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 Card Battler Action Roguelike 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
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
Read More: Best Card Battler Card Game Games.
–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
Roller Drama
A SITCOM?!?
In Roller Drama you (Joan) live together with five athletes as their coach and hopefully friend:
Anne, Portia, Pippi, Cordelia, and Juliet. They just formed a Roller Derby top team!
Portia is the property “guardian”, the others (you too) just squatted in the dilapidated building. You have to try to be the balancing factor as these top athletes develop close personal relationships and the group navigates rivalries, love stories, and sexual tension.
REAL-TIME FULL-CONTACT SPORT!
All this while playing Roller Derby-like full-contact matches, where in real time you have to give the right hints, decide strategies, and give orders. You’ll have arcade-like controls and power cards!
SURVEILLANCE
Daily life in the game’s world is not easy; political and environmental problems interfere with complex personal lives. The game’s universe is a slightly altered perspective of today’s world, with the same problems but… more explicit. It’s a dystopia that talks about our present (thank you Terry Gilliam).
KEY FEATURES
-
Interactive narrative with meaningful game-changing choices
-
Explorable universe
-
Replayable narrative and matches: every championship is unique, several different endings
-
Real-time match play, fully generative
-
Deck-building mechanics determined by player choices and game results
-
Beautiful, hand drawn art
-
Full controller support
-
Localized in nine languages
-
Cloud saves
WHO ARE OPEN LAB GAMES?
We are four people making narrative sports games since 2017, based in Florence, Italy.
Read More: Best Card Battler Adventure Games.