyable communications and interactions while online
Insurgency's player community is more mature and respectful than what is commonly expected in online shooters, making communicating both on forums and in the game more enjoyable.
Pro Easily play against friends, no matter the OS they use
The game works on Windows, macO and Linux, which means anyone can play the game against someone with one of these different operating systems.
Pro Easy VoIP support, as it is built in
Insurgency has Steam integration that allows for easy VoIP communication.
Pro Gameplay stays balanced thanks to no allowed class repetition on each team
The game doesn’t allow multiple people on the same team to have the same character class. This helps ensure the game remains balanced as no two players can have the same roll.
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 Steep learning curve at first
Even with experience in other FPS games, you will need to have solid knowledge of the maps and the tactical approach before you start to really enjoy yourself. The maps are very complex, which can cause this process to take a few hours.
Con Requires a good team
To really succeed, you need to communicate effectively in order to set up a winning strategy. This is much easier for groups of people that are familiar with one another as opposed to random people playing together.