Mind Over Magic is a colony sim game in the same vein as Oxygen Not Included, but instead of scifi clones and duplicants, you're managing wizards and magic!

Every wanted to build Hogwarts from Harry Potter? Now you can! In this game you're tasked with managing your staff and students as well as building your own custom school from the ground up, literally.

Normally every other "colony sim" game has you expanding outwards, but this is rather unique in that it's more focused on expanding "upwards". Mind Over Magic places various bonuses for rooms based on clever design and structure placement. With certain rooms needing certain quirks such as one wall higher then the other, or a structure needing to stand entirely on it's own with no rooms next to it.

These quirks can be a bit frustrating at times, but the game alleviates this in multiple ways. From giving the player plenty of tools to make unconventional architecture work, to to refunding every resource spent to build what you demolish. It's acually quite a robust system for just coming up with the wackiest wizard school you can think of.

Certain rooms also gain decor bonuses when objects are placed in them! However instead of being more akin to something like ONI where it's just a small stat boost. In MoM these furniture pieces actually enable you to design specific rooms that buff the objects within them. Want faster research? Make a Mage's Study! Want better healing? Build a hospital! Generally the shape or size of the room does not matter, as long as you can fulfill it's requirements, go crazy!

Outside of the structure building aspect, your little AI wizards and students are also quite robust too. There's an RPG element to them where you're meant to train and level them up as they work for you. As they gain levels you unlock new abilities and boosts to their stats and profession.

Wands are a great example of this, everyone starts with a Tier 1 wand, but you can use a Wand Shaper to create better wands which enable you to gain further levels and better stats! Worried about your previous staff becoming useless? No problems there either! In the underground there will be a Wand Transfigurator that will allow you to switch wands and "upgrade" older staff! Provided it's the same type of course.

With more of an emphasis on combat then possibly other colony sims, MoM's approach to combat is similar to an RPG much like the aforementioned leveling system. Characters fight in turn based battles with abilities and skills from their wands and levels. When "killed", a character doesn't instantly die, but rather gets knocked unconscious by being "At Death's Door" similar to Darkest Dungeon. You CAN save them if you're quick enough, however being at death's door will give them a permanent negative quality called a Scar. Due to this it's usually better to either relegate mages who have a scar or multiples to only being workers, or if they're too much hassle, just letting them retire. You're not forced to though!

This combat system rewards smart tactical decision making and risk vs. reward decision making. If a fight looks too tough, you can skip it entirely until your staff are more powerful. Want to take that fight, but want to try to avoid any of your mages falling injured? You can give them the option to flee from battle, but this does take a turn, so be careful when using it as they will still be vulnerable until their next move. Smart battle decisions can leave you winning big rewards while telling your staff to flee and keeping them from getting scars and negative side effects.

Also this game is quite polished from what I've played so far! In my 28 hours I've played I have yet to run into any bugs or glitches that mess with my game.

Overall Mind Over Magic is a great colony sim and a unique one at that! Having played when it was in Early Access then stopped for awhile, I'm back in at the time of writing this review. If you like strategy and RPG mechanics, this will be a colony sim you'll definitely get some enjoyment from! However if you wish having more automation in your battles, and an overall more punishing experience, you may find this one too easy.

Pick this one up if you're a strategy nerd like me and you like wizards, it's fun!

TLDR: If you enjoy RPG elements with your colony sim games, you'll love this. If you want a game where everything is automated and you want a more cutthroat, punishing experience, you probably won't like this one as the game's punishments are accumulative rather then overwhelming.

Mind Over Magic is a colony sim game in the same vein as Oxygen Not Included, but instead of scifi clones and duplicants, you're managing wizards and magic! Every wanted to build Hogwarts from Harry Potter? Now you can! In this game you're tasked with managing your staff and students as well as building your own custom school from the ground up, literally. Normally every other "colony sim" game has you expanding outwards, but this is rather unique in that it's more focused on expanding "upwards". Mind Over Magic places various bonuses for rooms based on clever design and structure placement. With certain rooms needing certain quirks such as one wall higher then the other, or a structure needing to stand entirely on it's own with no rooms next to it. These quirks can be a bit frustrating at times, but the game alleviates this in multiple ways. From giving the player plenty of tools to make unconventional architecture work, to to refunding every resource spent to build what you demolish. It's acually quite a robust system for just coming up with the wackiest wizard school you can think of. Certain rooms also gain decor bonuses when objects are placed in them! However instead of being more akin to something like ONI where it's just a small stat boost. In MoM these furniture pieces actually enable you to design specific rooms that buff the objects within them. Want faster research? Make a Mage's Study! Want better healing? Build a hospital! Generally the shape or size of the room does not matter, as long as you can fulfill it's requirements, go crazy! Outside of the structure building aspect, your little AI wizards and students are also quite robust too. There's an RPG element to them where you're meant to train and level them up as they work for you. As they gain levels you unlock new abilities and boosts to their stats and profession. Wands are a great example of this, everyone starts with a Tier 1 wand, but you can use a Wand Shaper to create better wands which enable you to gain further levels and better stats! Worried about your previous staff becoming useless? No problems there either! In the underground there will be a Wand Transfigurator that will allow you to switch wands and "upgrade" older staff! Provided it's the same type of course. With more of an emphasis on combat then possibly other colony sims, MoM's approach to combat is similar to an RPG much like the aforementioned leveling system. Characters fight in turn based battles with abilities and skills from their wands and levels. When "killed", a character doesn't instantly die, but rather gets knocked unconscious by being "At Death's Door" similar to Darkest Dungeon. You CAN save them if you're quick enough, however being at death's door will give them a permanent negative quality called a Scar. Due to this it's usually better to either relegate mages who have a scar or multiples to only being workers, or if they're too much hassle, just letting them retire. You're not forced to though! This combat system rewards smart tactical decision making and risk vs. reward decision making. If a fight looks too tough, you can skip it entirely until your staff are more powerful. Want to take that fight, but want to try to avoid any of your mages falling injured? You can give them the option to flee from battle, but this does take a turn, so be careful when using it as they will still be vulnerable until their next move. Smart battle decisions can leave you winning big rewards while telling your staff to flee and keeping them from getting scars and negative side effects. Also this game is quite polished from what I've played so far! In my 28 hours I've played I have yet to run into any bugs or glitches that mess with my game. Overall Mind Over Magic is a great colony sim and a unique one at that! Having played when it was in Early Access then stopped for awhile, I'm back in at the time of writing this review. If you like strategy and RPG mechanics, this will be a colony sim you'll definitely get some enjoyment from! However if you wish having more automation in your battles, and an overall more punishing experience, you may find this one too easy. Pick this one up if you're a strategy nerd like me and you like wizards, it's fun! TLDR: If you enjoy RPG elements with your colony sim games, you'll love this. If you want a game where everything is automated and you want a more cutthroat, punishing experience, you probably won't like this one as the game's punishments are accumulative rather then overwhelming.