Nine Parchments is a magical twin-stick shooter which can be played alone or in up to four-person co-op. The game is set in the same universe as the Trine puzzle platformer series and shares the same vibrant surroundings and enchanting atmosphere. Nine Parchments is, however, very different from Trine.

🎮🖱 The game can be played with a controller or keyboard/mouse depending on your preference. 🖱🎮

The story of Nine Parchments left me rather disappointed, especially since Trine is such a story-rich series. You play as a wizard apprentice who decides to take matters in their own hands after an explosion at the Astral Academy causes nine spell parchments to get scattered in the wind. There is enough substance to the story to justify a trek to collect these parchments, but nothing beyond that. The story is told by a disembodied voice and through conversation snippets between the characters. I liked this mechanic, although I feel like it was not implemented to its full potential. A story element that I did enjoy a lot, although minor, was the fact that you can select your character’s mood and thus how they convey these conversation snippets.

The story is linear and always the same, which I found a bit disappointing for a game that encourages multiple playthroughs. Although this was not a big problem, it would have been nice if there were subtle changes in the story. Nine Parchments is a game focused on gameplay rather than story, which I found rather unfortunate, but not a severe drawback.

Nine Parchments encourages players to play multiple times to unlock new characters, level them up and discover new spell combinations. These spells, which you unlock throughout your playthrough, are governed by chance. No single game is the same! There is a huge variety of spells of six different elements which you strategically use to combat numerous enemies, each with their specific weaknesses.

There are two game modes: Adventure and Astral arena. Adventure mode follows the main story and has a range of difficulty settings, which allow the player to switch things up. The arena is a series of challenge rooms consisting of pure combat. I’ve primarily played the game in co-op mode and found it enjoyable; however, the game is also great for playing alone.

The game starts with a choice between two playable characters, each with their own starting spells, strengths and weaknesses. As you progress through the game, you unlock more characters, skills and gear which you can use in following playthroughs. Each character starts with one available skill tree and two additional ones which can be unlocked by completing specific tasks/prerequisites. This allows you to build each character according to your own playstyle. I enjoyed playing a supporting role with a combination of lightning and healing spells, although the dangerous death spray also captured my interest.

Unlocking some of the characters and skills involves the solving of puzzles. I found this to be an exciting addition, which fits surprisingly well with the gameplay. I also appreciated how the game menu tells you how to unlock each character/skill tree instead of leaving you to figure it out yourself. This is especially helpful with the characters that are more difficult to obtain.

Co-op in the game requires some strategy, something I found a bit difficult initially, but which became one of the most enjoyable parts of the game later on. The inclusion of friendly fire is a significant component of this strategy. It can be toggled to be more forgiving in the game settings but cannot be disabled. Constant accidental death at the hand of my teammates or myself was rather frustrating when getting into the game, however, it eventually became an important part of the strategy and made the game more entertaining. We had great laughs working together to defeat our enemies while trying not to stun, freeze or kill each other in the process. I also feel that the friendly fire mechanic fits nicely with the story of runaway wizard apprentices who are still learning to control their powers. Co-op partners are able to combine their spells to strengthen them or create new elements. In a four-player lobby the game is a chaotic, hysterical experience.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2232095319

The game also emphasises the selection of balanced spell elements by spawning enemies which are resistant or immune to the elements most prevalent within your group’s arsenal. This was enjoyable when playing with a group with different spells, but a bit frustrating when attempting to do a run with a single element character, something which the skill trees of various characters seem to encourage.

The Astral Arena is a series of combat challenges where the player can select up to five spells to face timed waves consisting of the most challenging creatures the game has to offer.
The game recommends that your character be level 40 or above before attempting the arena, and I agree. These challenges are difficult and require fast thinking and forward planning to try to keep the number of enemies low before waves start piling up, and you get overwhelmed.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2232096531

PC Specifications:

• AMD Ryzen 5 1600X (3.60 GHz)
  
• 16GB DDR4 RAM
  
• Radeon RX 570 8GB (OC)
  
• 1920x1080 Resolution
  
• Windows 10

The visuals are stunning with vibrant colours that change between the different areas and environments. I especially liked the creativity employed in the visual designs of the various character models and how well they fit alongside their magical surroundings. The audio in the game is also superb with events that trigger certain sounds, beautiful music to compliment the visuals and excellent voice acting. I came to love the happy tune, which plays at the end of each level, providing a moment of peace after some of the most intense, gruelling battles.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2232098724

The game mostly ran above 60fps with the abovementioned PC specifications (on the highest visual settings and medium anti-aliasing) but had negligible frame drops when things were very chaotic.

There are minor technical issues with the game. A random player joined our private co-op game at some point because it irreversibly changed to public after exiting the game and returning later. This was only a problem once during my playthrough but is worth noting. There is also some difficulty with re-joining the game if you lose connection. The progress between the host and other players can become desynced, forcing the other player to reroll their spells. This was especially annoying when I was having a good round with a decent, complimentary collection of parchments and had to reroll, ending on a less optimal build.


Nine Parchments is a gorgeous and enjoyable game to play alone or with friends. Some game mechanics require getting used to but become part of the satisfaction once you grow accustomed to them. The chaotic gameplay, variety in build options, customizable difficulty levels, gorgeous visuals and beautiful soundtrack more than make up for the bland story.

🌟 I would recommend Nine Parchments to anyone who is searching for a game which provides you with a set of tools with which to write your own story. 🌟