Info about Deliverance & Reign: Official game description: Official Discord ================ About the Game ============== Engage in a gothic battle where Good defies Evil using roguelike deckbuilding mechanics, built for hardcore fans and newcomers alike! Choose your path: bring Deliverance from Alaric’s terror, or turn into the tyrant himself and defend his Reign. Deliverance & Reign is a complete and complex experience, split into two hugely different game modes: Deliverance and Reign. Each mode is unique and feels like an entirely new, interconnected game! Switch freely between them at any point, with separate Saves, Progression and Achievements to ensure the integrity of your progress. With a giant variety of cards and play styles, choose your own path by upgrading and expanding your deck. Built for beginners and hardcore fans of the genre, Deliverance & Reign is the perfect entry into the Roguelike Deckbuilding, yet also challenges veterans with its multiple Hell Layers – difficulty modifiers that will test you to the core! DELIVERANCE ----------- Become a brave hero and assault Alaric's castle, fighting through his horde of vicious monsters in your quest to put an end to his reign of terror. Advance through dangerous halls as you make your way to the top floor, where his throne awaits. Pick your class and your starting cards with caution! Your survival depends on how well you can manage your strengths and weaknesses - you must learn what to take and what to leave behind. Keep in mind that each Class has its own unique buff, debuff and resource! At the end of each floor, choose to retreat and keep all your treasures to strengthen yourself for another attempt, or brave forward for greater rewards… at enormous risks. There are 4 floors to conquer, each culminating in an unique Boss Battle, where your strategical mind will be tested to its limits. But beware: If you waste too much time, the most hideous beasts will crawl out of their lair and tear you to pieces! Those brave enough to defeat Alaric at his weakest will unlock Hell Layers, difficulty modifiers that are sure to bring even the most hardcore player to their knees. **Deliverance Features:** * 6 Classes, each with 37 Skills and their own loadouts; * 25 Weapons and 53 Artifacts; * 25 Blessings; * 40 enemy Minions and 7 bosses; * 15 Hell Layers (additional difficulty modifiers); * 29 Achievements; Can you bring Deliverance from Alaric’s Reign of terror, or will his castle’s halls hear your dying breath? REIGN ----- Corrupt yourself and take control of the tyrant Alaric himself! A group of foolish heroes are about to invade your castle, and you must do everything in your power to stop them. Forge a Bond with one of the 6 malevolent factions to protect your castle against the intruders, each with their own strengths, weaknesses and quirks! Enslave a legion of minions and distribute them between three different floors (Lanes) as your enemies charge towards the top, where your Throne Room resides. The choice is yours: go slow and strategically, utilizing every card at your disposal to defeat your enemies, or surround them with minions and destroy them with your spells! Each Boss Battle is unique and requires a different approach to overcome. Find the correct synergies and strategies to obliterate the pathetic heroes! **Reign Features:** * 6 factions, each with 9 Champion variants, 31 units and spells, and 22 upgrades; * 34 enemies and 14 bosses across 14 battles; * 17 Mysterious events to discover between battles: * 15 hell layers (additional difficulty modifiers); * 29 achievements; It is time you rise up from your Throne and obliterates the foolish invaders that seek to end your Reign! Release date: May 18, 2023 Categories: Roguelike, Deckbuilding, Tower Defense, Autobattler, Class-based Gameplay, Meta-Progression, Boss Fights, Dark Fantasy Feature scans: - Proton/Linux: score 5; verdict: Works Well; summary: The limited user feedback indicates the game runs well on Steam Deck, with no reported Linux/Proton friction. The score reflects a 'Works Well' rating with no notable issues. - Hardware Profile: No data Feature extractions: - Community Price: - Community fair range: $5.00 - $10.00 - Reasoning: Multiple reviews describe the game as cheap or a great value at $8 full price and $4 on sale. The community perceives the current pricing as fair and not overpriced, suggesting a base price range of $5 to $10 is reasonable. The $8 full price is explicitly called a steal, and the game is consistently labeled as inexpensive, supporting this range. - Playtime Metrics: - Game completion: N/A - Story completion: N/A - Session length: 2.0h - Endgame: N/A - Reasoning: Session length is supported by three reviews: one reports a 3-hour session, another reports a 0.5-hour session, and a third mentions losing 'a few hours' per session. These suggest a typical session of around 1–3 hours; 2 hours is a reasonable midpoint. No evidence was found for game completion, story/campaign completion, or endgame hours. - Time-to-fun: - Summary: The game starts with a steep learning curve and grind, but becomes addictive and satisfying once players unlock progression and master the deck-building mechanics. - Stance: Clicks after - Anchor: After unlocking classes or cards through repeated runs - Time to anchor: N/A - Friction: initial learning curve for deck-building newcomers; high early difficulty requiring grinding for gold; RNG frustration leading to boring runs; slow game state transitions causing accidents for high APM players - Unlock drivers: unlocking new classes and cards through repeated runs; meta progression that upgrades champions; overcoming increasingly formidable adversaries - Conditions: solo play; casual quick sessions; familiarity with deck-building genre; willingness to grind for progression - Player Archetypes: - Roguelike Deckbuilder Fan (buy) - Motivation: Mastering deck synergies and progressing through runs with meta progression. - Playstyle: Methodical deck-building, experimenting with different strategies and champions across both modes. - Experience: familiar - Purchase stance: buy - Labels: roguelike fan; deckbuilder enthusiast; strategy gamer - Reference games: Slay the Spire; Monster Train; Vault of the Void; Fate Hunters - Budget-Conscious Casual (sale) - Motivation: Getting good value for money and casual fun without high commitment. - Playstyle: Casual solo play, enjoys the atmosphere and value, forgiving of rough edges. - Experience: mixed - Purchase stance: sale - Labels: budget gamer; casual player; value seeker - Reference games: Castlevania (vibe); Monster Train (comparison) - Balance-Focused Veteran (deep sale) - Motivation: Seeking balanced, deep strategic gameplay with meaningful choices. - Playstyle: Analyzes class balance, seeks optimal strategies, may get frustrated by imbalance but acknowledges potential. - Experience: veteran - Purchase stance: deep sale - Labels: veteran roguelike player; critic; balance enthusiast - Reference games: Monster Train; Slay the Spire - Dual-Mode Innovator (buy) - Motivation: Exploring two distinct gameplay styles in one package and discovering synergies between them. - Playstyle: Switches between Deliverance and Reign modes, enjoys variety and experimentation with different mechanics. - Experience: familiar - Purchase stance: buy - Labels: genre explorer; innovation seeker; variety gamer - Reference games: Monster Train; Vault of the Void; Slay the Spire Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category. Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews. What players like: - Exceptional value for money (weight 0.67): Many reviews highlight the game's low price point and the immense amount of content received for the cost, often calling it a steal or great deal. - Great art and atmosphere (weight 0.41): The game's art style, graphics, music, and sound effects are frequently praised for creating an immersive and atmospheric experience. - Diverse classes and factions (weight 0.38): Players appreciate the variety of classes and factions, each with unique mechanics and playstyles, which adds depth and replayability. - Large amount of content (weight 0.37): Players note the large amount of content including many cards, heroes, classes, enemies, maps, and artifacts, contributing to high replayability. - Strategic tower defense mode (weight 0.26): The tower defense or autobattler mode (Reign) is specifically highlighted as strategic, interesting, and fun, even for players who usually dislike the genre. - Addictive and fast-paced (weight 0.25): Many reviews describe the gameplay as addictive, fast-paced, and engaging, often leading to long play sessions. - Good for casual play (weight 0.23): The game is considered fun for casual play, quick sessions, or when bored, though some note it may only provide short bursts of entertainment. - Engaging mode-specific features (weight 0.22): Specific modes (Deliverance, Reign) are praised for their unique mechanics, story integration, and fun factions, with some players preferring one over the other. - No mana cost mechanic (weight 0.2): The unique mechanic of removing mana or action point costs, allowing players to use all drawn cards, is highlighted as a fresh twist on deckbuilding. - Appeals to genre fans (weight 0.19): Comparisons to other games like Slay the Spire, Monster Train, Dreamgate, and Fate Hunters are made, often positively, suggesting it appeals to fans of those games. - Deckbuilding and card tension (weight 0.14): Deck tweaking and card draw tension are noted as enjoyable aspects, though some mention frustrating draws. - Russian language support (weight 0.07): Russian language support is mentioned, indicating localization for that audience. Common complaints: - Severe balance issues (weight 0.71): Multiple reviews highlight severe balance problems: some characters or factions are overpowered (e.g., Druid with infinite combos, Veto making the final boss trivial), while others are too weak (e.g., Evil side, Beasts faction). Difficulty spikes and unfair boss mechanics are also mentioned. - Excessive randomness and luck (weight 0.6): The game is heavily criticized for excessive randomness and luck dependency. Players report bad draws leading to one-round elimination, inability to get needed cards, and a bloated card pool that reduces strategic control. Lack of card removal and synergy further compounds the issue. - Unoriginal clone of better games (weight 0.55): Many players consider the game a blatant copy of Fate Hunter and Monster Train, lacking originality and offering inferior visuals, animations, and interface. It is described as a pale imitation that downgrades the original games. - Rough and unpolished (weight 0.34): The game feels rough, unpolished, and amateurish, with bugs, softlocks, and poor programming (e.g., boss retreats unexpectedly). It appears half-finished and not thoroughly tested. - Limited card pool and upgrades (weight 0.32): The card pool is small with few decent cards, limited upgrades, and no artifact system. Players want more characters and card variety to increase strategic depth. - Lacks originality and variety (weight 0.28): The game is described as not special, lacking innovation, and becoming repetitive quickly. Many players got bored within half an hour due to limited variety in enemies, cards, and strategies. - Frustrating progression system (weight 0.27): Players find the progression system frustrating: losing all treasure on death, slow or grindy unlocks, and limited meta progression. Some feel forced to quit early to avoid risk, which undermines enjoyment. - Unclear mechanics and poor tutorial (weight 0.24): Many mechanics are unclear or not explained, including skills, properties, and boss mechanics. The tutorial is bad, and some card descriptions are not implemented correctly, leading to confusion. - Few meaningful choices (weight 0.22): Players report few meaningful choices during gameplay, low deck controllability, and limited events in Reign mode. This reduces strategic planning and replay value. - Bugs and softlocks (weight 0.22): Several bugs are reported, including softlocks that brick runs, achievements not unlocking, card effects not implemented, and being stuck in the tutorial. These issues significantly harm the experience. - Insufficient card removal (weight 0.21): Limited card removal options cause deck bloat, especially in tower climbing and Justice side. Players feel forced to keep negative cards, which slows progression and reduces strategic depth. - Missing QoL features (weight 0.18): Missing quality-of-life features like predicted damage numbers, minimal settings at launch, and inability to turn off screen-shake. Slow transitions and unclear buffs hinder gameplay. - Fewer combos than competitors (weight 0.18): Compared to Monster Train and Slay the Spire, the game offers fewer combos and strategies per class. Some factions have only one viable strategy, reducing replayability. - Bad starter skills (weight 0.16): Players cannot change starter skills, which are considered terrible. This, combined with limited card removal, leads to deck bloat and frustration, especially for certain factions. - Poor pacing and run length (weight 0.14): Runs are too long, especially the last level, with no off-combat healing before the final boss. The timer in fights is too short, and Deliverance mode has too many hallway fights. - Inconsistent difficulty (weight 0.1): The second part of the game is considered inferior, and the difficulty may require learning, making it unsuitable for hardcore players. Some find the learning curve steep. - Overall negative sentiment (weight 0.07): A few reviews simply call the game 'trash' or describe it as tasteless but not worth discarding, indicating strong dissatisfaction. Gameplay feedback: - Two distinct game modes (weight 0.91): The game features two distinct modes: Deliverance, a deckbuilding roguelike similar to Slay the Spire and Fate Hunters, and Reign, a tower defense/autobattler mode reminiscent of Monster Train. This dual-mode structure is frequently highlighted as a key selling point. - Card-based roguelike deckbuilder (weight 0.55): The core gameplay is a card-based roguelike deckbuilder with elements like randomness, class-based decks, and card upgrades. Players build and upgrade their decks over multiple runs. - Heavily inspired by other games (weight 0.47): Players frequently compare the game to established titles: Deliverance mode is seen as a clone of Fate Hunters or Slay the Spire, while Reign mode is considered a clone of Monster Train. This suggests the game heavily borrows mechanics from these popular games. - Multiple classes with unique mechanics (weight 0.26): The game includes multiple classes such as Druid, Fanatic, Spellsword, Nightshade, Death Knight, and Monk, each with unique mechanics like class-specific resources, state slots, and special abilities (e.g., Druid's eagle form and infinite bloom card draw). - Hero vs villain perspective (weight 0.15): Deliverance mode is a first-person dungeon crawler where the player invades a castle as a hero, while Reign mode is a tower defense where the player defends as a villain. This contrast is a unique feature. Performance notes: - Slow state transitions frustrate high APM players (weight 0.05): Players with high actions per minute (APM) are frustrated by slow transitions between game states, which disrupts the flow of gameplay and reduces responsiveness. - Excellent Steam Deck performance (weight 0.05): The game runs extremely well on Steam Deck, providing a smooth and optimized experience for portable play. Recommendations: - Highly recommended for genre fans (weight 0.97): The majority of feedback strongly recommends the game, especially for fans of roguelike deckbuilders like Slay the Spire and Monster Train. It is praised for its low price, high playtime value, and being a good casual experience. - Great value for the price (weight 0.49): Many reviews highlight the game's low price and excellent value, often recommending it on discount. It is considered a steal or well worth the cost. Other player notes: No miscpoints Emotions: No emotions}