Scrabdackle Preview | A Tough but Magical Adventure

Scrabdackle is a fun action-adventure game where you play as a new wizard thrown into a strange new world. The hand-drawn aesthetic, paired with the often fast-paced introductory gameplay gave me a bite-sized experience that left me curious for more.

Within the world of Scrabdackle, players begin by first starting with their difficulty level. At first I chose the standard level difficulty, but had to go down a notch because this game is tough. I was also impressed by the specific breakdown in the difficulty of the game, showcasing enemy attacks, ability to heal, etc. 

While I explored as this little blue wizard, I was able to gradually expand the world map. In Scrabdackle, the world is laid out as square grids in a Fog of War, gradually appearing on your main map as you land on each grid. The interesting cross section of a hand-drawn world with inspiration from pixel art on the maps created something that is quite unique than other games, and has me excited to see what new creations jakefriend can create.

At first I was only given a magnifying glass. Yup. No weapon. No defense. Just a magnifying glass. So I began to use the only item I had to classify and log all the various creatures I found into a directory. Some logs offered interesting new images of the items I scanned, while others offered some insight on how these creatures exist in the world.

Happily, after a few minutes I was able to find my own wand and the ability to be on the offensive. Immediately, new areas were possible since I could destroy blockages and combat various enemies. However, the wand was on a magical cooldown, so I needed to be precise with my aim, while also dodging various attacks. This is where the difficulty spiked quite a bit for me. After I was quickly defeated by several cute duck warriors, I was sent back to the beginning to try again. Scrabdackle took some notes from an old school game and allowed me to start from my save file and try again.

Scrabdackle also provided some environmental puzzles to get to the first major enemy. Though they were not too difficult, I was able to understand the world a bit better and gradually master the rules of the game.

This all culminated into my first major enemy - a giant duck warrior who deflected most of my attacks. I was surprised, even at the lower difficulties, how tough this boss was and how precise I needed to be, not only for my attacks, but for dodging as well. I am not primarily a mouse and keyboard player, so that disadvantage showed up quite a bit. Regardless, I was able to triumph and enjoy that endorphin win.

After playing a bit more than an hour of Scrabdackle, I’m left absolutely wanting more. The combat, exploration, and characters have laid a great starting point. I’m excited to see what jakefriend can accomplish during the Early Access and what Scrabdackle can look like when it’s fully released. In the meantime, be sure to follow the game here on Steam