- Highly praised overall quality and unique genre blend.
- Deep, versatile deck building and strategic combat.
- Charming art and sound design.
- Tedious and punishing early game experience.
- Harsh death and save system.
- Frequent game-breaking bugs and UI issues.
Emotions
Players frequently experience frustration due to game-breaking bugs, soft locks, and crashes that lead to significant loss of progress. The punishing death mechanic, which often results in losing all accumulated rewards and items from long dungeon runs, is a major source of irritation. Additionally, poor UI/UX design, clunky controls, and a lack of quality-of-life features like mid-dungeon saves or an undo button contribute to a tedious and unrewarding gameplay experience.
Satisfaction stems from the game's deep and varied deck-building mechanics, allowing players to discover powerful card combinations and create unique builds. Overcoming initial difficulties and achieving a sense of power through strategic gameplay is highly rewarding. The overall quality of the game, including its combat system, art style, and the feeling of progression, contributes to a positive and enjoyable experience.
Disappointment arises from the game's perceived lack of meta-progression and the feeling that time is wasted due to punishing death mechanics and lost runs. Players are also let down by the absence of certain quality-of-life features, unclear card synergies, and a general sense that the game fails to merge its ideas into a cohesive and satisfying experience. Some feel the early game is boring or that the game doesn't live up to initial expectations.
Excitement is generated by the game's unique combination of positioning and card mechanics, offering a fresh take on the genre. Players are thrilled by the potential for powerful late-game deck-building, the ability to achieve infinite combos, and the engaging risk-reward system. The overall depth of strategy, the joy of discovering new loot, and the game's potential for future development also contribute to this emotion.
Players enjoy the core gameplay loop, which combines RPG elements with deck-building in a unique way. The tactical depth of combat, the synergy between cards, and the appealing art style contribute to a fun and engaging experience. Discovering new card combinations and mastering the game's mechanics provide a satisfying challenge.
Verdict
Mixed
Summary
Positive 61% · Negative 39%. Score: 39 / 100
Positives:
- Players overwhelmingly praise the game's overall quality, finding it charming, well-crafted, and highly enjoyable. The core gameplay loop, unique combat, and strategic depth are frequently highlighted as major strengths, making it a standout title in its genre.
- The deck-building system is a core strength, offering immense versatility and strategic depth. Players enjoy the process of collecting, combining, and experimenting with a wide variety of cards, leading to satisfying and often 'broken' builds.
- The game successfully blends deck-building with roguelite and RPG elements, creating a unique genre experience. Its distinct mechanics, such as grid-based movement and rune systems, contribute to a fresh and engaging gameplay loop.
- The game's visual and auditory presentation receives high marks. Players appreciate the charming and detailed pixel art, consistent aesthetic, and high-quality music, which collectively enhance the immersive experience.
- Combat is described as a thoughtful and rewarding puzzle, requiring strategic positioning and card play. The tension and feeling of accomplishment from mastering battles are frequently mentioned.
Negatives:
- Many players found the early game to be slow, boring, and frustrating, with a high barrier to entry and a lack of clear direction. This initial experience often led to disinterest and a feeling that the game did not respect their time.
- The game's punishing death system, where all progress and items are lost upon dying, was a major source of frustration. This, combined with a lack of mid-dungeon saves and easy accidental misplays, made runs feel unforgiving and time-consuming.
- A significant number of players reported frequent and severe bugs, including game freezes, soft locks, and movement issues, often leading to loss of progress. The user interface also suffered from numerous glitches and inconsistencies.
- Players found the deck-building system cumbersome, unintuitive, and unrewarding, especially with clunky UI and a lack of basic features like deck naming. Starter decks were often perceived as weak and uninteresting, making early progression difficult.
- Combat often felt slow and tedious due to limited action points, vague enemy attack tells, and excessive time spent on movement or waiting for enemy turns. Some room layouts and enemy types exacerbated these issues, leading to frustrating encounters.
Gameplay:
- The game features a unique deckbuilding system where players construct their entire deck from a permanent card collection before entering dungeons. This allows for deep strategic planning and customization, with players able to mix and match cards from various archetypes and factions. The system is compared to traditional TCGs rather than typical roguelike deckbuilders.
- Combat is turn-based and grid-based, with players having 3 Action Points (AP) per turn for movement, basic attacks, or card usage. Cards are a limited resource, with only one drawn per turn unless specific draw cards are used. This resource management, combined with AP limits, emphasizes strategic positioning and action economy.
- Combat is a tactical, turn-based experience on a grid, where players and enemies take turns. Players can preview enemy actions and ranges, allowing for strategic movement and positioning to avoid damage or set up advantageous plays. The system encourages thoughtful engagement with the battlefield.
- Dungeons are varied and dynamic, featuring different room types like combat, puzzle, and treasure rooms. Each dungeon region has unique mechanics, enemies, and traps, requiring different deck approaches. Players can save progress at the start of each floor.
- The game offers a satisfying progression loop centered around collecting cards and expanding the permanent collection. The early game often involves farming initial dungeons to build a strong card base, with difficulty scaling as players progress through more challenging regions. The game provides significant playtime and replayability.
Performance:
- Several players experienced various freezing and stuttering issues, particularly during longer play sessions, specific enemy actions, or in certain game areas. These issues suggest potential memory leaks or performance bottlenecks that impact gameplay fluidity.
- Many players report that the game is generally stable and runs well, especially after initial patches. While some minor visual bugs or early crashes were noted, these were often quickly resolved by developers.
- Minor issues like screen flickering, odd interactions with curios, and inconsistent card effect previews were reported. These are generally less impactful but can affect the overall polish of the game.
Recommendations:
- Many players highly recommend the game, often suggesting it's worth playing despite some rough edges. They believe the core gameplay loop is strong and that the game offers a rewarding experience, especially if certain issues are addressed or if players are willing to push through initial challenges.
- Players suggest that the game requires dedication and perseverance, especially during the initial hours. They advise pushing through the early learning curve and avoiding over-grinding, as the game becomes more rewarding once mastered.
- Several players mention that the game needs further development, specifically bug fixes, polish, and content updates like DLC or mid-dungeon saves. Some recommend waiting for sales or future patches before purchasing.
- A specific quality-of-life recommendation is to utilize the in-game speed-up toggle to improve the pace of play, suggesting that the default speed might be too slow for some.
- The game is strongly recommended for fans of specific genres, particularly roguelike deckbuilders, CCGs, and turn-based tactical games. Players who enjoy strategic thinking, theory crafting, and unique card-based combat systems will likely find the game appealing.
Miscellaneous:
- Players were initially hesitant to purchase the game due to negative reviews and reports of game-breaking bugs. However, post-patch, the game is recommended, especially when on sale, with a demo available for trial.
- A dedicated player completed multiple runs, achieving all endings and 100% content, spending over 30 hours. This indicates significant replayability and content depth for completionists.
- The game benefits from an active and supportive community and an 'incredible' development team on Discord. This suggests a positive environment for player engagement and support.
- The game's monetization model, which charges a single, static price for collectible aspects instead of using predatory services, is appreciated by players. This highlights a positive and fair business practice.
- The game's core mechanics are described as a blend of 'Magic the Gathering' and 'Mystery Dungeon'. This provides a clear, concise comparison for potential players to understand its genre and gameplay style.
