More Than Just a Vampire Survivors Clone
Anyone casting an eye over Tap Wizard 2 from developers TopCog will probably jump to the conclusion that it’s some kind of Vampire Survivors clone – you know, the auto-attacking, roguelike shooter that surprised everyone as a hit in 2022. Well, for better or worse, Tap Wizard 2 is actually a rather unique mix of idle play with elements of ARPG and stick-shooting genres.
Does the intriguing fusion make for an addictive idle experience, or should you wave the magic wand to remove Tap Wizard 2 from your shopping basket?

Tap Wizard 2’s Time-Looping Narrative
A magical quest begins in Tap Wizard 2 as a wizard attempts to secure the mighty Chronosphere. The plan unravels however, after being ambushed by dark forces and beaten to within an inch of their life. Fortunately, the Chronosphere kicks into action and rewinds time to enable the wizard another chance at life, with their knowledge intact and an increase in power to boot. Thus, the fight against evil continues until the wave after wave of assaults are overcome and the Chronosphere is safely procured.
It sounds like a fantastica version of Groundhog Day, and it kind of is as you repeat the same quest incessantly. There’s also a rather hands-off approach to achieving the ultimate goal because the wizard is fully autonomous with the ability to move around and unleash spells at will. Your role is more administrative, for the most part, which is far more daunting than one would expect.
Overwhelming at First
Upon choosing the type of wizard you wish to champion, which determines the elemental spells at your disposal, the frantic influx of enemies begins. Due to many of the game mechanics being tied to progress, a lot of new things are unlocked pretty swiftly and it’s actually difficult to ascertain what the purpose of everything really is. There’s definitely the prospect of getting overwhelmed by it all; especially when it seems like there’s very little explanation.
Another downside straight out of the blocks is the cursor, for it performs a disappearing act over and over again throughout the entirety of proceedings. You can be guiding it to its destination and, whether it’s still on the move or has come to a stop, it randomly vanishes. Getting the cursor to return is a task in itself, with it often reappearing in a completely different place from where it was last seen. Considering the amount of navigation needed, interacting with menus and sub-menus, it’s quite an irritation.

Power Up Your Wizard: Unlocking Research, Skills, and Awakenings
Nevertheless, a smidge of patience will get you over most of the early humps in Tap Wizard 2 and then you can focus on making some progress. While the wizard’s damage-per-second (DPS) naturally grows through the use of souls acquired from slain enemies, that’s just the first of many ways to boost the possibility of survival.
A handful of research options are unlocked, including a power boost, an overall health increase, and an improved amount of souls received from kills. Gold, collected from killing foes, is used to invest in these research projects and fund their completion if you don’t want to wait the allotted time. And then there’s the Staff of Knowledge that will slowly level up, providing a range of perks to enhance the spells in your arsenal, while a Shard allows you to multiply overall damage and decrease the cost of research. Ultimately though, you want to max out the Staff, because then you can perform an Awakening.
An Awakening basically resets everything, whilst giving you a few points to spend in a skill tree that carries over. This ensures an even greater chance of success in your next run, but then it all gets rather boring. Picking a fresh wizard and trying out a new set of spells, letting ricocheting arcs of electricity or a toxic cloud being unleashed, barely masks the repetition. It’s just wave after wave of defeating lacklustre looking enemies, making little bits of progress and waiting for the next opportunity to ‘awaken’.
Idle? Not So Much: Tap Wizard 2 Demands Your Attention
One of the strangest aspects about this idle offering is that Tap Wizard 2 actually gives you less of everything – in terms of rewards – if you simply leave it running unattended. The gains are even worse between your sessions, which forces you to pay constant attention to the goings on and interact regularly. So, the inevitable grind rears its ugly head and then any idea of fun washes away.
What you could do to try and alleviate the onset of boredom is take control of the wizard, with the movement around the battlefield performed using the right-stick. If you’re going to be attentive, then it’s better than watching the dumb AI either standing still or moving straight towards the hardest hitting enemies in the pack. Considering the limited space available to move around in the incredibly bland pixel settings though, the joy garnered is sure to be short-lived.

A Repetitive Grind with a Few Sparkly Spells
Overall then, Tap Wizard 2 is one of those rare idle games that actually requires more effort than might be expected. After early confusion with too much going on, there are some cool ideas to explore and the fact that you’re constantly making progress scratches the old ‘one more go’ itch. That said, the gameplay loop becomes repetitive once you figure out the purpose of everything and, just like that bloody cursor, it starts to grind on you.
Priced at over a tenner, Tap Wizard 2 seems overpriced. Without really excelling in what it sets out to do, I’d suggest looking for other idle or automated stick-shooters on the market.
Important Links
Tap Wizard 2: A Magical Mashup of Idle RPG and Action-Packed Combat – https://www.thexboxhub.com/tap-wizard-2-a-magical-mashup-of-idle-rpg-and-action-packed-combat/
Buy Tap Wizard 2 on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/tap-wizard-2/9pgcddrk1f5k