Since Windows 3.1, there have been two games on every PC: Solitaire and Minesweeper. Both are so well known and ubiquitous that their absence in Windows 8 surprised many who didn't realize that the titles need to be downloaded instead of being pre-loaded with the OS. Some developers wanted to build new ideas around these classics, and while we've seen several attempts to do that with Solitaire, fewer have been willing to go that route with Minesweeper. It's novel to see a title like ManaCollect build on a simple puzzle game, especially when you see the end result.

The base game plays like a twisted version of Minesweeper. You're given an oddly shaped board that's comprised of hexagonal tiles. As you roam, you see numbers that give you hints about the location of a mana well. For example, a zero tells you that there are no mana wells near the tile, while one and two tell you how many mana wells are touching the hexagon. Once you locate a well, you stand over the tile, mark it and capture the mana. A timer tells you how much remaining time you have to find another well and gain a bonus. Finding more wells in that time period extends the timer and counts as part of a chain for bonus mana. Setting a bad marker ends the chain and stuns you for a few seconds.

Things get more interesting once an opponent is on the same board, since you'll both compete for the mana wells. You also have a few abilities that are specifically made for combat. Depending on your chosen character, you'll have access to a special ability, such as increasing your speed, slowing down your opponent's movements for a short period of time, or swapping places with one another. Capturing mana wells is the only way to refill the meter associated with this, and the amount gained from each well is small enough that you can't spam the ability throughout the whole match.

Collected mana also feeds into another meter that allows you to attack your opponent from anywhere on the board. The attack sequence stops all of the action as another meter builds up. Once the meter stops building, your attack is unleashed, taking out a chunk of your opponent's health. On the defensive side, you can hit a button while this meter builds to spend all of your collected mana into blocking the attack. Depending on how much mana you have compared to your opponent, you can either lessen the amount of damage inflicted on you or stop the attack altogether.

The principle of the gameplay is sound enough, but it also runs into the issue of not having much of an audience. Unlike some casual game mainstays, like the match-three game and Solitaire, few have craved for the Minesweeper formula. It hasn't found new life on smartphones and tablets, and no one has thought of making it prettier, either. ManaCollect is a pioneer of sorts because it's trying for something different, but the small audience might not provide enough interest.

It also doesn't help that the basic mechanics don't do much to spur interest. With the exception of the largest boards, most are rather small, and since clearing it out doesn't give you a new board configuration, the randomized placement of mana wells isn't very exciting. The attacks also lack some flash. Seeing a meter fill up is nice, but you aren't treated to much when the attack hits. No matter the damage output, the small explosion of energy on the opponent's body remains the same, so it doesn't feel that rewarding.

The biggest gripe has to be the lack of optimization. For reference, the game was tested on two different systems. The first was a first-generation Core i7 with 8GB of RAM, and the second was a third-generation Core i5 with 16GB of RAM. Both systems sported a Geforce GTX 760. At the highest resolution with all of the graphical bells and whistles at their max, the game was sluggish. Movement felt very slow, timers felt like they were running at half-speed, and death sequences felt drawn out. Nothing in the game looked like it should be taxing the system, but this simple-looking title ran slow on what can be considered a near-equivalent to a modern-generation console. There is evidence that the game can run smoothly, but that wasn't shown during our time with the title.

ManaCollect comes equipped with four different modes. Story is the first, and it is split into four chapters with a few rounds each that tell small stories involving each of the playable characters. The gameplay starts with a puzzle element as you go through several floors trying to uncover all of the mana wells. The mana extracted from these wells by the time you reach the last floor translates into your health meter, and you suddenly go to battle against another character.

There are a few things to note. First, the chapters are short. Consisting of a scant few matches, each chapter can be finished quickly, and the whole thing can be tackled in an afternoon. Second, the story and characters aren't that interesting. They may fill the common tropes as far as looks go, but the story is rather bland, and their lack of characterization doesn't make them endearing. Finally, the AI opponents are very frustrating and challenging. Unless you're playing on the easiest difficulty level, enemies often use their abilities and employ cheap tactics, such as staying over key tiles for a long time to prevent you from taking it.

Tournament is the next mode, and it represents a standard fighting game in that you choose a character and take on the entire roster, one round at a time. Without a puzzle element, everyone enters on equal footing. Free Battle is the third mode, where you can modify all of the battle conditions and have free rein over the fighters you choose. In the versus mode, you can play against AI of various difficulty levels or against another player, but that's limited to local play.

Dungeon is the final mode, and it is a bit different from the rest since fighting isn't the focus. Instead, you'll go through various floors trying to uncover as many mana wells as possible, hopefully racking up long combo chains in the process. Unlike the other modes, the board constantly changes in well location and size, so it feels like real progress is being made. Also, you have at least two mistakes to make before the game is over, so trying to go for perfect runs is the only way to go the distance. If you're combat adverse but would like some challenge, this is the mode for you. With the variable number of floors to go through, this may be the most played mode.

As far as presentation goes, ManaCollect is pretty sparse. From the audio perspective, the effects are only present during puzzle and combat sections. There's nothing for menu navigation and nothing for timers, so the game feels incomplete in this regard, especially without voices for cut scenes and such. The soundtrack doesn't have that many tracks, and they all sound rather similar, so one could be forgiven for thinking that there is just one track playing at all times. Graphically, the character models are fine, but the top-down perspective doesn't allow for their designs to stand out. Special effects are practically nonexistent, and the aforementioned lack of speed is off-putting. It also doesn't help that the backgrounds are rather limited, and while they have decent textures, their geometry makes them look like they came from a middle- to late-era PSone game. The 720p resolution is one of the few highlights in an otherwise bland package.

ManaCollect embodies the definition of niche game. The core inspiration, a battle version of Minesweeper, can be pleasant, but it can only excite those who have very fond memories of the simple game. The modes emphasize how well the mechanics can work, but the presentation doesn't sell the game at all. If you're lucky enough to have a friend who's willing to give it a go and you're lucky enough to not experience performance issues, ManaCollect is worth checking out, but if you decide to pass, you're not missing out on a profound experience.

Score: 6.0/10