Cards of Cthulhu
Cards of Cthulhu is a casual little game, simple in design but with suprising depth. You pick cards for your deck from a choice of random two. Two cards at the beginning and more are added as you progress through the battles. Then you jump onto your motorcycle, grab your shotgun and ride across the wasteland to face off against Cthulhu himself - who stole your girlfriend, as villains in games have traditionally been fond to do.
Each opponent you meet on your way you fight by playing your cards (and autoattacking with your shotgun). Simple enough? The depth of the game is knowing when during a combat round to play each card, in battles with consequitive fights of more than one enemy which card to save for the next enemy, which card in a given situation perhaps not to use at all, which cards to deny your enemy from playing, and when to not play cards.
– Real player with 13.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Action Roguelike Roguelike Deckbuilder Games.
This game packs a lot of style and fun in a simple package, It is relentlessly focussed on play dropping you right in the game and back to the start when the game ends, which is minor but a refreshing change from the typical game with lots of menus and cut scenes wasting your time. This one has confidence in what it is delivering and delivers it proudly.
Each game you collect a small deck of cards each of which can be used once against a monster or set of monsters. In this way each run feels fresh because you are building a new deck which will be played differently than other decks.
– Real player with 8.2 hrs in game
One Shell Straight to Hell
(Review was updated on Dec 2021) I’ve spent many hours alpha-testing this game and decided to buy it on release day. Here are my thoughts so far, a list of positive and negative elements:
The good stuff:
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Uniquely witty main character.
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Good variety of unlockable skills and lootable guns, be it primaries or secondaries.
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The setting: a terribly haunted mansion property set in the 1910’s - 1920’s.
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The Padre’s voice actor probably smoked 10 cigars and drank too much whiskey. Fantastic.
– Real player with 43.8 hrs in game
One Shell Straight to Hell
There’s a brand-new Roguelike indie title on the streets; One Shell Straight to Hell. One Shell Straight to Hell lets the player experience the best of two worlds with its well-put-together Roguelike dungeon-crawling gameplay with a touch of base defense elements mixed in.
At first glance, the game seems to be simple enough with its Procedural Generation World. But as you cross the first stage after finishing a base defense wave, the game becomes something much more.
*– [Real player with 8.5 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198329404521)*
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## Curse of the Dead Gods
For the people coming from hades i recommend to temper your expectations. I just completed the game 100% and that took 32 hours in the game file. This is alot less than hades, but this flaw is only for completionists. Not every game must have over houndreds of hours of playtime. Curse of the Dead Gods is fine alternative to hades. You need to be more precise with dodges and parries. You cant just button mash like hades, but when u memorise all different attack patterns it becomes second nature looking out at different enemies and waiting to weave a parry in your attack combo.
*– [Real player with 87.7 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198838684329)*
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Read More:
Best Action Roguelike Dark Fantasy Games.
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Most comparable to Hades, but with more planning and knowledge involved with how you approach enemies as opposed to high-octane energy simulation. Personally, I enjoy Curse of the Dead Gods more, but both are good games with similar control schemes.
Both are rogue-lites, but whereas Hades as more direct upgrades to Zagreus, Curse of the Dead Gods lets you better control your run (IE: More rerolls, starting equipment selection).
For more specific details, it's a top-down action rogue-lite, where your objective is to clear temples, with their own enemies, champions (2 per temple, minibosses), and the avatar. Later, you unlock the final temple, which mixes them together for you to test your knowledge and intuition in a way that's incredibly satisfying. Your expectations of how you handle a situation are consistently challenged by what truly plays out, and your skill progression is especially apparent during these events.
*– [Real player with 52.3 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198071165689)*
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## Nevergrind Online
Nevergrind Online is a real-time cooperative multiplayer online RPG where you and a group of adventurers join forces to protect the Kingdom of Edenburg from the sinister forces of darkness. Up to five players can form a party and venture forth to help restore peace and order to the Kingdom.
Your adventure starts in the peaceful Kingdom of Edenburg, the trading capital of Vandamor, which has recently been under siege by agents of chaos outside of its castle walls. Supplies are running low in the Kingdom due to recent disruptions in major trade routes to the Kingdom. Your first orders from the King are to investigate who is blocking the trade routes, and to what end? Your adventure will lead you on a perilous journey across the furthest reaches of Vandamor, to creepy crypts, forgotten fortresses, and ravaged ruins!
Choose to fight alone or join forces with up to four other players in a party! Before you embark you must prepare and organize in the Kingdom of Edenburg. There are seven buildings that offer various services.
#### Kingdom of Edenburg
* Tavern: Choose from a list of quests, get tips from the innkeeper, or check out the leaderboard.
* Academy: Seek class-specific training for all of your skills—for a price of course!
* Merchant: Buy and sell goods from the merchant, who offers the widest variety of items in Edenburg.
* Bank: Store valued items in the bank which can be shared with your other characters.
* Apothecary: Buy and sell potions, scrolls, cloth armor, jewelry, and staves.
* Guild Hall: Create a guild to help organize and communicate with a group of friends.
* Blacksmith: Buy and sell weapons and armor, including mail and plate!
#### Features
* Create a character from 12 races and 14 classes! Allocate attributes that favor your playing style!
* Level up 12 different skills for each class! Will you train them evenly or decide to specialize?
* Discover thousands of different items including magical, rare, set, and unique items, which feature a wide variety of useful properties!
* Crawl through procedurally generated dungeons which offer a new layout with each quest!
* Complete dozens of quests through 14 different zones in the world of Vandamor!
* Communicate with allies and forge friendships using a robust chat system!
* Encounter more than 40 different types of mobs which appear in various types including rare, champion, and bosses, each with their own unique traits!
* For the fearless—hardcore mode offers the ultimate adrenaline rush! One death brings your illustrious journey to an abrupt end!
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## Arcanium: Rise of Akhan
I've only played a few runs so far, but this is already my favorite roguelike deckbuilder of all time. It's the first one I've played where you actually, crucially, get to _build your deck_. Let me explain.
You know how in most of these games, your deck consists of literally every single card you pick up throughout each run, causing the driving force to become finding ways to _remove_ cards from your deck, lest it become a bloated mess with zero synergy? And once you realize that, you'll usually _pass_ on cool or interesting cards unless they fit 100% seamlessly into your current strategy? Does it ever start to feel a little disappointing when it seems like your entire deck plan for a run is determined by the first few cards you get, because of those design choices? Enter _Arcanium_.
*– [Real player with 163.1 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198047513888)*
–This is a really good deckbuilding roguelike game.
--They are testing MAJOR rebalancing and mechanics changes. The early game feels prohibitively difficult now, even on easier difficulties. I'm not a fan of the recent stuff. Many, if not most, characters feel helpless early. It feels like players have fewer viable options than they used to. (PS: With major changes, some of this review might be out of date, sorry).
--The max deck size of 12 cards feels too restrictive. Your deck composition doesn't change much over time. Of the 36 cards you'll end the game with, 12-18 will be starter cards. Maybe reduce the size of the opening decks?
*– [Real player with 104.4 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198031075215)*
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## Dark Future: Blood Red States
TL;DR :
Overall, it's a decent game with great visuals and works well as a "play for a couple hours at a sitting" arcade game. If you pay attention to the developing story, it gets a lot more interesting. Take the time to read everything; it's worth it, and begs you to stick around for the next chapter. Some of the mission types are a little ugly and grinding, some are great, but in general it's more fun than not.
Full Review:
I have about 28 hours of playtime during the Beta weekend in addition to the hours playing the release version, so this review takes some of that into account as well.
*– [Real player with 59.8 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198047454229)*
Based on a board game from the 80s, Dark Future: Blood Red States is a tactical car combat strategy game set in the near future in an American wasteland ruled by a number of warring factions with armoured cars with big guns. The game consists of multiple seasons, with each season seeing you assume a new role fighting for or against these factions. With each season, you have a choice of missions to undertake, be it Escort missions, where you have to escort a vehicle a certain distance, or to just kill as many opponents as you can.
*– [Real player with 53.6 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198042490321)*
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## Distant Star: Revenant Fleet
If you are looking at the reviews because you are hesitating on buying this game, before i make a review i should say this:
1-If you don't have it already, go and buy ''FTL: Faster than Light'' (People say this game is similar to FTL but i really don't think so, just ideas on core game mechanics are similar, gameplay is different)
2-If you have FTL and you are looking something VERY similar, then go and buy ''Space Rogue'' (It is not a masterpiece like FTL, it is just an average game but it is closest thing to FTL you can currently find in here)
*– [Real player with 75.3 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198084571740)*
Fun rogue-like-like with RTS-like-like top-down tactical combat with up to 5 ships in the player fleet vs a possibly obscene numbers of enemies.
Having stupidly-high APM isn't a prerequisite, because you can easily pause the action in Tactical Mode to issue commands as needed.
Game isn't 100% perfect but devs are actively working on quashing bugs and updating features.
Graphics 7/10: Ship/station and environment models are nice. Game has a very dark feel to it. As for backgrounds, I can say that they serve their purpose, but that's about it.
*– [Real player with 37.6 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197964121070)*
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