Near-Mage

Near-Mage

Released May 2025

Attend a magic school, learn spells, and explore a folklore-rich Transylvania in this hand-crafted narrative adventure.

90% positive · 246 reviews
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence

Where to buy

Steam $19.99
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Evaluation

Near-Mage launched on May 27, 2025 as a complete, story-driven adventure game. All three DLC items (Soundtrack, Digital Artbook, and Clothes & Hair Pack) were released on the same day as the game itself — these are cosmetic/companion releases, not story expansions. The developer followed up with a UI-focused feature patch on June 8, 2025 and a bug fix patch on June 23, 2025, indicating post-launch polish work. There is only one major content release in the post history: the launch itself. No post-launch expansions or story content have been announced or released. Notably, on January 6, 2026, the studio announced an entirely new game — Hocus Focus, a cozy spinoff set in the Near-Mage universe — rather than additional content for Near-Mage itself. This suggests the studio has moved on to a new project rather than continuing to develop Near-Mage. No roadmap, season pass, or future content has been communicated for Near-Mage.
Evidence
Studio announced a brand new game, Hocus Focus — a cozy spinoff set in the Near-Mage universe — indicating the team has moved on from Near-Mage to a new project with no further Near-Mage content announced.
news post · Jan 6, 2026 source development ending
high
Near-Mage officially launched on Steam as the full game release.
news post · May 27, 2025 source content shipped
high

Content

3 of 3 released · no outstanding content
Released
May 2025

Media

Details

Developer
Publisher
Stuck In Attic
Achievements
54
Platform
Windows, macOS, Linux
Controller
full support
Steam Deck
Playable
Players
Single-player

About this game

Near-Mage is a story-driven adventure game where curiosity, exploration, and atmosphere take center stage.You play as an aspiring mage arriving in Transylvania, attend a magic school, learn spells, and slowly uncover the hidden stories of the people who live there.

  • Study spell crafting in the Transylvanian Institute for Magick as a Near-Mage

  • Craft your own spell inventory, use it with different results in every play-through

  • Progress through a structured, story-driven journey while freely choosing the classes you take, the spells you learn, and how and when you cast them, shaping the world around you for better or worse

  • Explore 3 different realms inspired by Transylvanian architecture, myths, and landscapes

  • Meet a cast of quirky, memorable characters, each with their own secrets

  • Experience a deep and engaging story that plays like an adventure game

You're Illy Vraja, a teenager at a crossroads in her life who gets invited to Transylvania by her mysterious Great-Aunt, Domnica, only to find out she comes from a long line of witches, and is entitled to enroll in the Transylvanian Institute for Magick!

As a Near-Mage, you are entering a summer preparatory school, hoping to graduate into a full-fledged spell caster. You’ll take classes in different types of Magick and see how you can use your growing powers to affect the lives of those you come across.

We are from Transylvania, Romania ourselves, so we’re doing a deep dive into its rich lore, legends and superstitions, heavily drawing on them in creating Near-Mage’s dark and colorful world.

Travel freely between three main hubs: the real-life town of Sighișoara, the mythical town of Rakus, that lies beyond a Magickal veil and cannot be seen by most, and the Transylvanian Institute for Magick.

Near-Mage will allow for a lot of freedom when approaching the situations you’ll encounter within the Transylvanian Institute for Magick and its surroundings. When it comes to spell-crafting, you can choose what type of classes you’re taking on a whim, or you can look up recipes in a spellbook and strategize your build.

This build variety will in turn lead to different outcomes for some quest lines, affect certain NPCs’ fates, and result in high replayability. Maybe you’ve erased an NPC’s memory on your first play-through. What if you used a different spell on them this time around… or no spell at all?

You’ll be able to play Near-Mage as a point and click, or you can control the character directly. Walk to your objectives, run at full speed, or even fly there!

Designed for Players Who Enjoy

  • A story-driven adventure with a clear narrative arc

  • Cozy, relaxing experiences

  • Hand-crafted worlds 

  • Authentic Transylvanian folklore & locations

  • Games that value mood, art, and storytelling 

Make friends or enemies with fellow students, learn to be closer to your Magickal calling, and lift the veil off of ancient mysteries in Near-Mage!

Last evaluated Jun 15, 2026
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