Info about Across the Obelisk: Nenukil, the Engineer:

Official game description:
Nenukil, the Engineer is a Hero Pack that introduces a brand new Scout class character with a powerful gameplay mechanic and a unique dynamic skin. Unlock a pet with a potent debuff ability and discover untold tales of one of the heroes of The Obsidian Uprising.  
Nenukil, the Engineer Hero Pack contains:  
*   The Nenukil hero: a Scout-class dwarf character with an exclusive gameplay mechanic.  
*   An adaptable hero. Reach level 3 with Nenukil and choose between his Double Barrel or Mounted Cannon traits—focus on dealing damage or prioritize defense.  
*   A new type of dynamic character skin that changes in-game depending on whether you select Nenukil’s Double Barrel or Mounted Cannon abilities.  
*   Three additional skins in total for your new hero.  
*   Floaty, Nenukil’s trusty robot sidekick—a standalone pet that can remove enemies' Taunt and Powerful abilities.  
*   Three new themed card backs.  
*   Five emotes for swift co-op collaboration with your party.  
*   Custom replies for in-game events—learn more about Nenukil, his heroic deeds during the Obsidian Uprising and his deep friendship with Queen Amelia.
Bring all-new deckbuilding possibilities to the world of Senenthia with Nenukil, the Engineer.

Release date: May 15, 2024

Categories: Deckbuilder, Roguelike Deckbuilder, Card-based Combat, Character Progression, Cooperative Multiplayer, DLC

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 15; verdict: Fair / Traditional DLC; summary: The reviews discuss traditional DLC pricing/content ideas and the value of one DLC character. They do not contain direct evidence of predatory monetization such as real-money gacha, loot boxes, pay-to-win, currency obfuscation, or convenience items. Any concerns are limited to DLC pricing and subjective character quality.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $15.00 - $25.00
  - Reasoning: The reviews provide only indirect value signals. One reviewer says the game is worth picking up for players who enjoy it, while others criticize specific DLC characters as not worth the money. No review states a fair base-game price or compares the base game's cost with its content, so the estimate is broad and low-confidence. The positive conditional recommendation supports a moderate base-game price range rather than a premium one.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: N/A
  - Story completion: N/A
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The first quote mentions spending 'several hours' with Nenukil in M10 Obelisk Challenge, but it is vague and does not specify a completion time, story completion time, average session length, or total endgame duration in hours. The second quote uses 'countless hours' as an unspecific total playtime claim, which cannot be converted into a reliable numeric metric. The third quote describes learning the character but provides no hour count. Therefore, no playtime metric is sufficiently supported and all requested metrics are null.
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes:
  - Deck-Synergy Theorycrafter (sale)
    - Motivation: Optimizing card synergies and resource economy to make unconventional builds work.
    - Playstyle: Tests deck combinations, tank variants, and role fit before deciding whether a character is viable.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Challenge-Seeking Veteran (buy)
    - Motivation: Mastering difficult, puzzle-like characters and overcoming high skill floors.
    - Playstyle: Learns complex kits through repeated practice and seeks rewarding mastery.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Discerning DLC Value Skeptic (no buy)
    - Motivation: Getting coherent, fun DLC design and fair value for money.
    - Playstyle: Checks developer plans, role performance, and mechanic coherence before buying or recommending.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A


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:
- DLC character offers diverse playstyles (weight 0.62): The new character provides multiple unique build paths, including fast-stacking melee, mixed melee/ranged DPS, and tanky thorns/evasion setups. This versatility keeps gameplay fresh and rewarding.
- Interesting and rewarding character (weight 0.34): The DLC character is considered interesting, nuanced, and rewarding for those who master his mechanics. His learning curve is satisfying.
- Gun mechanics add design space (weight 0.29): The introduction of gun cards and shooting mechanics expands the game's design possibilities and is seen as a fun new direction. This innovation is appreciated by players.
- Strong builds with fortify thorns (weight 0.28): Builds utilizing fortify or thorns capstones scale very well and can be extremely powerful, even one-shotting enemies in early acts. This makes the character highly effective.
- Scout role well implemented (weight 0.26): The character excels as a scout with new mechanics, filling a needed niche and receiving positive attention. Scouts are finally getting the focus they deserve.
- Unique shooting mechanic fun (weight 0.2): The character's ability to shoot once per turn with cheaper ranged cards adds a fresh and enjoyable twist to combat. It brings a new dynamic to the game.
- Robot pet fills new niche (weight 0.2): The DLC includes a robot pet that is neat and adds a new strategic element. It is a welcomed addition to the game.
- Support off-tank viability (weight 0.18): The character can shine when played as a support or off-tank, providing utility and durability to the team. This role adds depth to team compositions.
- Engaging dialogue and world interaction (weight 0.17): The character has interesting dialogue options and the world interacts with him in unique ways, enhancing immersion. This adds to the overall experience.
- Character theme and concept liked (weight 0.17): The theme of the character is well-received, with a solid concept that resonates with players. The design is appealing.
- Character has potential (weight 0.16): The character has potential if explored further, indicating room for growth and development. Players see promise in the design.
- Mounted Cannon high damage (weight 0.11): Nenukil's best perk, Mounted Cannon, can output high damage with Blast, making it a key part of his kit. It is highly effective.
- Breath of fresh air (weight 0.1): The DLC character offers a new and enjoyable experience for existing players, providing a nice change of pace. It revitalizes the game for veterans.
- Decent early-to-mid game power (weight 0.09): The character has decent power in the early-to-mid game, making it viable for most of the campaign. It performs adequately.

Common complaints:
- Nenukil underpowered and weak (weight 0.81): Many reviewers state Nenukil is the worst hero, significantly weaker than other characters, with low damage output and poor performance across modes. He is described as underwhelming and not fun to play.
- Speed scaling mechanic flawed (weight 0.64): The speed-stacking build is difficult to pull off, requiring rare cards like Setup, and excess speed provides no benefit because the character cannot act multiple times per turn. Fast stacks disappear all at once, and Rocket Boots removes all Fast at the end of the turn, undermining the build.
- Overcomplicated and confusing design (weight 0.56): The character is overcomplicated, with a self-contradictory kit that feels like a weird mishmash. His mechanic is essentially a debuff, and his unique portions do not make up for it.
- Ranged attack restriction (weight 0.52): Despite being a Ranger class, the character can only play one ranged attack per turn, which undermines his innate energy cost reduction and makes his starting deck weak. This restriction is seen as counterintuitive and limits damage potential.
- Poor early game performance (weight 0.44): Nenukil is a late bloomer who performs very badly early on, with weak early gameplay and a ramp-up until level 3 that is not fun. His later level-up effects are integral to making builds work, which is problematic.
- Hard to learn and play (weight 0.41): The character is hard to play and manage, not suitable for players who dislike high skill floors. The character is tricky and may not be the most fun character.
- Damage output low late game (weight 0.36): In late-game boss fights, firepower drops significantly and it's hard to expect him to be a main damage dealer. There is a sudden vertical drop in damage inflation in the late game.
- Weak compared to other scouts (weight 0.34): Nenukil is worse at every aspect of being a rogue than the base game and other rogues, with no advantage in fire, bleed, thorn, or speed builds. There is no reason to take him over a scout like Sylvie or Gustav.
- Overpriced for content (weight 0.33): The character is overpriced, and it is annoying to pay for a single character given the large number of DLCs. The price is too high for the amount of content, and the character should have been free or included in the Obsidian pack.
- Lacks information and cards (weight 0.31): There is no information about the hero, which is bad on the dev part. There are fewer cards than characters, limiting deck variety, and the character is unusable unless a few more usable cards are added.
- Reload mechanic problematic (weight 0.3): The Reload status may be bugged or poorly designed, placing heavy restrictions on the deck early on and feeling counterintuitive. It contributes to the character's overall weakness.
- Not viable at max madness (weight 0.29): Reviewers note the character likely won't do well around max madness since only totally broken builds work there, and the two-cost reduction of ranged attacks isn't potent enough for high madness levels.
- Lacks team interaction (weight 0.29): The character entirely lacks meaningful interaction with the rest of the team due to his starting item and passive, and he is not fun in a 4-player game. His tank path leaves all teammates injured except himself.
- Item and equipment dependency (weight 0.29): The character is heavily equipment dependent, requiring maintaining his starting item in the armor slot, which prevents using better armor. His item is a burden even when upgraded.
- Energy and draw issues (weight 0.29): The damage method consumes considerable energy and requires good draw luck to reach theoretical high points. Energy generation is a problem for the speed build, and without a big ranged attack in hand at start of turn, potential is much less.
- Boring and not fun (weight 0.26): The new character is not fun, and the concept is interesting but everything is mediocre. The character is humorous in a negative way.
- Deck stacking and trimming issues (weight 0.2): Deck stacking leads to many unplayable cards, while deck trimming can result in turns with no attacks. This makes deck management difficult and contributes to the character's weakness.

Gameplay feedback:
- Nenukil's Reload mechanic (weight 0.64): Nenukil can only use one ranged attack per turn due to a Reload debuff, which limits his early game. This mechanic is central to his unique playstyle and requires careful deck building.
- Two main build paths (weight 0.56): The character can be built as a ranged damage dealer focusing on speed and explosive shots, or as a tank utilizing thorns and caltrops. Both paths have distinct perk trees and card synergies.
- Fast stacks disappear (weight 0.48): Fast stacks, which are crucial for speed builds, are lost at the start of the turn or when using Rocket Boots. This creates a cyclical gameplay where players must reapply them each turn.
- Thorns tank build (weight 0.48): A defensive build centered on Thorns and counterattacks is viable, often using Caltrops, Stoneskin, and Proximity Mines. It requires specific items and works well with certain teammates.
- Scout class with new mechanics (weight 0.47): Nenukil is a scout class with unique gun and reload mechanics, adding a new dimension to the game. The DLC also introduces a robot pet and new tools.
- Ranged attack cost reduction (weight 0.29): Ranged cards in hand cost 2 less energy at the start of the turn, enabling heavy ranged attacks. This reduction synergizes with cards like Double Barrel and Mounted Cannon.
- Vanish and Blast synergy (weight 0.28): Stacking Vanish cards improves Blast! cards drawn when playing defense, creating a powerful combo. This synergy is key to the right-side build path.
- Mounted Cannon card (weight 0.28): Mounted Cannon deals Blunt and Fire damage based on the number of cards in the vanish pile when spending energy on a defense card. It is a core card for the defensive build.
- Perk tree left/right (weight 0.28): The perk tree splits into left and right sides: left focuses on damage and speed with sprint cards, while right emphasizes thorns and defense.
- Support and off-tank role (weight 0.26): The character can be built as a support/off-tank using Proximity Mines and Thorns to aid teammates. This playstyle focuses on utility and damage mitigation.
- Multiple viable builds (weight 0.21): The character has at least three different working builds that can out-DPS the entire team, offering diverse playstyles. This versatility makes him a strong addition.
- Double Barrel allows extra attack (weight 0.2): Double Barrel permits two ranged attacks per turn with fury/fast charges, bypassing the Reload restriction. This card is essential for ranged damage builds.
- Starting deck is weak (weight 0.2): The starting deck is considered trash, making early game challenging. Players must rely on perks and level-ups to become effective.
- Limited block cards (weight 0.2): The scout has limited block cards such as Stoneskin, Feint, Parry, and Deflect, which may hinder defensive capabilities. This restriction affects build diversity.
- Proximity Mine restrictions (weight 0.18): Proximity Mine is restricted to two uses and incentivizes avoiding damage. It can be placed on other characters like Cornelius or Bree.
- Exoskeleton and Repair Kits (weight 0.18): Exoskeleton refunds energy and adds fortify charges, while Repair Kits provide random health recovery and regen. These cards support tanking builds.
- Fast and Furious melee buff (weight 0.11): Fast and Furious lasts for six melee attacks and grants fury charges, enhancing melee capabilities. It synergizes with speed builds.
- Greased Gears damage boost (weight 0.11): Greased Gears provides a 20% damage increase and transforms fast charges into +1 damage. This perk boosts overall damage output.

Performance notes:
No performancepoints

Recommendations:
- New hero widely not recommended (weight 0.7): Many reviewers explicitly advise against buying or picking up the new hero or DLC. Common reasons include poor performance, lack of viability, and feeling not worth the price.
- Conditional recommendation for fun (weight 0.52): While performance is criticized, some reviewers recommend the hero for fun or for players seeking a fresh experience. Others suggest waiting for a sale.
- Hero needs buffs and reworks (weight 0.42): Reviewers request significant buffs, reworks, or revamps to make the character viable. Suggestions include dual-class options, easier speed-stacking, and more usable cards.
- Not versatile, best as support (weight 0.26): The hero is seen as niche and not versatile, performing better as a support or off-tank rather than a DPS. Reviewers suggest alternative characters like Sylvie or Gustav.
- High skill floor deters new players (weight 0.12): The character is not recommended for newcomers due to a high skill floor. Reviewers warn that it requires significant effort to learn.
- Refund requested (weight 0.1): At least one reviewer explicitly requested a refund for the character or DLC purchase.
- DLC worth the price (weight 0.1): Some reviewers find the DLC great and worth the price, especially for those who enjoy the game.
- Positive after edit (weight 0.09): One reviewer changed their evaluation to positive after editing, indicating an overall recommendation.

Other player notes:
- Character weaker than other DLCs (weight 0.37): Reviewers compare the character unfavorably to other DLC characters such as Yogg, Amelia, Gustave, and two holy-dark female knights. These alternatives are considered to offer more options and synergy.
- Character DLC monetization concerns (weight 0.34): Players criticize the game's extensive DLC model, particularly selling individual characters as separate purchases. This approach is seen as fragmenting content and potentially over-monetizing the roster.
- Developer refuses character rework (weight 0.21): The lead developer has confirmed that the character will not be reworked despite player feedback. This indicates a firm stance on the character's current design and balance.
- Character lacks potency and options (weight 0.21): The character is seen as lacking potency compared to other scouts and rogues in the base game. Players feel it brings fewer viable options and less synergy to the team.
- DLC price versus content value (weight 0.2): Reviewers question whether the character DLC justifies its price relative to the content offered. The inclusion of a new pet, skins, and perks is noted but may not fully address value concerns.
- Extensive testing at madness 3 (weight 0.09): One reviewer conducted five full runs at madness 3 difficulty, indicating thorough evaluation. This testing depth lends credibility to their balance feedback.

Emotions:
- Disappointment (weight 0.29): Players find the hero's build options limited and inferior to other heroes, with viable paths being boring or ineffective at high difficulties. The character's damage falls off late and is mediocre overall, and the speed stat provides no benefit because extra actions per turn are not possible. Many describe the hero as underwhelming, not fun, and a letdown compared to other DLC, with underdeveloped gun mechanics and low damage.
- Frustration (weight 0.27): The Reload status is bugged or makes the hero feel bad, and the innate ability is wasted due to the one-ranged-attack-per-turn limit and deck management issues. Energy and draw problems make builds difficult, while the boots and reloading mechanics are poorly designed. Monster binding effects counter the speed-based character, and reload restricts the deck too much early on.
- Dissatisfaction (weight 0.12): The character is worse than other rogues and his mechanic acts as a debuff, with a poor starting deck and unusability without more cards. The price is not justified by the amount of content, leading some to feel the production team does not know how to make DLC. A gun-slinging dwarf receiving bow cards instead of enough gun cards adds to the dissatisfaction.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.08): The character performs very well at madness 10-12 and offers a different, enjoyable playstyle that is rewarding to learn with interesting builds. The defensive setup with Thorns and fire damage feels very good to players.
- Amusement (weight 0.04): The unique concept and fun playstyle entertain players, even though the character is overcomplicated.
- Underwhelmed (weight 0.04): The tanking build on a scout feels redundant, and the kit is confused with a hampered speed build.
- Annoyance (weight 0.02): Players are annoyed by having to pay for a single character among many DLCs.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.02): Nenukil's unique mechanic and fresh playstyle provide enjoyment.
- Cautious satisfaction (weight 0.02): The character performed well after being played in an unusual way, leading to cautious satisfaction.
- Regret (weight 0.02): The reviewer questions why they bought the character.
- Confusion (weight 0.02): The build direction for the character is unclear.
- Hope (weight 0.02): The character has potential and could be improved with tweaks.
- Appreciation (weight 0.02): The character has fun dialogue and world interactions.
- Admiration (weight 0.02): The team keeps making amazing and unique characters.}