SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech
Makings of a Hero
SteamWorld is a franchise of vaguely connected games, each starring a friendly cast of robots. The latest entry – Hand of Gilgamech introduces a stark departure from the usual futuristic setting, venturing instead into the land of fantasy. Meet Armilly, an adventurer aspiring to at last become a member of the local heroes’ guild. Good heavens! The village has been invaded by an evil army and all of the heroes have been kidnapped. Such a tragedy, if only there was someone desperately longing for a worthy quest to finally prove themselves. It’s high time to gather your trusty companions and make this one count.
– Real player with 41.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Party-Based RPG Card Game Games.
On my first playthrough I went with the Legend difficulty and I was not disappointed… Mostly. Also, quick note, I got the game half off so my thoughts are based around what I got for that price.
Starting with things I liked/loved:
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The Art is beautiful.
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The Characters are simple but lovable.
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The Music I find to be very pleasant to listen to.
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I love the opening and ending sequences, I wish there were more of these.
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The Ending Song, while short, made me smile. I love it.
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The card game mechanic is pretty solid. Deck-Building is fast and easy, chaining cards together for combos or allowing for an additional helpful card to be played is really fun, and while I didn’t use a lot of other cards, I can definitely see some ideas on how to use them for other play styles so I like that there is multiple options on how to play.
– Real player with 38.5 hrs in game
Stream Battlecards
So far I am disappointed in this game. From the store page this game looked promising but after purchase you discover there isn’t much interesting and very few options that can be found to play the game. I feel like the $9.99 i spent on this game is way to much for the limitation this game has.
– Real player with 1.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Party-Based RPG Team-Based Games.
Cardnarok: Raid with Gods
Been looking around for some indie games and found this little gem. I love the theme and ideas behind this game especially with the choices of heroes from mythologies of all backgrounds.
The combat definitely requires strategical thinking, planning and careful calculation in order to level up fast and build decks that work with your team. At current state it’s quite playable and no bug that bricks the game experience.
The developers have been patching updates aggressively and that is a good sign.
– Real player with 189.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Party-Based RPG Roguelite Games.
Interesting take on the genre
The core loop is:
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a string of StS-like maps
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connected by a monopoly/Game of the Goose-inspired overworld
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coupled with Rogue-lite Metaprogression
The combat is pretty standard with the caveat of 3 characters (with somewhat varying abilities) in “tag-team”
The Deckbuilding part follow the newer trend and allow the player a high degree of control over the resulting deck
Overall the game could use more polish and some extra content, but it’s a solid buy if you’re a bored deckbuilder.
– Real player with 27.6 hrs in game
A Legend In Zormore
A tale of courage and friendship. Catch creatures called Zelds. Raise them. Train them. Use them for battle! You will be aided by your deck of cards, built around your own strategy. Can you overcome the challenge and save the world?
Features
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Explore the huge open world of Zormore.
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Catch, raise, train your Zelds.
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Equip Mods to them… and yourself, to obtain a bigger power to defeat your opponents.
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Build a Deck of cards you will use in battle.
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Play Online against a Random opponent or crush your own friends ;). 1v1 or 2v2 Battles.
The Zelds
More info coming soon…
The World
More info coming soon…
The Cards (Your Deck)
More info coming soon…
The Story
More info coming soon…
Vesper: Ether Saga - Episode 1
- Try the demo:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1759290/
Vesper, the name of the heroine
A combat system combining role-playing, card games and strategy games.
- Role playing game
Start with the heroine Vesper and win new allied units with unique abilities. Level up your characters, unlock new skills (active and passive abilities), and improve them …
Objectives to be fulfilled, gain experience … Results at the end of the fight!
- Card Game
There are 3 types of cards
Unit Cards - Summon your allies into battle by exchanging Ether Crystals.
Action cards - the abilities specific to your heroes.
Arcane Cards - Collectible cards that will give you various bonuses!
- Strategy game
Unleash your ULTIMA
Plan your own strategic moves to face your enemies, using the range of diverse combat units available. Keep moving to avoid certain enemy attacks. The layout of your units is important. For example, short-range physical attacks will have more effect on the front line. But beware, this rule can also be used by your enemies.
Comics/game: An original story based on a new series of comics
The entire comic will be readable in the game, not in the usual comic format but in a version suitable for reading on screen! These cut-scenes will punctuate the series of completed missions.
An episodic game
The game and the comic book tell the same story: Episode 1 in the game is the same story as Volume 1 of the comic book. As each future episode is released, you can resume your game from where you last saved to continue the adventure with the content that you have already won!
Explore the universe of Etheria
As the story progresses, you will unlock areas on the world map. Each location will offer a number of missions to complete in different difficulty modes.
Physical DPS, capable of melee attacks (sword and spear) and precise aiming range (dagger and wheelblade). Her abilities are all of the darkness element.
Full Tank, his abilities can grab the attention of enemies and defend your characters.
More versatile, both tank and physical DPS, Lubikai is a leader, able to call on his fellow sorajis for reinforcement.
& More to come…
This episode will have 8-10 playable characters. In addition to the heroes, you can also have basic units to help you in combat.
Face a multitude of enemies, exploit their weaknesses and adapt your tactics to beat them all!
Some of them may be called in as reinforcements in combat (under certain conditions) but will not be controllable.
A floating world that surrounds the crystal tree
“All is one”. Three words to create a universe.
If all is one, then you are not external to the universe; you are the universe.
From this belief was born the world of Etheria; the crystal world tree that breathes soul into matter.
In a body on loan for a limited time, life seeks itself and raises its consciousness by going beyond its limits.
When the moment of death comes, the world is not the same as it was before. Just like the soul that returns to Etheria is not the same. Infinite, eternal, in perpetual change. Without change, there would be no life.
Soul, conscience, spirit … Whatever name you give it, don’t get lost. Charged with its experiences, it transforms the universe.
The part of the world you’ll explore in episode 1
All souls return where they came from: ETHERIA, the crystal tree.
The siege of Valestiel
Vesper, nicknamed “Amazon of the Knights of Nyx”, is a courageous and determined young woman, able to wield ethereal magic. She provides services to Prince Crimson Nyx. They fight together for the kingdom of Sylvaestris, in a war that has lasted for several years against the Soraji nomads.
Vesper & Crimson
But the dark forces from Vesper attract the attention of Ekklesia. This almighty religious institution will call upon Redgrave, a ruthless inquisitor of the Aurora Crux …
The Huntsman: Winter’s Curse
This is an amazingly fun game. The first chapter of 5 is free but the rest will cost you. Not sure if they’re worth the asking price but when they’re on sale, definitely worth it.
The Huntsman: Winter’s Curse is a turn-based RPG where the skills you use are based on a deck of cards. Every piece of equipment you use (weapon, armor, and 2 accessories) will give you access to a different set of cards and sometimes a special bonus (or negative effect). So there’s a lot of strategy in what you decide to equip. On the same page where you choose your equipment is also a skill tree. Everytime you level up, you get to choose one perk - all passive.
– Real player with 81.7 hrs in game
The Huntsman : Winter’s Curse is a surprising gem in a fairytale universe, totally worth its price in my opinion. The first book is free to play : a perfect way to make your own opinion about it. And since this is a fairytale, your steam wallet will magically decrease in order to purchase the season pass. Remember : magic always comes with a price.
This game is so much more than a Visual Novel, I just fell in love with its unique type. The story is about Elisabeth, a stubborn girl who used to live in a farm with her father and decides to leave her village to start her own adventure. Her brothers left home years ago and it’s time for her to look for them and discover what happened. During her journey, she will meet many good or evil characters / monsters. Many dangers await but sometimes, fear and inner self are the worst enemies.
– Real player with 12.2 hrs in game
Malice & Greed
I’ve currently put around 200 hours into the alpha version of Malice while playtesting it before the early access launch, and it’s a MASSIVE recommendation. I feel like I’ve learned so much about the game, but that just makes me realise how much left there still is to discover.
Malice is quite a fresh take on the Roguelite genre with a progression system that surprisingly manages to sit in the middle of Hades & Dark Souls in a way that clicks. The number of possible builds with distinctly different playstyles is actually wild, and the emergent interactions scale in a way where there is always another thing to learn or consider, even if you think you’ve learned it all. Each time you have another ‘aha’ moment and understand how you can combine the systems together in a new way, the game reveals a whole new world of what you are able to do with those systems, things you would have never even considered but make so much sense once you know it’s possible.
– Real player with 153.7 hrs in game
You know how Early Access games usually build on top of itself like a tower but without expanding itself, so you generally want to wait until it’s actually full release so you don’t get bored or worse, done with the game completely? Somehow this game doesn’t feel like that. Each major update feels like its own little game, and replaying them doesn’t feel boring at all. It does help that if you don’t know what you’re doing you will get wrecked super hard, and even if you do know what’s going on you’re probably still going to get wrecked by some very poor decision-making.
– Real player with 74.0 hrs in game
GOC Royale
GOC Royale is a massively multiplayer card game that takes place on randomly generated islands.
See a mission assigned to you by your monarch, compete against other teams in death matches, and be the first to complete the objective to win numerous items that will serve you later.
A GAME RESOLUTELY DESIGNED FOR MULTIPLAYER
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A Quest Mode - 20 teams on one island starting at the same time. You will all start with the standard equipment. The first team to complete the mission can aspire to bring back numerous items that can be used in Arena or Survival mode.
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An Arena Mode - Compete against other teams in merciless death matches and reach the top of the leaderboard. In this mode, you choose your equipment from what you have already collected.
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A Survival Mode - A persistent island that you can join at any time for a chance to win exclusive content. You will find squads equipped with their best gear. Epic battles in sight.
If you prefer to compose your own team, you can add bots with you and influence them during the game;
MANY RACES AND CLASSES TO PLAY WITH
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7 playable races - Each with 3 exclusive classes and specific nerves towards a given statistic.
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36 playable classes - With specificities that will greatly influence the course of the game and the behaviour of your squad.
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Endless team composition - Play it balanced or go for it all. See the future, increase your vision on the map, trigger crafting phases, summon powerful monsters, heal a lot, or not at all… Compose your squad wisely!
ISLANDS FULL OF SURPRISES
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Randomly generated islands - The islands are all unique and full of locations that will help you improve your equipment.
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3 different biomes - Each with unique traps and monsters based on specific characteristics. The choice of your destinations will be crucial at the beginning of the game depending on the balance of your team.
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100 unique monsters - All with different synergies that will make every fight a little more epic. The harder the fight, the more rewards will be handed out.
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9 main quests, several side quests - All teams receive the same main quest. Be the first to complete it and get back to your ship to win rewards back home. Complete the secondary quests as you go and bring back more.
A DEEP COMBAT SYSTEM
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Precise inventory management - Each modification should be carefully evaluated. Equipment can give you spells, stat modifiers, or even trigger reactions when you get hit. You can also create your own compositions within a game to create the deadliest combination.
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A huge diversity of stuff - Collect and fight with over 1000 unique items and cast over 300 different spells. Each game will require you to be strong on particular characteristics and avoid weaknesses on others, making each game different.
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An innovative turn-based combat system - In which agility will play a major role in the sequence of events. Estimate the course of the game and make the best possible combinations as a team
Your monarch awaits you. Will you be brave enough to answer his call?
Chrono Ark
Definitely a game with balancing issues, some runs feel easy you can make it to the end without any issue. The abilities you draw end up being very useful and actually carry you through… then some runs every random mob will just one shot half your party. The game literally has random mobs that do more damage than any character can possibly have the max health of.
For instance a level 3 healer character in the second zone has roughly 27 hp. There is a chance you will fight a 3 mob battle that can do roughly 40 damage per turn. They may not do the damage abilities but if they do you’re just S.O.L. Its insanely frustrating that every single aspect of the game is random chance but you need all of them to work perfectly in your favor to stand any chance.
– Real player with 111.8 hrs in game
Chrono Ark is a roguelike deck builder with solid gameplay and pleasing visuals and audio.
You start out with a party of two that expands to four as you touch the campfires at the end of stages,
with each stage having interactables and non random encounters that you can fight for loot.
The game has plenty of replay value with the large roster of 14 playable characters (about half of them have to be unlocked), each having about 14 skills + too many equipment to count.
As a further boost, playing the game drops a resource that carries over into the hub that you can spend to unlock upgrades as well as equipment and skills.
– Real player with 107.6 hrs in game