Info about Deathless. The Hero Quest:

Official game description:
In _Deathless_, you’ll play as four different heroes, each with their own playstyle.
VARVARA THE FAIR
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A cunning and clever treasure hunter who excels at manipulating enemy positions on the battlefield.
VASILISA THE WISE
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A powerful elemental sorceress who can summon and dismiss Nursemaids at will to assist her in combat.
DOBRYNYA NIKITICH
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The famous hero, equipped with high health and solid defense, making him a master of defensive combat.
ALYOSHA
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A warrior from Kitezh. He always carries a sword forged from unique star-steel and a _spellbane,_ a mysterious enchanted wand.
Hundreds of card combinations alongside relics provide endless opportunities for creativity — find the most powerful combos to defeat all the bosses and save Belosvet.
Complete each hero’s quest chain to learn more about the world and the magical creatures that inhabit it.
After each battle, you’ll decide where to go next. A swamp with a weak enemy or a clearing with a serious foe? The harder the path, the more valuable the reward.
Each run will offer its own paths.

Release date: 12 Dec, 2024

Categories: Roguelike, Deckbuilding, Turn-based Combat, Strategic Combat, Card-based Gameplay, Character Progression, Single-player Story, Linear Progression


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


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:
- Highly Polished & Engaging Gameplay (weight 0.99): Players consistently praise the game's overall quality, addictive nature, and well-designed gameplay loop. It offers a balanced challenge, high replayability, and a satisfying experience across various aspects, including card mechanics and character progression.
- Stunning Art & Animations (weight 0.73): The game receives widespread acclaim for its exceptional visual style, beautiful artwork, and top-tier animations. Reviewers highlight the detailed designs, vibrant colors, and smooth character movements, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.
- Unique Slavic Folklore Setting (weight 0.38): The game's distinctive setting, inspired by Slavic myths and Russian fairy tales, is a major draw. Players appreciate the fresh narrative, immersive storytelling, and unique monster designs that differentiate it from other games in the genre.
- Strong Roguelike Deck-builder (weight 0.38): Many players consider this game an excellent entry in the Slay the Spire-inspired genre, often comparing it favorably. It offers a well-balanced, challenging, and highly replayable roguelike deck-building experience with its own unique twists.
- Diverse & Unique Characters (weight 0.26): The game features multiple distinct characters, each with unique mechanics and playstyles. This diversity encourages experimentation and keeps the gameplay fresh, with players enjoying the varied tactical approaches each hero offers.
- Deep Strategic Card Mechanics (weight 0.21): The card gameplay is well-crafted, offering strategic depth and encouraging experimentation with different decks and synergies. Players enjoy the engaging combat and the rewarding feeling of mastering complex combinations.
- Excellent Music & Sound Design (weight 0.15): The game's musical accompaniment and sound design are consistently praised for their high quality. The music is described as pleasant, atmospheric, and fitting, enhancing the overall immersion and experience.
- Engaging Lore & Bestiary (weight 0.12): The game's lore, particularly the stories found in the bestiary, adds significant depth and immersion. Players enjoy reading about the unique monsters and the narrative context, which also provides breaks between battles.
- Accessible Yet Deep Mechanics (weight 0.07): The game strikes a good balance between being easy to learn for newcomers and offering enough depth to keep veterans engaged. Its fresh and interesting mechanics contribute to a comfortable learning curve.
- Responsive & Caring Developers (weight 0.06): Players appreciate the developers' active support for the project, their responsiveness to community feedback, and the overall care evident in the game's development and ongoing balance adjustments.

Common complaints:
- Overpriced for Content (weight 0.51): A significant number of players feel the game is overpriced for the amount of content and overall quality it offers. Despite appealing visuals, the perceived lack of depth, originality, and engaging gameplay makes many believe the current price is not justified, even on sale.
- Poor Game Balance & Difficulty (weight 0.48): Players consistently report that the game suffers from significant balance issues, making it excessively difficult and often frustrating, even on easier settings. This includes uneven enemy scaling, underpowered player cards/stats, and a general feeling of the game being a 'slog' rather than engaging. The high difficulty, combined with perceived randomness, leads to low player satisfaction and a sense of wasted time.
- Unsatisfying Card System (weight 0.45): The card system is widely criticized for a lack of powerful, interesting, or synergistic cards. Many cards are described as weak, situational, or barely better than starting options, leading to monotonous gameplay and limited deck-building variety. The randomness of card drops and upgrades further exacerbates this, making it difficult to create effective builds.
- Repetitive & Unrewarding Runs (weight 0.33): Players find individual runs to be too long, repetitive, and lacking in variety. The limited enemy pool, slow combat speed, and lack of unique events or progression paths contribute to a monotonous experience. Success often feels dictated by luck rather than skill, leading to unsatisfying runs and a lack of motivation for repeated playthroughs.
- Lack of Originality & Depth (weight 0.28): The game is frequently compared unfavorably to other roguelike deckbuilders like Slay the Spire and Knock on the Coffin Lid, with many reviewers noting a lack of originality, innovation, and depth in its mechanics and content. It's often described as a 'clone' that fails to expand upon established ideas or offer compelling new experiences, leading to a feeling of blandness.
- Unbalanced & Uninteresting Characters (weight 0.27): While characters are unique, many players find them unbalanced, with some feeling significantly weaker or more difficult to play than others. Specific characters like Vasilisa and Dobrynya are singled out for being weak, boring, or having poorly designed card sets, which limits replayability and makes progression tedious.
- Minor Technical & UI Issues (weight 0.07): Players report occasional crashes, performance hiccups, and minor bugs. There are also some complaints about unintuitive UI design and slow animations, which, while not game-breaking, contribute to a less polished experience over time.

Gameplay feedback:
- Familiar Roguelike Deckbuilder Gameplay (weight 0.36): The game is a turn-based roguelike deckbuilder, heavily inspired by Slay the Spire, featuring deck customization, card upgrades, and relic drops. While veterans might find the core mechanics familiar, the game introduces its own flair and interesting combat mechanics.
- Diverse Slavic Folklore Heroes (weight 0.17): Players can choose from four distinct heroes, each rooted in Slavic mythology and possessing unique playstyles, card sets, and individual quest paths. This variety encourages replayability and offers different strategic approaches.
- Challenging Difficulty & Randomness (weight 0.12): The game presents a significant challenge, with a difficulty curve and randomness that can be polarizing. Players must think strategically to overcome tough bosses and avoid punishment for reckless decisions, though some feedback suggests a low difficulty for certain aspects.
- Engaging Boss Battles (weight 0.11): The game features unique and challenging bosses with their own mechanics and stories, appearing at regular intervals. Defeating certain legendary bosses provides artifacts that weaken the final boss, adding strategic depth to run progression.
- Card & Character Progression (weight 0.07): Players can find and upgrade cards during runs, with character leveling after each run unlocking new, stronger cards for future attempts. This system provides a sense of continuous progression and expanded options.
- Extensive Replayability & Content (weight 0.07): The game offers substantial replay value, with multiple characters, each having their own stories and mechanics, and a large number of cards to unlock. Completing the game with all characters on various difficulties can take many hours.
- Path-Based Progression & Modifiers (weight 0.06): Each run involves navigating a path with branching choices, random battles, and various modifiers that affect difficulty, rewards, and challenges. This system ensures varied experiences across runs.
- Strategic Enemy Positioning (weight 0.05): A key combat mechanic involves enemy positioning, which significantly impacts battles. Many cards and character abilities revolve around controlling enemy placement, adding a layer of tactical depth to the gameplay.
- Vasilisa's Overpowered Abilities (weight 0.05): Feedback indicates that Vasilisa, one of the playable characters, can be significantly overpowered, allowing players to clear enemy squads quickly due to her action point skills. This suggests a potential balance issue.
- Passive Effects & Consumables (weight 0.04): The game includes numerous passive effects, consumables, and buffs that players need to monitor and apply strategically to enemies. There are also various items and curiosities to collect.
- Accessible Mechanics (weight 0.02): Despite initial complexity, the game's mechanics are generally easy to master, with a helpful tutorial. Players unfamiliar with the genre can quickly grasp the core gameplay.

Performance notes:
- Excellent handheld compatibility (weight 0.07): Players consistently report that the game runs exceptionally well on various handheld devices like the Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and Bazit, with smooth performance, great controls, and legible UI. This indicates strong optimization for portable play.
- Strong overall performance (weight 0.03): The game demonstrates good optimization, running smoothly even on older PC hardware and generally performing well across different systems. Players experienced stable gameplay with no crashes or significant technical issues over extended playtimes.
- Minor bugs addressed (weight 0.01): Some players initially encountered small bugs, but these issues appear to have been resolved, contributing to a more polished experience.
- Widescreen support included (weight 0.01): The game offers widescreen support, which enhances the visual experience for players with compatible monitors.

Recommendations:
- Generally Recommended with Caveats (weight 0.35): Many players recommend the game, often with high ratings, but frequently suggest waiting for a sale or further balance patches. Some recommend it specifically for its genre or theme, while others express general satisfaction.
- Strong Appeal to Genre Fans (weight 0.17): The game is highly recommended for fans of roguelike deck-builders, especially those who enjoy games like Slay the Spire. It's seen as a good option for players seeking similar experiences or a fresh take on the genre.
- Appeals to Slavic Mythology Enthusiasts (weight 0.12): A significant number of players recommend the game specifically for its Slavic mythology theme and atmosphere. This aspect is a major draw for those interested in Old Rus tales and unique cultural settings.
- Wait for Updates/Sales (weight 0.08): Several players advise against purchasing the game at full price in its current state, recommending to wait for updates, balance improvements, or a significant discount. This suggests concerns about the game's current polish or value proposition.
- Mixed Reception on Difficulty (weight 0.04): Feedback on difficulty is mixed, with some finding it suitable for easy challenges and others deeming it too difficult or reliant on randomness, making it hard to recommend without a deep discount or a masochistic inclination.
- Anticipation for Future Content (weight 0.04): Players express excitement for future updates, DLC, and continued support from the developers, indicating a desire for more content and expansion of the game's world.
- Negative Sentiment & Refunds (weight 0.04): A small but vocal group of players expressed strong negative sentiment, including requests for refunds and warnings against purchasing the game, citing more cons than pros. This appears to be a review-bombing campaign.
- Compared to Slay the Spire (weight 0.04): The game is frequently compared to Slay the Spire, with some suggesting it as an alternative for fans, while others recommend playing Slay the Spire instead, implying it might not meet the same quality or depth.
- Compared to Black Book (weight 0.03): The game is compared to 'Black Book,' with some suggesting 'Black Book' as a superior alternative for a story-rich card game, while others find 'Tales of Old Rus' to be a poor imitation.
- Solid Visuals and Atmosphere (weight 0.02): The game is noted for its pleasant visuals and distinctive atmosphere, contributing to a solid overall feel.

Other player notes:
- Strong potential for future growth (weight 0.17): Players consistently highlight the game's significant potential for future development, including balance, optimization, content additions, lore expansion, and visual improvements. There's a strong desire for ongoing support and expansions like a 'Chapter 2' or a sequel.
- Appreciation for developers (weight 0.09): Many players express strong support and gratitude for the developers, often citing their efforts, the game's potential, and the fact that it's a domestic production. This sentiment often motivates their reviews and purchases.
- Mixed feelings on difficulty/balance (weight 0.07): Feedback on difficulty and balance is varied. Some players suggest specific balance changes for heroes, while others haven't encountered major issues yet. There's a desire for difficulty to be skill-based rather than luck-based, with suggestions for initial relic selection and simpler low-difficulty design.
- Early Access status noted (weight 0.07): Players acknowledge the game is in Early Access, which influences their expectations for future improvements and content. There's a hope that it won't remain in Early Access indefinitely.
- Comparison to Slay the Spire (weight 0.05): The game is frequently compared to 'Slay the Spire,' with some players noting similarities in mechanics and art. While seen as a decent attempt, some feel it lacks the polish and depth of its inspiration.
- Mixed and contradictory player experience (weight 0.04): Some players report contradictory feelings about the game, with their opinion drastically changing based on the character played. This can lead to dissatisfaction and early abandonment for some.
- Comparison to Black Book (weight 0.04): Some players came to the game after playing 'Black Book' and expected a similar level of plot, adventure, and world-building. While some find the balance better, others feel it failed to deliver a captivating adventure on par with 'Black Book.'
- Appeal to card game newcomers (weight 0.04): The game seems to be more engaging for players new to the card game genre, serving as an 'eye-opener.' Experienced card battlers, however, might find less novelty.
- Desire for improved animations (weight 0.03): Players suggest that more unique and protagonist-specific battle animations, especially for powerful cards, would enhance the game's visual appeal and overall experience. A 'fast mode' for animations is also requested.
- Tablet game feel (weight 0.03): A few players noted that the game feels like it would be better suited for a tablet, suggesting a potential platform mismatch or design choices that align more with mobile gaming.
- Gameplay duration and experience (weight 0.03): Players reported varying gameplay durations, from 1.5 hours to over 40 hours, with one suggesting an honest game duration of about 70 hours. Some players admit to being generally bad at these types of games.
- Interest in Roman Papsuev's universe (weight 0.03): A significant draw for some players is the game's connection to Roman Papsuev's art and universe. This existing fandom often sparks initial interest and appreciation for the game's aesthetic.
- Minor localization and lore requests (weight 0.03): Players expressed minor concerns about English translation quality and a desire for more games based on folk tales. One player learned about the game through a board game announcement.
- Game does not reinvent genre (weight 0.01): Players acknowledge that the game celebrates the card roguelike genre rather than attempting to innovate or reinvent it, which might be a neutral observation for some.
- External links provided (weight 0.01): Some reviews included links to YouTube gameplay, which is not direct feedback on the game itself but an external resource.
- Uncertainty about later game (weight 0.01): Some players, particularly those early in their playthrough, express uncertainty about how later difficulties scale and are awaiting the full release to experience the main villain-boss.

Emotions:
- Satisfaction (weight 0.27): Players are highly satisfied with the game's exceptional art style, animations, and music, which create an immersive and beautiful experience. The strategic depth, balanced gameplay, diverse characters, and high replayability, particularly within the roguelike deck-builder genre, also contribute significantly to player enjoyment. Additionally, good technical performance, Steam Deck support, and overall game quality are frequently cited as sources of satisfaction.
- Frustration (weight 0.15): Frustration primarily stems from perceived balance issues, particularly with certain characters (like Alyosha and Vasilisa) and the extreme difficulty of specific bosses (especially Koschei and Vodyanoy). Players are also frustrated by high randomness in card and relic drops, slow combat speed, and a lack of strategic depth or control, which can make runs feel unfair or tedious. Technical issues like save file corruption and unclear card descriptions further contribute to this negative emotion.
- Disappointment (weight 0.14): Disappointment arises from the game's perceived lack of originality and depth, often compared unfavorably to Slay the Spire. Players express dissatisfaction with limited card variety, unengaging story presentation, and a lack of satisfying progression or build options. The game's price, coupled with a perceived lack of content, voice acting, and overall polish, also contributes to a feeling that the game does not live up to its potential or initial promise.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.1): Players enjoy the game for its fun and dynamic gameplay, engaging challenges, and unique take on the roguelike deck-builder genre. The rich lore, captivating art style, and immersive setting, often drawing from Slavic folklore, significantly enhance the overall experience. The addictiveness of the gameplay loop and the diversity of characters also contribute to a highly enjoyable experience.
- Excitement (weight 0.07): Excitement is generated by the game's high production value, particularly its art, music, and successful integration of Slavic lore. Players are excited by the game's potential for future content, new characters, and continued development, viewing it as a promising and highly recommended title within the deck-building roguelike genre. The engaging combat system and strategic depth also contribute to this anticipation.
- Appreciation (weight 0.05): Players appreciate the game's stunning art, animations, and narrative design, especially its unique interpretation of fairy tales and Slavic folklore. The visible efforts of the developers in improving balance, adding content, and providing ongoing support are also highly valued. The finely tuned experience, customizable difficulty, and overall quality of the game contribute to a strong sense of appreciation.
- Hope (weight 0.03): Hope is centered on the game's future development, with players desiring more heroes, cards, locations, and expanded mechanics. There is a strong desire for continued content updates, balance improvements, and localization into additional languages. Players hope for the game to reach its full potential and for the creation of more games with similar themes and quality.
- Engagement (weight 0.02): Players feel engaged by the game's challenging yet interesting gameplay, innovative card mechanics, and captivating choose-your-own-adventure storytelling. The immersive qualities of the art, animation, and soundtrack, combined with an addictive gameplay loop, cause players to lose track of time and become deeply engrossed in the experience.
- Anger (weight 0.02): Anger arises from perceived incompetence in game design, particularly regarding balance issues and unfair mechanics, especially with certain characters and bosses. Players express strong dissatisfaction with what they view as poor design choices, leading to accusations of developer incompetence and frustration that results in uninstallation.
- Joy (weight 0.01): Joy is experienced through the game's overall positive experience, often described as funny or a 'true fairy tale.' The pleasant gameplay, visuals, and animations contribute to a generally happy and positive sentiment, especially when the game complements other media or provides easy wins on lower difficulties.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Players are surprised by the game's quality, particularly its card gameplay, often exceeding low initial expectations or reigniting interest in the CCG genre. Many express surprise at enjoying a game in a genre they typically dislike, indicating an unexpected positive experience.
- Anticipation (weight 0.01): Anticipation is driven by the desire to see how developers expand the game's world, with a focus on future updates, new content, and the full release. Players look forward to more enjoyable playtime and potential additions like multiplayer, indicating a strong interest in the game's ongoing development.
- Boredom (weight 0.01): Boredom is caused by monotonous and repetitive gameplay, uninteresting combat, and unmemorable bosses. Players report losing interest after initial play, finding the game's action and mechanics to lack excitement and become tedious over time.
- Interest (weight 0.01): Players are interested in the game's unique concept, genre, and distinctive cultural flavor, particularly its interpretation of old fairy tales. The engaging gameplay and the potential for future development also capture player interest.
- Admiration (weight 0.01): Admiration is directed towards the game's legendary and gorgeous visual style, including its art, backgrounds, and character/monster designs. Players are particularly impressed by the excellent adaptation of fairy tale creatures and the overall visual component of the game.
- Curiosity (weight 0.01): Curiosity is sparked by the main quest, the game's genre, and a desire to understand specific character decks like Dobrynya's. Players are also curious about future content and the game's replayability, as well as anticipating the full release.
- Annoyance (weight 0): Annoyance stems from the perceived uselessness of many cards against the final boss, extreme swings in difficulty between one-shot encounters and tedious battles, and numerous small 'rough edges' in the game's design. Minor bugs causing unresponsiveness also contribute to this feeling.
- Concern (weight 0): Concern is raised regarding a potentially problematic symbol on a card, the power imbalance between different character classes, and the overall value for money. Some players also express concern about losing track of time while playing, indicating a potential for excessive engagement.
- Skepticism (weight 0): Skepticism is rooted in the game's initial price and the reputation of domestic game development. Players are skeptical about character lore and view the game as feeling like an alpha version that relies on the audience for balance, hoping its current state is temporary.
- Indifference (weight 0): Indifference is reported when players do not get hooked by the game, finding the overall game experience, characters, and abilities to be unengaging or unremarkable.}