Info about Shards of Order:

Official game description:
Shards of Order - Supporter Edition
===================================
**Shards of Order – Supporter Edition** is the ultimate way to experience the game and support its creators. This bundle includes the full game and the Supporter's Pack, filled with digital extras for those who want to dive even deeper into the shattered world.
**Shards of Order (base game)**
A grim, dark fantasy RPG with card-based combat, set in a decaying world where nothing stays dead. Lead a party of survivors, restore the shattered Laws that once governed existence, and reshape the rules of the game—but be ready to face the consequences.
**Supporter's Pack**  
Additional digital content, accessible in-game only:
*   **Game Soundtrack** – the original score composed to match the game's grim, atmospheric tone, alongside licensed tracks by Dzivia, full of epic tones and choral voices.
*   **Game Artbook** – a collection of hand-crafted concept art and illustrations that shaped the dark fantasy vibe of the game, from character designs to key locations.
*   **Print-and-Play Tarot Cards** – a set of arcana cards steeped in magic and mystery, ready to print and use for your own divinations. Or just to display. Your call.
*   **Digital Treasure Map** – for those who aren't just restoring the Order, but also chasing treasures along the way.
About the Game
==============
**Shards of Order** is a **dark fantasy RPG** that throws out the rulebook for deckbuilding & card-based combat. There are **no turns** and **no mana** points. Every enemy acts on a visible countdown, and every card you play winds those counters down, shifting the whole flow of the fight. Time is your most valuable resource. Misjudge, and your team is sure to crumble.  
Master the art of shared deckbuilding; there are three heroes, but only one set of cards. Every card you add affects the drawing odds. Will you build around one main hero and stack the deck in their favor, or spread the strength across the whole party and keep everyone in the fight?  
Reality is coming apart. The ancient Laws that once held life, death, and time in place have been stolen or shattered. What’s left is a world where identity fractures and the dead refuse to stay buried. A handful of survivors set out to put it back together, one broken Law at a time. You’re their leader, and restoring Order is up to you – If you find it worth saving.  
Play as three distinct characters, each with multiple playstyles, their own skill trees, and a personal arc. This is a full RPG underneath the cards: level up, customize equipment, make dialogue choices, and pass skill checks. Weapons and armor aren't just stat sticks. They define each hero's playstyle and can even inject unique cards straight into your shared deck, so every gear decision is also a deckbuilding decision. Layer the right gear across all three and your party starts working like one organism.  
The time counter system is the heart of combat in Shards of Order. Each enemy shows exactly when it will act next, and each card you play pushes those moments closer or further away. You're not reacting turn by turn, but rather managing a clock for your entire party at once. One mistimed card can unravel the whole fight, so every move is a calculation. Three unique regions and a roster of handcrafted boss fights will push your time mastery to the limit.  
As you scavenge a dying world, you recover the lost Laws that once governed it. But restoration comes at a cost. Each Law you bring back draws the eye of the all-seeing God a little closer. In your darkest moments, they will offer a helping hand, and you're free to take it. But be warned: they are known for their mischief…  
Now, embark on this journey through ruin, where every decision leaves a scar, and every scar becomes part of your story.
**There is no more Order. Only what you are strong enough to bring back.**

Release date: Jul 28, 2026

Categories: Deckbuilding, RPG, Dark Fantasy, Card-based Gameplay, Party-based Combat, Turn-based Combat, Single-player Story


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $10.00 - $15.00
  - Reasoning: The community evidence strongly suggests that the current base price (not explicitly given) is considered very fair. One review highlights '$10' as a steal, while others emphasize the game offers excellent value for its price. The consensus points to a range where $10 is the lower bound (very affordable) and $15 is a reasonable upper bound, as anything above might reduce the perceived value based on the enthusiastic language used.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 10.0h
  - Story completion: N/A
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The first quote directly states a typical completion time of 10 hours for the game. The second quote from a pre-release streamer indicates they streamed 14 hours, likely covering the entire game. Both suggest the game can be completed within this range, with 10 hours being the more general estimate. No evidence supports story-only completion, session length, or endgame hours.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game’s time-to-fun profile shows mixed early reactions: some players enjoy it immediately, but others experience friction from the progression system and a slow tutorial area before the game becomes engaging. The anchor for later enjoyment is likely completing the tutorial area.
  - Stance: Clicks after
  - Anchor: Completing the tutorial area
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: fighting progression system; lack of long-term progression; slow start in tutorial area
  - Unlock drivers: progression system accessible (death not mandatory); post-tutorial content
  - Conditions: preference for non-rogue-lite progression; tolerance for slow start in tutorial area; enjoyment of card-based combat; expectation of long-term progression
- Player Archetypes:
  - Deckbuilding Campaigner (buy)
    - Motivation: To enjoy a deckbuilding experience with RPG progression and a completable campaign that is not a roguelike.
    - Playstyle: Strategically builds and manages a deck across a narrative campaign, making tactical card battle choices with a party of characters.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales; Slay the Spire
  - Atmosphere Seeker (buy)
    - Motivation: To be drawn into a mysterious, horror-filled world with strong atmospheric presentation and storytelling.
    - Playstyle: Explores the dark story, immerses in the eldritch horror atmosphere, and appreciates the visual art and music.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: Darkest Dungeon; Dark Souls


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:
- Epic music and sound (weight 0.58): The soundtrack and sound design are epic, dark, and haunting, perfectly fitting the atmosphere and enhancing the experience.
- Dark atmospheric setting (weight 0.58): The dark fantasy, grimdark world and atmosphere are consistently praised for their immersive and cohesive aesthetic.
- Great value for price (weight 0.54): Players consistently praise the game's low price ($10) and excellent price-to-quality ratio, noting it offers great value and content.
- Amazing art and visuals (weight 0.53): The art style, hand-drawn environments, and animations receive high praise for being beautiful and fitting the dark fantasy mood.
- Deep customization options (weight 0.49): RPG elements include significant customization through gear, skill trees, and development choices that impact playstyle.
- Excellent card combat (weight 0.48): Card-driven combat is praised for its strategic depth, synergies, and well-thought-out system that flows nicely.
- RPG deckbuilder hybrid (weight 0.45): The game blends story-driven exploration and RPG elements with card-based combat, offering a fresh take on both genres.
- Intriguing narrative and story (weight 0.43): The game features a strong, mysterious story with intriguing lore and quests that engage players, often compared to Thronebreaker.
- Innovative time mechanic (weight 0.42): The time-based action system, where cards affect enemy turn timers, is a fresh and strategic twist that players enjoy.
- Great deckbuilding mechanics (weight 0.41): The deckbuilding system is simple yet engaging, blending card mechanics with RPG elements for satisfying depth without overwhelming players.
- Challenging demanding combat (weight 0.39): Combat is challenging and brutal, requiring strategy and patience, but rewarding for players seeking a tough experience.
- Fun innovative gameplay (weight 0.33): The card game is fun and innovative, with upgrades and a unique combat flow that keeps gameplay engaging.
- Party synergy system (weight 0.3): A three-character party system with synergies and fluid UX/animation adds depth and polish to the experience.
- Art and music synergy (weight 0.26): Music and art style complement each other seamlessly, creating a unified and memorable presentation.
- Story comparisons to classics (weight 0.26): The narrative and choices evoke strong similarities to Thronebreaker and Darkest Dungeon, praising the writing and lore.
- Choices and dialogue depth (weight 0.25): Dialogues have a Disco Elysium-esque quality with humor, and choices lead to exclusive rewards like unique cards.
- Anti-roguelike design (weight 0.25): The game is not a roguelike, with no death penalties, appealing to players who dislike traditional roguelikes.

Common complaints:
- Revive system too punishing (weight 0.2): The revive mechanic is excessively harsh, requiring six health per player when someone dies, which makes recovery feel nearly impossible and severely punishes mistakes.
- No long-term progression (weight 0.2): There is no sense of long-term progression or meta-progression, which combined with limited content leads to very low replayability.
- Forced specific builds (weight 0.2): Players are forced to use specific builds to defeat bosses, restricting creative or preferred playstyles and making experimentation unrewarding.
- Fonts and UI too small (weight 0.19): Fonts and UI elements are too small to read comfortably, and the overall interface is simplistic and in need of improvement for better usability.
- Excessive backtracking (weight 0.19): The game forces excessive backtracking without providing clues for progression, leading to aimless wandering and frustration.
- Death resets all progress (weight 0.12): Death resets all progress, and defeated enemies grant no experience, which negates any sense of advancement and encourages repetitive grinding.
- Difficulty outpaces upgrades (weight 0.12): Progression is hindered because starting cards are weak, enemy difficulty scales upward while upgrades remain stagnant, making growth feel unrewarding.
- Crippled status display bug (weight 0.12): A bug prevents the crippled status effect from being visually displayed on wounded characters, making it unclear which units are affected and leading to tactical confusion.
- Grinding feels punishing (weight 0.12): The grind required to overcome challenges feels punishing rather than satisfying, as rewards are scarce and efforts feel futile.
- Success relies on luck (weight 0.12): Success in battle often depends on luck rather than strategy, as card draw randomness or enemy behavior can make or break fights inconsistently.
- Needs balance tweaks (weight 0.12): The game requires substantial balance tweaks because it is excessively difficult, often overwhelming players even with proper strategy.
- No card quality guidance (weight 0.11): The game offers no guidance to help players evaluate which cards are effective or weak, leaving beginners to rely on trial and error without clear feedback.
- Enemies don't respawn (weight 0.11): Enemies do not respawn after checkpoints, which prevents players from farming experience or cards and forces linear progress through scarce resources.
- Puzzles have no hints (weight 0.11): Some puzzles lack any hints or clues, forcing players to guess randomly and causing frustration when solutions are not intuitive.
- Lacks detailed settings (weight 0.1): The game lacks comprehensive settings options, such as graphics, audio, or control customization, which limits player personalization and accessibility.
- Missing fast-forward mode (weight 0.1): There is no speed-up or fast-forward mode, making repetitive or slow sections tedious and reducing the pacing options for players who prefer faster gameplay.
- Good story but clunky (weight 0.1): The story and translation are considered good in content but clunky in delivery, undermining immersion despite the quality narrative.
- No voiceover reading heavy (weight 0.1): There is no voiceover, requiring players to read extensive text, which can be tiring and reduces accessibility for those who prefer audio cues.

Gameplay feedback:
- Deckbuilding with RPG elements (weight 0.61): The game is primarily a deck-building card game with significant RPG elements, distinguishing it from pure roguelikes. Players build and customize a deck over the course of the game, with progression and story integration.
- Card-based turn-based combat (weight 0.48): Combat is card-based and turn-based, featuring a unique flow with mechanics like time resources, tarot card choices, and puzzle-like encounters. This creates a strategic and distinct combat experience.
- Not a roguelike RPG (weight 0.41): The game is explicitly not a roguelike or roguelite, but rather an RPG with story-driven progression and no loss on death. It focuses on narrative and character development over permadeath mechanics.
- Party-based hero synergies (weight 0.4): The game features a party-based system with three heroes whose abilities synergize. Class-based card synergies and a shielding mechanic that carries over between turns require strategic team management.
- Time-based shield carryover (weight 0.39): Combat incorporates a time-based resource system where shields and other effects carry over between turns. This unique mechanic influences strategic decisions and battle flow.
- Skill tree card progression (weight 0.34): Progression is tied to a skill tree that unlocks new cards, with card power increasing through leveling. This allows for strategic growth and customization of the deck over time.
- RPG gear and leveling (weight 0.33): The game includes traditional RPG elements like gear choices, equipment that synergizes with card builds, experience points, leveling, and quests. Build customization is a core feature.
- Choice-based card acquisition (weight 0.19): Players make choices that impact card acquisition and story outcomes, with a focus on choice and consequence. This adds replayability and narrative depth beyond typical deckbuilders.
- Slavic-inspired boss music (weight 0.19): The music is a notable feature, especially the first boss fight theme with Slavic motifs. Sound design enhances the dark fantasy atmosphere and emotional impact.
- Tutorial area with puzzles (weight 0.18): The first stage acts as a tutorial area, introducing puzzle and boss encounters. This helps players learn game mechanics gradually.
- Right deck required (weight 0.18): Players need to find the right deck to succeed, indicating strategic depth and difficulty balance. Deckbuilding skill is crucial for progression.
- Mystery-driven narrative (weight 0.16): The story is mysterious and mystery-driven, encouraging players to uncover lore through gameplay. Narrative depth is a key selling point.
- Revive mechanic included (weight 0.1): A revive mechanic is present, likely allowing players to recover fallen heroes. This softens the difficulty and aligns with the non-roguelike design.
- Distinct monster design (weight 0.1): Monster design is a highlighted aspect, contributing to the dark fantasy horror theme. Creatures are visually distinct and fit the game's atmosphere.
- Distinct characters (weight 0.1): Characters are distinct, each with unique abilities and roles. This enhances party management and strategic variety.
- Card game with RPG (weight 0.1): The game is described as a card game with RPG elements, reinforcing its hybrid genre identity. It appeals to fans of both genres.
- Hand-drawn level art (weight 0.1): Levels are hand-drawn, giving the game a unique visual style. Art direction is praised for its aesthetic quality.
- Interactive book style (weight 0.1): The game is described as a strategy game with heavy text and an interactive book style, emphasizing narrative and player choice over action.

Performance notes:
No performancepoints

Recommendations:
- Highly recommended by many (weight 0.99): A large number of reviews give strong recommendations, calling it a no-brainer buy, a steal for the price, and a 9/10 or 100% recommend. The game is praised for its value and overall quality.
- Perfect for deckbuilding fans (weight 0.55): Multiple reviews highlight that the game is a must-buy for fans of deckbuilders and RPGs, comparing it favorably to titles like Thronebreaker and emphasizing its RPG elements and card battler mechanics.
- Difficulty can be punishing (weight 0.19): A few reviews note that the game has punishing difficulty, which may frustrate players, with one reviewer feeling they were fighting the progression system rather than enjoying the game.
- Artistic and replayable (weight 0.18): One review calls the game a work of art, and another highlights great replay value with multiple deck builds, indicating high artistic and replayability qualities.
- Best when mentally fresh (weight 0.16): Two reviews suggest the game is best played when mentally fresh and focused due to heavy text, and is not recommended when tired.
- Friendly to roguelike haters (weight 0.1): One review recommends the game for players who dislike roguelikes because there is no mandatory death penalty, allowing for a more forgiving experience.
- Satisfying to complete (weight 0.09): One review recommends the game for players who want to actually complete a game, suggesting it has a satisfying finish.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Excitement (weight 0.19): Players are excited by the engaging card-based combat, challenging bosses, and strategic depth. The improvement over the demo, combined with an amazing soundtrack and beautiful art, has hooked them from the start.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.19): Satisfaction stems from the strong RPG and deckbuilding integration, compelling story, and significant improvements from the demo. The great price-to-quality ratio and rich content leave players feeling fulfilled.
- Admiration (weight 0.13): Admiration arises from the creators' excellent work, including a top-notch grimdark theme, incredible soundtrack, and fluid UX. The team interactivity enhances the overall experience.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.06): Enjoyment is driven by the unique combat flow, RPG customization, and sick art and music. The time system adds to the gameplay's appeal.
- Frustration (weight 0.06): Frustration results from the jarring combat with unclear enemy plans and puzzles that lack hints, forcing players to guess. This creates confusion and disrupts the experience.
- Disappointment (weight 0.06): Disappointment comes from excessive backtracking, lack of guidance, and equipment that feels underwhelming. These issues detract from the overall flow.
- Curiosity (weight 0.03): Curiosity is sparked by the mystery of the player's identity and location, with clues fed gradually throughout the game. This narrative hook keeps players engaged.
- Stress (weight 0.03): Stress is caused by unorganized design and feeling disoriented, making navigation and gameplay feel chaotic. This undermines the player's sense of control.
- Dislike (weight 0.03): Dislike arises from the relentlessly dark setting, which some players find oppressive or monotonous. This overshadows other game elements.
- Slight disappointment (weight 0.03): Slight disappointment is due to the simple UI that could use improvement, as it feels less polished compared to other aspects of the game.
- Surprise (weight 0.03): Surprise comes from enjoying a card game despite not usually playing them, indicating that the gameplay has broad appeal and exceeding expectations.
- Approval (weight 0.03): Approval stems from the fair price combined with good quality, making players feel they received value for their money.
- Overall enjoyment (weight 0.03): Overall enjoyment reflects positive feelings after finishing the game, with a sense of a satisfying journey and memorable moments.
- Joy (weight 0.03): Joy comes from the anti-roguelike design that removes penalties for death, allowing players to explore freely without fear of losing progress.
- Boredom (weight 0.03): Boredom occurs when heavy text is encountered while tired, leading to a loss of focus and engagement. This pacing issue can cause disinterest.
- Desire (weight 0.03): Desire is expressed as hope for future installments to continue the journey, indicating that players are invested in the world and want more content.}