Vivid Knight
This is a cute roguelite and auto-chess crossover. It’s very strategy-focused, and the difficulty makes it quite addictive, but some balance issues begin to detract from enjoyment once you’re deep in the game.
The Good
The core game play is roguelike, with your character exploring a maze and fighting monsters in turn-based auto-chess-esque combat. Each step consumes mana, a limited resource that refreshes on each floor, and your team begins taking damage when you run out of mana, forcing you to be efficient in your exploration.
– Real player with 62.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Roguelike Deckbuilder 2D Games.
Welcome to Auto Chess Darkest Dungeon, But Cute.
Jokes aside, this little game so far is one of the biggest surprises of the year for me. I do quite like the auto chess formula, but this game takes a quite unique spin on it which makes it really enjoyable for me.
I’ve seen a lot of reviews making comparisons to TFT and they’re not entirely wrong by drawing the said comparison.
That said, if you’re familiar with games like Auto Chess and TFT, there’s a few things this game does a little different.
– Real player with 32.4 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
Little Dungeon Stories
Starts off with a good concept but far too short and the events are random so sometimes useless events show up. There is also not much variability in the types of events. Character stats are random and unable to be customised except a one-off buff choice at the start. Boss rewards are not unique, just giving you a refill of resources.The game ends at floor 150 (if you get there that far with rng. I’ve played 7 hours and got there 4 or 5 times) and replayability is limited. I feel a bit disappointed as this is basically completed on release and not in early access where much of the content could be improved. Would need a moderate amount of improvement for me to recommend it.
– Real player with 8.4 hrs in game
The Little Dungeon Stories game process is entirely built on cards that entail a certain outcome. In fact, the game about the dungeon works - you get various situations, which are presented in the format of cards with inscriptions, and you can react to them with one of four options. Your actions have certain consequences that naturally affect the gaming process. If you are wrong and make the wrong decisions, the dungeon will sooner or later destroy you, after which you will have to start the game again. This is the whole essence of the game process - you have to pretend where a decision will lead you to, after which you will take it and move on. Sometimes questions are really complex and even logical thinking does not help, and sometimes developers provide quite a simple choice. That ’s the whole point of the game.
– Real player with 7.3 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
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
Crash The Core
A wonderful little rogue lite and deck building game. The UI is fairly basic but the mechanics are great which is bigger deal to me than shiny UI. I like the monster art and it in just the few days I’ve been playing the publisher has updated it, and fixed some things/issues. I believe it is a tiny or even one person maker of the game. So given the great mechanics and publisher seems to be wanting to make improvements, IMO it is by far worth the price! I always want to support small/indie developers, and this game so far been great fun!
– Real player with 19.6 hrs in game
It’s nothing revolutionary, but it definitely has its heart in the right place. I had a good time playing, and especially enjoyed it considering the price. If you’re a fan of roguelike deckbuilders, this’ll familiar but fun. The Summon and Item system makes for some interesting synergies. Just be wary of some annoying bugs and balance issues, which may or may not get patched out by the time writing this. Again, nothing phenomenal but pretty alright considering it’s their first game.
– Real player with 9.0 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.
Across the Obelisk
If you are input deck building games and would like to play with up to 3 friends then you will simply love this game. It is so varied in all runs we had ( 30) and it is still fun to experiment with new deck ideas, improve strategies and learn from each new weekly challenge.
– Real player with 199.9 hrs in game
This game is a great little deck building game with some RPG stuff thrown in. Don’t listen to the reviews that say you HAVE TO GRIND to beat it, I was able to beat it on my third run and that was just learning what the cards and debuffs/buffs do. Plus it has co-op!
– Real player with 176.9 hrs in game
Crawlyard
The performance starts – unending, ever changing, cruel to its actors and viewers alike. Yet you are far from being powerless: you can affect the Mansion’s backstage, send puppets to explore its mysterious rooms and rewrite the play however you see fit.
Every new pattern will bring new opportunities, your bonds with other members of the audience will grow stronger, until one day you finally discover the perfect scenario that the previous owner of the Mansion was obsessed with.
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Card combos: rooms affect each other in many surprising ways. Find out how you can utilize it to develop your own winning strategy or make your runs more challenging. But beware: some patterns may prove to be too difficult for specific puppets.
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Indirect battle system: strategy and preparation are the key to success. Plan your way carefully, exploit the rooms' mechanics, use spells and make event-related decisions at crucial points to end up victorious.
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Adaptability and growth: your puppets already offer different play styles for you to choose from, but with the items found in the rooms you can customize and buff your heroes even further – or uncover new doll parts to build unique fighters.
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Intertwining stories: meet other characters bewitched by the call of the Mansion. Get them to open up to you, learn about their traumas and manias, and affect their future – perhaps in a romantic way. The more you give, the more you obtain in return.
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Choices matter: the others are stuck, but you can still move forward, unraveling the threads of their unfortunate fates. Will you advise your new comrades to do what they want? Or will you suggest they search for what you think they need?
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Reach the Endgame: grow stronger, collect enough hints and find the perfect pattern – the ultimate room layout that will reveal the Wishmaster. Have your desires fulfilled at last… unless you found something, or someone, along the way that made your change your mind.
Going strong! We’re a small indie team, and every wishlist brings us closer to completing our passion project. Thank you for your patronage!
Want to become a part of the growing community and share your impressions about the game? Join our Discord server to stay in contact, learn more about the development process, and get exclusive sneak peeks into the project as it unfolds!
Iris and the Giant
This review is mostly based on 8 hours playing the demo, and one 2-hour run post-release. Will update sometime.
TL;DR: A good game but not quite ready for release, and the lack of explanations might frustrate you and make it seem harder than it is.
Does the fact that every card you play is destroyed from your deck worry you? It worried me, but it actually works because you get frequent chances to replenish your deck, and you’re not playing with several unique cards but rather a fairly tight set of base effects and improved versions of them. It doesn’t really matter that your sword is gone after you attack, because you probably have 4 more in your deck, you can get another 6 from the next chest you find, and you might have a magical power that gives you 2 swords for free at the start of every room.
– Real player with 15.0 hrs in game
Overall, I’d recommend Iris and the Giant for its surprisingly deep positional combat and charming art style. If you’re primarily looking for a great story or you don’t want to fail a few times while gaining upgrades, maybe Iris and the Giant isn’t for you.
I really enjoyed the combat system (I’ll elaborate below). I enjoyed the simple art style and good music. That said, the story didn’t work for me. It felt like it was relying heavily on common bullying/depression tropes. I personally didn’t find the story to be a motivating factor nor did it enhance the game play for me.
– Real player with 13.7 hrs in game