Decks of the Damned

Decks of the Damned, developed by Thorian Games and published by Goblinz Publishing alongside Maple Whispering Limited, is an ambitious genre hybrid that fuses deckbuilding, roguelite progression, auto-battler logic, and light base management into a single interconnected system. Rather than focusing on one dominant mechanic, it builds its identity around how these systems interact, creating a gameplay loop that feels layered and experimental. It’s a game that asks players not just to make tactical decisions, but to construct a functioning ecosystem where every card, resource, and unit contributes to survival. The premise casts the player as a vampire lord rebuilding power in a hostile world, but instead of traditional armies or units, everything is represented through cards placed on a shared board. Creatures, resources, buildings, and enemies all exist within this space, and progress is achieved by combining them in logical ways. Placing a unit card onto an enemy initiates combat, combining materials enables crafting, and positioning elements correctly allows for efficient resource generation. This tactile, almost puzzle-like interaction gives the game a distinctive feel, turning each action into a deliberate choice within a larger system. The gameplay loop is structured around alternating phases of expansion and defense. During active periods, players gather resources, recruit units, and develop their domain by constructing buildings and improving infrastructure. As time advances, these preparations are put to the test in defensive phases where enemies attack, forcing players to rely on the systems they have built. This cyclical structure creates a steady rhythm, balancing moments of growth with moments of tension. Success depends on how well these phases are managed, as poor planning can quickly lead to collapse when the pressure increases. Deckbuilding plays a central role in shaping each run. As players progress, they unlock new cards and abilities that influence how their strategies evolve. Some runs may focus on aggressive expansion and combat efficiency, while others lean toward resource optimization or defensive stability. The flexibility of these systems encourages experimentation, allowing players to approach the game in different ways. However, while the variety of options is appealing, the overall balance can feel uneven at times, with certain combinations proving significantly more effective than others. An additional layer comes from the base-building aspect, which extends beyond individual encounters. Players gradually develop a persistent structure within each run, unlocking new capabilities and improving efficiency over time. This adds a sense of long-term planning, as decisions made early on can have lasting consequences. Managing resources such as blood becomes critical, especially as demands increase during later stages. This integration of management systems reinforces the game’s identity as more than just a card-based experience. Visually, the game adopts a dark pixel-art style that complements its gothic theme. The interface is designed to resemble a tabletop setup, with cards arranged on a board that evolves as the run progresses. This presentation supports the gameplay well, ensuring that interactions remain clear even as the number of elements increases. While the art style is not overly detailed, it effectively conveys the atmosphere and maintains readability during more complex moments. Despite its strengths, the game is not without its challenges. The onboarding process can feel incomplete, with some mechanics not fully explained, requiring players to learn through experimentation. Managing a crowded board can also become cumbersome, particularly when multiple systems are active simultaneously. Additionally, pacing can vary between runs, with early stages sometimes feeling slow before the gameplay reaches its more engaging peak. Replayability is supported by the roguelite structure and the variety of possible builds, but the experience can become repetitive over time if the core loop does not evolve significantly between runs. Much of the long-term appeal depends on the player’s willingness to experiment with different strategies and adapt to the game’s systems. Ultimately, Decks of the Damned stands out for its willingness to combine multiple mechanics into a cohesive whole. It offers a unique blend of strategy, resource management, and deckbuilding that rewards thoughtful planning and experimentation. While it may struggle with clarity and balance in places, it provides a distinctive and engaging experience for players interested in layered, system-driven gameplay. Rating: 7/10

Loved it. Scratched an itch I needed. This is a strong recommend for anyone who likes tableau card games like this. I'll go over what it does great, but lets start with the cons: - Some ongoing bugs (rescuing items from bandits leaves the items locked, if you fill your wagon and go on two raids in a row some of your items will be deleted, missing recipes, etc.) - One broken achievement (greatsword) and one broken artifact quest (30 blood) - Some frustrating balance decisions (castle has no customizability and is a nightmare to finish, some spawns and drops are so rare as to be impossible to rely on [seriously, just use summoner for a centaur wagon don't bother trying to tame one, but also you never actually need that wagon imo], procs are time based but they only last a few seconds which is too short for them to actually matter, potions suck lol, and omg a volcano event took out the only ruby I ever earned in 30 hours wtf, etc.) - Surprisingly long and slow gameplay. It gets repetitive in early runs when you have limited things to craft and biomes to see, and then again in late game once you've mastered the flow and can skip bothering with half the resources to 'speedrun' it - Minor QoL stuff needed like: automatically repeating recipes (I wanna stick a vamp on the crafting table and churn out planks sometimes! but the recipes don't allow this because sticks); "ready to craft" filters and equipment broken apart into armor, magic, and weapon categories; easily referenced guidebook during a run so you can see what the stats of minions and crafting chains will be; visual cues of equipped items so you don't have to slowly peek through every unit's menu; better zoom controls; etc. Pros: - Great vibes and visuals - Fantastic difficulty curve. Keeps you on your toes until you master timing your migrations and spamming resource gathering / money cycling - Tight resource management loop that has you feeling like you never quite have *everything* you need and pushes you to explore new areas or try new runs and play styles. Learning when to let your minions suicide in fights and when to maximize their power is all part of the resource curve! - Surprise challenges with each biome that can ruin your runs in a Fun way until you realize what you need to bring with you - Quick, easily understandable objectives (kill the towns, kill the castle, victory!) - Ways to solve all the problems in front of you, especially if you farm enough money and spam merchant beacons - Deep crafting options. Seriously they go on forever, good luck navigating your perfect equipment for ultimate power. - Thematically appropriate design with interesting twists on the genre - Good number-go-up power growth curves. By the time you get to the high curse levels you've got the chops to tackle them and the extra starting boosts to ramp up quickly, and the items you can craft to synergize get quite insane - Highly systemic combat under the hood that you can tweak and master - Just enough grind for those who like a bit of that, but you'll see everything before long and it won't steal all your time forever Clearly a labor of love and well worth picking up.

Good stuff! Crazy underrated game 👍

Fortement inspiré de Stackland, le jeu est bien sympa si vous avez aimé ce titre !

Очень скучно и душно в это играть.

我嘞个吸血鬼堆叠大陆，晚上发育白天干人，做个陷阱还能抓人转化成吸血鬼玩，而且做什么都有提示就很方便。 难度不难，时间挺慢的，长按跳过功能挺好，不用硬在那牢，除了字比较小其他都还好。 武器貌似死亡的时候有概率会碎掉。

If you played stacklands, you'll love this game. It is like that, but brings its own uniqueness to the table. Even in early access, I've been able to put 50 hours into the game until I unlocked everything. There are several unique mechanics making this much more than just an imitation. There are vampires that you can change their abilities and stats, several unique monsters for combat, very different feeling enemy types, good combo crafting to high tier items (like the ank shield in terraria) with more to come, and the dev is very active in the community listening to player feedback. I could see this growing into something great. It's certainly worth trying.

산적 침공 이벤트 후 바로 공세가 한번 더 시작되더니 막아내도 갑자기 뱀파이어 다 죽음... 밤낮이 바로 뒤바뀌었는데 이게 버그인지 원래 그런건지 모르겠음. 피가 부족해서인지 관에 못 들어간건지 버그인지 연속 공세 막아낸 되 갑자기 뱀파이어 3마리 전멸...

N'a pas le charme de l'original : stackland