System Crash

System Crash

System Crash is a strategic story-rich cyberpunk card game both developed and published by Rogue Moon Studios. Set in the not too distant future this is a story of intrigue, corporate espionage and cyberwarfare. Being a runner is a good, if not dangerous, career choice but after a mission in Berlin goes horribly bad you spend the next couple of months forcibly globetrotting while on the run from Corporate assassins intent on killing you. Eventually evading the pursuers you finally end up back in the “Sprawl”, a.k.a. San Angeles, down on your luck and looking to make some much needed credits. But a runner without a console can’t get any credits so after forging a deal with a local loan shark and finally getting your hands on some black market cyberware you hastily start down your road to redemption. A road that will take you through the darkest most dangerous places in both cyberspace and the real world…JACK IN!!!

Real player with 49.5 hrs in game


Read More: Best Card Game Deckbuilding Games.


I really love this game.

System Crash is a single-player deckbuilder set in a cyberpunk-style universe. Battles unfold as a number of 1-vs-1 card-based duels over the course of the campaign. The campaign follows a comfortably generic story about hackers and back-alley doctors and shady corporations. There’s a very home-brew feel to the game in general, like it was cobbled together out of assets that were sitting around on a shelf in a garage somewhere.

Despite this, the card-battle system at the heart of System Crash is fantastic. It is extremely easy to pick up, but is highly addictive.

Real player with 48.8 hrs in game

System Crash on Steam

Quantum Protocol

Quantum Protocol

PROS

  • Game is incredibly cheap for the sheer amount of entertainment it offers.

  • The gameplay is completely unique and will feel both fresh and familiar if you’ve played YGO or other TCGs.

  • Everything from visuals to music to UI hit a very good standard that lets it blend in the background as you play.

  • The game still receives frequent update with a developer very receptive to feedback.

CONS

  • Learning an entirely new set of skills can feel a little arduous at the start.

  • The ‘fail until you succeed’ logic surrounding the game can make things feel a tad hopeless.

Real player with 76.0 hrs in game


Read More: Best Card Game Deckbuilding Games.


Full Disclosure: I received a copy of the game to playtest during development. You can even fine me in the credits as “SaruRoku”!

Quantum Protocol is first and foremost, a Cardgame, with a story that’s presented in a visual novel style.

The visual novel elements do string along a fun, but mostly lighthearted story, without any of the “choices” that would make a visual novel game, but they do provide levity and a change of pace after most stages, as well as giving you some insight to the various characters who’s decks each follow their own themes.

Real player with 71.2 hrs in game

Quantum Protocol on Steam

A=B

A=B

Good programming game. The concept is very simple, but the problems are complex and challenging, and with all keywords “a=b” language is actually Turing-complete, so this is fun.

Real player with 18.9 hrs in game


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I haven’t played much of the game, but I’ve beaten chapters 1 and (almost) 2, and it seems quite fun. However, you should be aware that the game doesn’t strictly stick to having A=B be the only instruction - but so far the extra mechanics seem scaled back enough that it’s still true to the spirit of the idea.

Despite that, I’m enjoying my time with the game a lot. It encourages you to think outside the box and the restricted instruction sets make it very interesting to solve problems. I do wish the main menu was a bit more inviting (give some sort of indicator of where to click first perhaps?) as it does drop you in with little fanfare, but overall I’d say it’s a good purchase at the modest price tag it has right now. Very cool and fun concept :)

Real player with 13.3 hrs in game

A=B on Steam