Engkanto Wars App Review

I am an avid player of different games. Especially when I am stuck in traffic whenever I go to work, to school, or just going home. If there is a good chance that I can play, I would play something from my smartphone. And before going to school the other day, I stumbled a game where I, or the Filipino people, could really relate.

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During my search of a new game I could play in the App Store, I saw a rather interesting and familiar name in the games section, Engkanto Wars. Engkanto is a Filipino term meaning spirits or the creatures of the night. The game is based on the Filipino myth and folklore where you, as an Engkantamer, will venture around the Philippine archipelago and defeat the evil Aswang and his minions.Answer Apolaki's call for tamers and heroes as you fight to prevent the Philippines from being shrouded in darkness. Engkanto Wars is a turn based role playing game, where you can Capture Engkantos and train them to fight the evil forces of Aswang. Perform Side missions across the archipelago to increase your experience. Secure aid from the ancient Pantheon to fight off the invading hordes.

It's very much like other turn based game where you have the option to think about your tactic. But the gameplay itself isn't as refined as the games I have played like Brave Frontier, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, and Final Fantasy Mobius. Though, it has this promising storyline which as of this writing, I am still playing the game only when I have free time.

The very play through of the game is that it has this linear story, there is some side quest, yes, but soon as you finished the said quest, you can't even access it anymore. And if you are a type of gamer that could finish the game within weeks, or even just a month, then Engkanto Wars also falls short to that, as I estimated that if I could give more time to this game, I could finish it within days, which can be a letdown.

The game also offers a system on which, you could befriend the different 'engkantos' whenever you encounter a new one, or in need of a more experience. Because, this is how it works, when you captured a new 'engkanto', you gain a new ally. Let us say, you have a spirit called 'Tikbalang' on your team when you captured another 'Tikbalang', you gain additional experience. It's not a bad thing for me.

But here lies in the boring stuff, you can only get a few mythical entities and not a variation of them, even though there are a lot of variations to different Filipino folklore creatures. The saving grace about that is that not every 'engkanto' can easily be captured. I guess that could prove a challenge?

As for the music, it might have given this ethnic feeling that the early Filipino uses as a musical instrument, but after some time of playing, you'll grow tired of it. Maybe a little more variation should be in place.

But because of the ever growing games that try to compete with other games around the world, Engkanto Wars fall short of that trend. There has been no update since of late and no other things to try into. I don't know the reason behind why they stopped developing and upgrading the game, but Engkanto Wars has this hidden potential that could really become one of the games that the Philippines could be involved.

But given that this game was made my a certain company that only seeks profit, rather than customer satisfaction, I can't guarantee about this game being a big time game from the Philippines. But the concept of the game is original in itself, but it falls short of a lot of different ways. No development, no upgrades and it becomes less exciting the more you play it. The saving grace of this game, in my opinion, is that it somehow gives other people some background to what are the Filipino Folklores can offer. And gives more sight to the Philippine Pantheon to more people in the world, given hat it could create more buzz in the gaming industry.

Honestly, I was thrilled to know that someone or something created a game that features the Philippines, but alas, it was a letdown. If you are interested in playing the game, give it a try and see for yourself. It offers some educational value in a sense, and you might get captivated by the rich culture of the Philippine mythology.