Crash The Core

It's a long, long time since £3.00 brought me such joy. I do like rogue-like card-battlers obviously, but have found myself growing increasingly bored with them and, amazing as some of the added layers and complexity of so many games that have turned up since Monster Slayers and Slay The Spire can be, the genre has become a bit stale. That simple addictive loop that made those games great is, for me, perhaps becoming too buried under a pile of clever and creative stuff that in the end sometimes detracts from the purity of the experience. It's a trade off, of course and I think Griftlands, Tainted Grail et al are fabulous. But this bargain-priced unashamed STS clone is actually surprisingly engaging, addictive, highly playable and a wonderfully serene experience that put a smile on my face. I expected, given the low price point, to tire of it quickly, maybe even refund it in disgust, boredom or apathy after 20 minutes of what i assumed would probably be at best a mediocre game. 3 hours later of non-stop play, I stand corrected. It's great, it really is. It has this lovely home-brewed charm, doesn't over-complicate things and never forgets what it is. The mechanics have so much focus and coherence and there has obviously been so much love, careful consideration and dedication put into it by it's creator, who is, I believe, a one-man band. And much as it's strength lies in the distillation of the purest essence of that classic deck-building rogue-like, it does bring some new stuff to the table and effectively steals other elements from some of it's more expensive peers, whilst still managing to keep the mechanics graceful, simple yet with room for complex strategy and different builds etc. there's a ton of meta-prog unlockables, a surprising amount of enemies and bosses and lots of little twists on classic genre game-play that just make the whole thing a delight for anyone who enjoys this type of game. The graphics and music reflect the game perfectly: Rustic, warm, cute and weird by turns, conjuring up a rose tinted atmosphere of a period in gaming where share-ware was king, whilst having enough modernity to come across like a game crafted in an alternate future where the solo bedroom game programmer cottage-industry was never marginalised by market forces and predatory business models and instead continued on in all it's low-budget, high-obsession glory. Another reviewer here said that it was nothing ground-breaking and that is probably true. However, it's just a really good, really fun, charming and coherent little card-battler with some excellent synergies and a lot of heart. I love the minion system, the gadget system and the way it does so much whilst appearing so simple. It isn't perfect and i wouldnt wan't it to be, but it has reminded me exactly why i play computer games and for that I can't praise the dev enough. Criminally under-priced and so much really chilled-out fun, it's worth £3 of anybodies money and what's more , I get the weird feeling that this guy is one to watch.

[h1] АВТОСТОПОМ ПО ПЛАНЕТАМ [/h1] [code] [b] Crash The Core [/b] - карточная игра от разработчика Honest Rogue Games, изданная ими же. Игра вышла в ноябре 2021 года и на данный момент игра имеет чуть менее 50 отзывов, 69% положительных, что в сумме дает игре "смешанный" рейтинг. Стоит ли играть и кому подобное может понравиться - рассмотрим ниже. [/code] [u] [b] ๑۩۩๑ СЮЖЕТ ๑۩۩๑ [/b] [/u] Согласно концепции основной истории, у каждой планеты в нашей Вселенной имеется ядро, которым управляет искусственный интеллект. Каждое ядро надежно спрятано и охраняется, но, заполучив доступ к нему, любой злоумышленник сможет делать с планетой просто невообразимые вещи, перестраивая саму структуру небесного тела. И вот, именно такая идея и пришла как-то банде местных плохих ребят. Играть в Crash The Core нам предстоит от лица представителя местной "галактической полиции". Наша задача - раскрутить ячейку космической мафии, переходя от мелких сошек до серьезных главарей, до тех пор, пока не выйдем на самого главного организатора и не устраним его. Вообще, игра по части атмосферы позиционирует себя как научно-фантастическая, однако по факту здесь скорее обычное фэнтези, в которое добавили немного элементов из высоких технологий. Поэтому, если боитесь темы космоса - Crash The Core использует эту тематику чисто номинально. [u] [b] ๑۩۩๑ ГЕЙМПЛЕЙ ๑۩۩๑ [/b] [/u] С точки зрения жанра Crash The Core представляет собой типичный карточный баттлер с элементами rogue-like. Командование отправляет Вас в рейд на очередную планету, где Вы перемещаетесь с одного места на другое, сражаясь с противниками и пополняя запасы. В случае проигрыша - игру придется начинать с самого начала. В самом начале стартовое меню предлагает нам выбрать специализацию героя (мало на что влияет, и не особо помогает в бою), а также настроить начальную колоду карт. Имейте в виду, что от карт из базового набора в дальнейшем отказаться будет никак нельзя, поэтому подбирайте себе все с умом. Лично я старался поменьше нагружать колоду стартовыми существами - они не особо сильны, и не имеют никаких особенностей, в то время как в процессе игры Вам попадется куда больше интересных товарищей. Настроив колоду и специализацию, мы попадаем в свой первый рейд. Игра услужливо подсовывает нам на выбор одно из трех возможных сражений, примерно описывая, какой тактики будет придерживаться предполагаемый враг. Кто-то будет играть от усиления атак, кто-то, напротив, начнет со старта закидывать себя броней, иные будут пускаться в более изощренные тактики, ослабляя Вашего героя или закидывая ему в колоду кучу бесполезного мусора - и под каждого такого индивида придется искать свой подход. Бои происходят в режиме стандартной ККИ-партии: у игрока на руке имеется набор из нескольких карт своей колоды, которыми он может воспользоваться в зависимости от запасов маны. Примечательно, что любой враг имеет определенный алгоритм ходов, и будет предупреждать о своих намерениях заранее, так что у нас всегда будет как минимум один ход на подготовку. Впрочем, это едва ли так уж сильно облегчит Вам партии. Все карты в игре можно условно поделить на атакующие (нанесение прямого урона), защитные (увеличение запасов брони, сокращающей урон), вспомогательные (лечение, добор и иные радости), а также существа и механизмы. Игрок получает возможность добавить новую карту в колоду после каждой победы над противником, однако хорошо подумайте, прежде чем раздувать деку до больших размеров. За каждую победу игрок, само-собой, получает опыт и некоторое количество золотых монет. В перерывах между битвами с противником у нас будет возможность посетить одно из "полезных мест" - таверну (восполняет здоровье и улучшает мощь базовых карт), кузницу (продает новые карты и артефакты на усиление колоды) и штаб (по большей части, полезен для пополнения запаса золота). Также периодически могут встретиться островки, на которых выдают разовую полезную карту, и места со случайными событиями, способными как улучшить, так и навредить Вашему герою. Игра считается пройденной, когда все три основных босса рейда будут устранены. [u] [b] ๑۩۩๑ ПРОЧЕЕ ๑۩۩๑ [/b] [/u] Графически Crash The Core выглядит достаточно приятно, и играется соответственно. Музыка также неплоха, хотя в ней определенно не хватает эпичности. Имеется набор достижений Steam, сводящихся по сути к прохождению игры на разных типах сложности. Русского языка в наличии нет, но если играли в карточные баттлеры ранее - разберетесь без особых сложностей. [u]Полезные советы:[/u] 1) Какую бы колоду Вы ни собирали, помните, что самое главное - это не эпические карты убийства всего живого, а возможность вовремя достать из колоды то, что поможет обхитрить того или иного врага. Иными словами - прежде всего, следите за добором. 2) Picky Prince - определенно лучшая карта в игре для абсолютно любой колоды. Берите не задумываясь, этот парень вытащит Вас из любого дeрьма. 3) Если чувствуете, что партия не задалась, но колода при этом собрана хорошая, и переигрывать с нуля нет никакого желания - выйдите в главное меню, а затем нажмите "продолжить партию". Таким образом, Вы сможете еще раз переиграть неудачный бой. [u] [b] ๑۩۩๑ ПЛЮСЫ И МИНУСЫ ๑۩۩๑ [/b] [/u] + Занятный карточный баттлер с элементами rogue-like + Разнообразие карт и противников + Несколько уровней сложности + Приятная рисовка и ненавязчивая музыка + Адекватный ценник и частые скидки + Набор достижений Steam - Нет русского языка - Специальности у героя одна бесполезнее другой [u] [b] ๑۩۩๑ СТОИТ ЛИ ИГРАТЬ? ๑۩۩๑ [/b] [/u] За 11 часов прохождения Crash The Core мне удалось выбить 100% достижений и полностью опробовать весь интересующий меня арсенал на разных уровнях сложности. Игра приятная, правила легко схватываются на лету, а элемент случайности лишь добавляет перчинки каждому рейду. В целом, весьма неплохо, и вполне может прийтись по душе любителям карточных баттлеров. [code] Ищете интересные игры, но боитесь выбрать то, что не понравится? Вступайте в [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/bythefireplace] Таверну "У камина" [/url] и подписывайтесь на [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/39473538/] страничку куратора. [/url] Выберем правильные игры вместе! [/code]

It's nothing revolutionary, but it definitely has its heart in the right place. I had a good time playing, and especially enjoyed it considering the price. If you're a fan of roguelike deckbuilders, this'll familiar but fun. The Summon and Item system makes for some interesting synergies. Just be wary of some annoying bugs and balance issues, which may or may not get patched out by the time writing this. Again, nothing phenomenal but pretty alright considering it's their first game.

I liked the look of this game from the screenshots and enjoy deckbuilding card battlers. So I gave this a shot. I requested a refund within 20 minutes. It seems very much like an asset-flip game. There doesn't seem to be any consistency in the artwork nor is there an overall game theme. Some of these assets clash stylistically. A guy in a space suit is battling an orc against a medieval background. The themes are all over the place. There is no UI to speak of. It's just text blocks to navigate and many tooltips just pop up as square blocks of text. There are numerous spelling and grammar errors and the scripted elements need a good copy editor to provide consistency and clarity. There are clashing sounds effects and some don't seem to volume leveled properly. Some voices I can understand clearly and some I can hardly hear. The voice-acting is bad and should be dropped until a professional talent can be used. Worst of all, there is no in-game exit or quit button that I could find. I guess you have to die and return to the main menu to quit? I killed the process manually through task manager. This is a very amateurish effort and should be on itch.io for free, not on Steam for money.

A wonderful little rogue lite and deck building game. The UI is fairly basic but the mechanics are great which is bigger deal to me than shiny UI. I like the monster art and it in just the few days I've been playing the publisher has updated it, and fixed some things/issues. I believe it is a tiny or even one person maker of the game. So given the great mechanics and publisher seems to be wanting to make improvements, IMO it is by far worth the price! I always want to support small/indie developers, and this game so far been great fun!

The mechanic to build your own starter deck is kinda cool, they aren't wrong there. Unfortunately, no other aspect of the game is difficult or complex enough to warrant such an intricate mechanic. The number of different combats is insanely low, the number of random events even lower. The "non combat" nodes come up in such a predictable pattern that its just plain silly... The cards don't feel varied enough to be interesting, largely due to the costs being such that they end up being the same beyond being incentived to use all your energy exactly... but how is pretty irrelevant. With a few exceptions, the difference between doing 3 cards totalling 10 or 1 big card is minimal in terms of actual play. The enemy attack patterns are fixed, and most enemies follow the same damn pattern, the only difference being what buffs they use on the buff part of their cycle. All in all, this feels like the start of a game with a cool mechanic idea and lacking depth you'd expect from early access... not a rich finished game you'd expect to be presented as finished. It just lacks any depth, hoping the "build your own starter" will make you forget that you already saw every enemy on your first 2 play throughs, and that there are so few actual cards to choose from. If I hadn't fallen asleep and left it open after my first playthrough i'd be refunding it. The game is a good idea lost in the complete lack of effort in variety and depth.

Honestly, this game is too easy. But, more importantly, there's no option to save and quit. I ended up getting myself killed just to keep progress, but then I realized... this wouldn't be a one-time issue. Just play Slay the Spire instead. Yes, this game has interesting systems, but they just aren't well implimented.

Feels like Early Access, as there's a lot of bugs. I tried this out specifically for its co-op selling point, and while it technically works, it also feels tacked-on. Player 2's cursor (controlled with a keyboard) cannot do a lot of the things Player 1's cursor can, such as highlighting many of the tooltips not specific to P2's deck of cards. Incoming damage for P2 is often calculated incorrectly (I suspect some sources of damage for P1 is being duplicated to P2 incorrectly). Card descriptions are sometimes misleading ("do X damage to yourself" on a Summon refers to the player's HP and pierces Guard, when many card games would refer to this as paying HP instead). And when we cleared the first mission, none of the metacurrency carried over (which I remedied by editing a save file, but cmon...) I also saw on the Steam forum several bug posts that were similar to bugs we had experienced on this one run, without dev replies, that were as much as a month old. And while 4k resolution is supported, it was added manually so there is oddly no 1440p support to go with it, so I spent my time playing in 1080p Windowed. While this game might not be abandoned yet, I don't have high hopes for all of the bugs to be fixed. And that's without going into the clunky things, like needing to highlight roughly the bottom right portion of a card to be able to select it. I do have to say that $5 is about a fair price for what's on offer, which is an unbalanced, underpolished Slay the Spire clone with bugs and co-op play. But I was hoping for better. For those looking for alternative co-op card games like this one, there's not many on the market, but I would still recommend Across the Obelisk over this - it has flaws too, but is a lot more polished despite its Early Access status.

As others have said, it's essentially a home brew clone of Slay the Spire that's easily worth the very low price. Is it as finely balanced and tuned as that game or Griftlands? No. Is it still fun? Yes. Is it worth paying the price of a coffee to encourage the dev? Absolutely! If the dev wants some feedback: 1) The UI is pretty, but could do with some polishing. Specially, hit boxes for mouse overs don't line up with the UI elements themselves. This is specially visible with cards, but also when clicking on the "X" to close menus on the top left. On a related note, why does the text say things like %X? I've always seen it written at X% literally everywhere else my entire life. 2) If you can afford it, get a voice actor. The art is lovely, the music and sound effects atmospheric, but the voices are pretty bad. It's the only part of the aesthetics I'm not a huge fan of. 3) There's a big varieties of cards, which is great! However, the range of events is tiny (I've had the same ones 4 or 5 time in my first 3h of play), the same things always come up to buy in the shop, I always fish the same stuff, and the inn & base are always exactly the same. A little more content here would make things far less repetitive. 4) What does the colour of the card means? Every starter card is red, every galaxy card is blue. Why not just refer to them that way rather than bringing a new attribute of colour into it? 5) Poison doesn't seem to work properly... unless it can be stopped by summons? I would expect it to ignore armor and summons to be honest. 6) "Expose" is too weak IMO. Should last for a whole turn at least, and/or be buffed up to 50% damage. Also weird that it does +25% damage to the player, but +30% damage to monsters. 7) Unless I've missed it, there's no mechanism to remove cards from the deck? Except that sometimes (for no reason I can understand) the minimum deck size listed when viewing the deck outside of battles is low enough that I can remove one. I think, it's hard to see if its ever actually properly removed. 8) I'm don't think the cards are being handled between a _"to draw"_ _"in hand"_ and _"discarded"_ pile properly. Sometimes I have 10+ rounds in a row without drawing a specific card I want. Rather, it seems that each round cards are drawn randomly from the entire deck - that is not how card games are expected to work! 9) Make it harder! Roguelikes have to be difficult, failing and trying against is where the fun is. Making healing much much rarer and more expensive would be a good start. Sorry for the wall of text, genuinely good work so far!

I downloaded this game because I needed something less violent for my kid to watch me play. I didn't expect to enjoy it. It was just because he saw the character on the thumbnail and got excited. Yet, long after he had fallen asleep, I found myself still playing through levels. I don't know why I like this game so much. I don't know why this game is so exciting. I don't know why I'm finding myself thinking about this game while I'm at work. But yet, I do. I recommend it!!