This is the best-looking idle fairy tale on mobile - Madtale Quick Review

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT?

Play it, especially if you’re into idle games or games with storybook settings like Bramble: The Mountain King. The best thing about Madtale is most certainly the gorgeous animations, fully voiced dialogue, and interesting characters, such as Snow White, who make this fairy tale come to life. And even though idle RPGs aren’t my favorite genre of game, this one stood out through polish alone and held my attention much longer than the average gacha game.

TIME PLAYED

I spent around five hours on Madtale on my iPhone 13. I was able to add a variety of colorful characters to my roster, including a witch and Cinderella’s Beau, and unlock cool extras like guilds and the Glory Arena.

WHAT’S AWESOME

• The awesome look. Madtale is a colorful world that reminds me of a cartoon without being...well...too cartoonish. It’s a style that really brings the storybook setting to life and gives each character plenty of personality.

• Memorable characters. Madtale has a fully voiced cast of characters, each with unique fight animations that got a laugh out of me. Imagine recruiting a wine spirit with the special move “wine wave,” which summons a giant tsunami of wine to drench your enemies as she shouts, “Eat and drink your fill.” Little touches like this make the game stand out compared to the competition.

• Compelling secrets. Although Madtale is an idle title, I appreciated the customizable element in the game. Through secrets, a game mechanic that made navigating through Madtale even more of an adventure, I could change my character’s stats and add additional boosts. It was enough to add more variety and strategy to how I wanted to build my team.

• Lots to do. Madtale kept me invested with a huge variety of activities. This included things like mini-games, dungeon crawling, bosses, a PVP system, and even a giant garden that required me to fight a variety of different enemies for rewards. Thanks to so many options, I didn’t find myself getting bored the way I do in a lot of games like this.

WHAT SUCKS

• The usual crappy monetization. There’s no escaping that Madtale is a gacha where you’ll eventually need to spend hard-earned money to prevent from being demoralized later in the game. It feels like the developers have really taken their time with this project, and as a result, it doesn’t come across as just a cash grab. But undoubtedly for those who want the rarest characters or to be competitive at the highest levels, be prepared to spend lots. Which sucks!

💬 Will you play Madtale? Let me know in the comment section below!