Near-Mage

Near-Mage

Fair · Narrative · 2025

Steam Deck Playable

The verdict

NO RUSH.

Fair at $19.99. Buy it if you want it.

Length
9.2h
Value
$2.17/hr
Reviews
91% of 245 positive
It needs 35% off ($12.96) to be worth it, though reviews keep it under BANGER.
Watch this gameOne alert at $12.96 or less.

Buy now or wait

Discounted in each of its last 6 seasonal sales. Last cut ended 11 days ago.

Next sale
Winter Sale, Dec 17 to Jan 4

Sources: IsThereAnyDeal, Valve.

What drives the score

How to read this

Grades run S to D, read from the buyer's side. ▲ marks a lift, ▼ a drag or a dock, ? an input we do not have, • a fact this genre's score does not use. How the grades work

Raising the score
Engagement34% finish
How far players actually get (achievements), a top-end bonus
Holding it back
Value$2.17/hr
Price per hour of game. It moves the score inside the ceiling reviews set
Reviews91% positive
Gates the score. Weak reviews cap it, and nothing reaches BANGER without strong ones Scored as 87% after the small-sample adjustment
For context
MonetizationNot known
No monetization record for this game, so nothing is assumed either way
Refunds0 of 179 reviews
Steam-purchase reviews sampled whose writer refunded the game. Nothing is docked
AI contentNone disclosed
From the developer's own Steam disclosure. No disclosure is not proof of none, so it does not move the score

About the game

Attend a magic school, learn spells, and explore a folklore-rich Transylvania in this hand-crafted narrative adventure.
Description from the Steam store page.
Minimum specs

Minimum on the Steam store: 8 GB of memory, HD Graphics 3000, 10 GB of storage. Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.

The value story

It has been discounted 16 times in the 17 months tracked here. The median cut across all of them is 30 percent, about 5 weeks apart. Today it is at full price, and its last discount ended 11 days ago.

Against its own genre it lands in the top 11 percent on value. It is pricier than 88 percent of its genre, and better reviewed than 87 percent. Among the games that feel like it, Unavowed ($14.99, scores 79) beats it on value, while it beats REKA ($19.99, scores 39).

More about Near-Mage

Steam's global achievement data puts 34 percent of players at this game's ending achievement. The median game this site can measure sits at 15.

The drop-off

95% start to 34% finish
050100rarestfirst achievement

Steam counts a larger share of its players at the ending achievement than it does for most games this site can measure. Steam global achievements

Players

Players online
7 when we last checked, on Sep 26, 19:53 UTC

Player counts from the Steam Web API.

What players say

I absolutely loved this game. Honestly, games like this usually aren't even my thing, but Near-Mage completely won me over. I became so immersed in the world, the atmosphere, the characters, and everything the game has to offer that I genuinely didn't want it to end. If there were another 1000 hours of content, I would happily play every single one of them. I could honestly keep playing this game forever and never...
violenceRecommendedafter 8.0hSep 2026Read on Steam
2 more reviews, 1 not recommended
Well, it made me hyperfixate on itself, so it did something right. Also, to anyone finding flying useless, hold down the Run button to fly faster; running while flying might be the fastest form of locomotion in the game.
FinibeRecommendedafter 40hAug 2026Read on Steam
It is with a heavy heart that I give this game a thumbs down. Gibbous was such an amazing game with great artwork, engaging conversations, great soundtrack and a great story. I was so excited for the Near-Mage game to come out and when it did I rushed to buy it. I was so disappointed. This game has none of what Gibbous had but tries to. It is the overdecorated cupboard from Gibbous and it makes my eyes water. The...
kuzminNot recommendedafter 6.7hJul 2026Read on Steam

Steam reviews, mixed to its ratio and rotated daily. Opinions are theirs.

No data upstream: critic score (Metacritic).

Cite this score

BANG Score badge
Near-Mage scores 62/100 on the BANG Score (fair value) as of Oct 19, 2026. The BANG Score rates what a game is worth for the money. Via Steam BANGERS. https://steambangers.com/game/1685870/near-mage
Embed the live badge

Reviews set the ceiling, and price against real length moves the BANG Score inside it. How it works, and where it is weak → Steam reviews as of Sep 27, price as of Oct 18. A number here look wrong? Tell me and I will check the inputs.

Tags

Steam user tags as SteamSpy recorded them

Details

DeveloperStuck In Attic
PublisherStuck In Attic
GenreNarrative
Released2025
Players10Kowners, SteamSpy estimate
Achievements54