Spirit Hunter is a magical mobile mix of role-playing and collectible card games

I rarely play as mages or wizards in role-playing games because I’d much rather be on the front lines with a sword and shield. But Spirit Hunter shows that hooded magicians can be badasses, too.

Developer Boomlagoon’s latest game (out now for free on iOS devices) is about a lone mage who must repel an invading army of demons by sealing spirit gates around the world. Instead of casting magic spells from a menu, Spirit Hunter uses a deck of cards that contain spells and abilities you can sling at your enemies. It’s more of an arcade game than a full-blown RPG, using familiar free-to-play mechanics like timers and an energy meter that limits how long you can play. But it also has a lot of depth thanks to a simple crafting system that allows you to make better equipment and spells.