Concrete Jungle
Allrighty, folks, we are looking at a gem that doesn’t even know what KIND of gem it is. Is it a strategy? Yes. Is it an Indie? Yes. Is it a Tetris-like game? Yes. Is it procedurally generated? Yes. Is it a Rogue-lite? Yes. Is it Ironman? Yes. Does it involve competition? Yes. Can you play it for hours and hours on end? YES!!!
I was absolutely surprised just how much the game did right. So, in true fashion, let’s take at the good and the Bad.
The Good:
1. Awesome AI. I love AI that can make my life a living hell. The AI will exploit your mistakes, take advantage of them, and crush you, rather than just hang back and let you feel all good for beating it.
– Real player with 70.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Deckbuilding City Builder Games.
I wish I could recommend this game. There is a lot of interesting potential that is wasted here. Unfortunately that’s what it does: waste your time and its own potential.
The “city planning” aspect of the game is purely cosmetic. There is nothing about this that relates to city building aside from the cosmetics. You could pallet swap this with any theme and it would still be a puzzle game. I feel thoroughly mislead that this has anything to do with city planning.
It’s also almost entirely multiplayer focused. The single player campaign is over before you even learn all of the mechanics. Any length you get from it is purely from replaying the same levels in an effort to get a better score.
– Real player with 50.5 hrs in game
School of Magic
School of Magic combines the strategic Depths and replayability of the deckbuilding genre with the intense combat and atmosphere of an Isometric Action RPG.
FULLFILL YOUR DREAMS
You have always wanted to be a Wizard, but a poor bloke like you couldn’t afford the School of Magic. However, this is the first year with a scholarship, you just need to pass the entrance exam and you will be trained to become a real wizard.
PASS THE ENTRANCE EXAM
The wizards of the School of Magic created a magical World to test the applicants. To pass the entrance exam you will need to use your spells wisely and find the exit of this world.
REPLAYBILITY
Whenever you start the exam, you will have new spells to learn, a new world to explore and new characters to meet. Unlock new spells and encounters to increase the number of options you have in each run.
FAQ
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Will there be a beta, and if so, when?
There will be a closed beta later on but currently, but I do not have any fixed dates yet.
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Is this game really a deckbuilding game?
The term deckbuilding as it is commonly used in video games seems to be quite fitting, but instead of playing cards for combat, you have real-time Hack and Slash combat. If you are a board game player, the more appropriate term would be drafting.
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How many people are working on this game?
The game is being developed only by me (Nikolas Crisci).
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Read More: Best Deckbuilding Action RPG Games.
Fights in Tight Spaces (Prologue)
Most exciting demo I have played for a very long time. Highly recommended if you are into games like Slay the Spire or Into the Breach. This game has so much potential but I do have a few concerns.
Pros:
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fighting has a puzzle-like aspect to it, planning your move order really matters
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great art style and animations
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some potential for different builds and deck styles
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it’s very fun. the fights themselves are more entertaining/satisfying than the fights in Slay the Spire, and can occasionally even tell little emergent stories (like the incompetent gunman who kills his whole squad by accident.)
– Real player with 26.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Deckbuilding Turn-Based Tactics Games.
The design concept alone is enough to give this game a try, particularly because it’s a free demo. Unlike so many tactical, turn-based combat systems which put you in the shoes of a typical fantasy, sci-fi, or modern miltary role, Fights in Tight Spaces put you in a role that we’ve seen in hundreds of movies and games, but (at least to my memory), don’t often get the chance to play in a turn-based format: That of the close-quarters martial arts master. Your Jason Bournes, John Wicks, Bruce Lees, Batmans, etc.
– Real player with 12.3 hrs in game
Book of Demons
This game is a gem. I’d like to highly recommend it to any player who enjoys a mix of action, planning, and collecting.
What could make you love this game?
First of all, the art style. It catches the whole idea of it being a “book”. Well designed pop-up book graphics, both in the world, the character sheet and inventory (your card deck), as well as in the menus. And if you are a fan of Diablo I & II, you will notice that Thing Trunk got one important part – that made those titles stand out – just right: the lighting. Be it torches illuminating that tiny space just outside your radius of view, be it the ominous glow of a not-so-distant boss… it does a great deal to help you “feel” the dungeon. And of course: it pretty.
– Real player with 159.5 hrs in game
Overview
Book of Demons is a hack & slash which pays homage to Diablo with a few twists - it is set in a paper-cut universe like in a pop-up book, and everything you can equip, use, do comes in the form of cards that you assemble into your loadout to conquer the said Paperverse. You start out with 3 card slots out of the maximum of 10 available. Card slots are unlocked using gold and cost incrementally more. As of the build I played (0.75.11062+), only the Warrior class is available. The other 2 classes - Mage and Rogue will be released at a later date according to the roadmap but apart from this the game is pretty complete for an Early Access game. The total of 32 cards in the Warrior’s arsenal are divided into Artifacts (equipment - e.g. weapons, armor, trinkets), Items (e.g. potions, bombs, town portal scroll) and Spells (e.g. Mighty Blow, Charge, Blade Storm). All Artifacts have a mana cost which effectively reduces your mana pool available for using Spells (Items have no mana cost). Leveling up allows you to increase your health or mana, which translates to taking more hits / casting more spells. You do not actually grow stronger by levelling up. Instead you increase in strength by discovering new cards or upgrading your existing cards using gold and runes you find.
– Real player with 144.7 hrs in game
HELLCARD
Hellcard is a cooperative roguelike deckbuilder that can be played in both Singleplayer and Multiplayer modes. The game takes place in the paper dungeons known from Book of Demons, but its main mechanics revolve around deckbuilding and fast-paced tactical turn-based card battles.
What makes HELLCARD unique and different from games such as Slay the Spire is that monster placement actually matters and can be used to your advantage.
In HELLCARD we’re planning to support co-op battles with up to three heroes facing Archdemon’s hordes. You’ll be able to descend into the dungeons solo, recruit computer-controlled companions or join your friends or strangers in their battles against the hordes of hell.
If the above features get you excited, be sure to wishlist the game now on Steam. Otherwise consider wishlisting anyway - who knows, maybe we will get you excited along the way!
About Return 2 Games series
Return 2 Games is a series of unique mid-core games inspired by the golden days of PC gaming. Each R2G title is a tribute to a single hit game from the ’90s: a reimagining of a single universal story for a brand-new audience, using modern means and innovative, often vastly simplified gameplay mechanics.
HELLCARD internally started as an idea for a new game mode inside Book of Demons (the first game in the R2G series), but we soon realized that it’s a much bigger design and that it should be executed as a separate stand-alone spin-off game. If you want to learn more about Return 2 Games or support us in the development of the series, visit the Supporter Pack store page. On release, HELLCARD will be a part of it.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/706770/Return_2_Games_Supporters_Pack/
Book of Demons, the first part in the series is already here, be sure to check it out as it includes a free demo.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/449960/Book_of_Demons/
Also, be sure to check out Book of Aliens, the second book in the series and a tribute to MicroProse’ UFO: Enemy Unknown that’s also in the works:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1196230/Book_of_Aliens/
Fights in Tight Spaces
Always punch the shark.
I’ve been playing this game since the Prologue, and now that a 1.0 release is on the brink of the horizon, I feel compelled to try and convey the experiences I’ve had playing it.
The gameplay captivated me from day one - it was a great mix of positional and situational tactical battles with the additional layer of board-game-style deck management. There’s also some route-planning to consider, but it doesn’t weigh too heavily on the course of your runs - EXCEPT when tackling Daily Play for score maximization. A full run takes about an hour to complete, and you can finish the game much faster with experience.
– Real player with 518.0 hrs in game
Basically, it’s the Elevator fight from Captain America: Winter Soldier. As a card game.
I generally hate card games. I also generally hate rogue-likes. So why have I played so much of this game? FiTS unexpectedly became a big favourite of mine because it actually alleviates a lot of my issues with both
Card games often feel abstract and inscrutable to me. But here the rules are clear and concise, and applied to a concept that you can visually see. You can make so many attacks or moves in a given turn (tied to your “momentum”), and heavier or more esoteric moves can take more time, allowing you to do less per turn.
– Real player with 388.8 hrs in game
School of Magic Prologue
Very interesting i like how magic/cards works
– Real player with 1.5 hrs in game
Hey Everyone, yeah i really liked the Artstyle of the Game. The Soundtrack is well executed. The Combination with the Skill / Spell Cards is pretty stunning. I played the Demo and want definitly see more, when the whole game is finished. People who are invested in Kill the Spire, will be entertained and others have a more easy way to get into that system with the Action RPG part.
Keep on the good Work developers,
sincerely
Rince
– Real player with 1.2 hrs in game
Tainted Grail: Conquest
Song: Tainted Grail Artist: Vlakabaka
“Sometimes I feel I’ve got to, run away, i’ve got to, play a chill card game for a run or two
And the love we shaaare for card games is all in d’ere, with 9 classes, lots of deckbuilding and re-play-aability
Some runs might end baaad and some might go well but with this game time seems to goo noo-where
And this Tainted Grail is full of story, voiiiice acted characters in a daark tainted woorld
So taaake Gabens tears awaaay and buyy diz game here, cause you dont want to hear any-moe from mee
– Real player with 73.6 hrs in game
It’s very similar to Slay the Spire and Monster Train but you’ll like it more than either of those if you prefer a dark aesthetic. The music and story are also more substantial here than other games in the genre. You get access to 3 classes (basically archer, fighter, invoker) which determine the type of base deck you’ll play. Every class is broken into 3 subclasses (i.e. invokers can be summoners, blood mages, or necromancers) that each have unique passives and a unique subclass ability. It’s honestly pretty remarkable how each subclass feels very distinct from its counterparts.
– Real player with 69.4 hrs in game
Vault of the Void
Challenging, fair, and fun deckbuilder that respects your time and brings meaningfully novel mechanics to the genre.
Vault of the Void doesn’t feel like early access, yet I am excited that it is.
When I started my very first game of Vault of the Void, I wasn’t sure if it would click with me. I needed to see depth, but at first there was only complexity. I wanted the stimulation of challenging puzzles and the pull of seeking and sequencing powerful combos; instead, I was met with loads of text (with tooltips for some things) and a bizarre mechanic where enemies announce their attack, make their attack, but don’t actually do damage until the end of your following turn.
– Real player with 162.8 hrs in game
This hidden gem deserves more recognition than it currently receives. Personal views sees this game as a fantastic deckbuilder game. I’d even deem it on par with Slay the Spire, the corner-stone and genesis of many deckbuilders on steam. Here is a perspective to appreciate this unrecognized game:
Vault of the Void establishes a sense of strategy to it more so than other deckbuilding games. This includes each battle reward known prior to starting a floor. This allows the player to strategically plan their route from the start of the game. Additionally, the player, prior to the run’s beginning, inspects the vault guardians at the final floor. These vault guardians possess mechanically intense battles, and rewards to fight the final boss: the Void. These two out of four vault guardians must be killed prior to killing the Void, so prepare for difficult fights and satisfying rewards by strategically building decks.
– Real player with 101.6 hrs in game
Mage Tower: Call of Zadeus
Mage Tower is an open-world roguelike deckbuilder with no set paths.
You play as a hero on a quest to stop a warlock from summoning an interdimensional monster known as Zadeus. Travel across a randomly-generated world, visit towns, and delve into dungeons. Battle the monsters roaming the land, collect cards, and upgrade your deck.
Find the boss wizards' castles and destroy them.
NO NODES, PLEASE
Travel in any direction and explore a randomized map full of towns, dungeons, monsters, events, and other secrets. Swap cards in and out of your deck anytime. Collect overworld powerups and spells. A free-roaming deckbuilder you can play however you want.
UNIQUE DECKBUILDER COMBAT
Mage Tower is a digital sequel to the 2013 internationally published card game Mage Tower, A Tower Defense Card Game, with hundreds of new cards. It expands the original’s first-of-its-kind deckbuilder combat system, which was inspired by tower defense games.
PUSH YOUR LUCK
Activate up to 6 dangerous idols before battle to make the fight more difficult, but give better rewards. This makes every battle meaningful and challenging, as you place the biggest “bet” you can based on your deck’s strategy vs. the enemy’s deck.
PICK YOUR CLASS
Over 80 character classes. Each class comes with a unique class card that cannot lose durability or break, meaning it will be your most reliable card and often the card you build your strategy around.
NINE YEARS OF DESIGN
Mage Tower’s cards are a rich well of variation, featuring mechanics that have not been done in even the most popular card games. Escape the lurch of endless “4 Damage + Random Combat Mechanic” cards!
FEATURES:
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Single-player roguelike deckbuilder.
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350+ cards (most are UPGRADABLE.)
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80 classes.
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Late 90’s aesthetic.
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Cards lose durability after battle; fortify and repair the ones you like.
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4+ biomes, each with different enemy types.
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Push your luck before battle with the Idol system.
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Discover boons, random events, and overworld powerups throughout the world.
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Crazy boss fights! Battle dozens of plant monsters, wizards with otherworldy spells, or multiple cards representing the various parts of a single foe.
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Dungeons with unique rewards, but one life pool to last you through.
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More advanced, strategic, and complex cards than other deckbuilders. BIGGER TEXT BOXES!
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Easy to learn - the original game has a 2.83/5 complexity rating on BGG.
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Sequel to the 2013 card game which raised over $24k on Kickstarter and has been sold in game stores internationally.
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No “open-world slog” - always on the edge of your seat pushing your luck with battles and managing your deck and card durability.