[quote][b]Note: Dead PvP game[/b]
This game contains no meaningful single player content. There's no viably populated servers/active player population. This game cannot be played as intended.[/quote]
When I first loaded this up I thought, yep, another mobile app cash grab scam. But I couldn't find the toxic monetisation... this mobile app is truly free.
Then I discovered, also, that you usually get what you pay for, in this case, nothing of value.
This was intended to be a little PvP centric mobile app deckbuilder where you set up your deck then plod through various PvP matches, and a slightly welcome turn based tactical grid element... but with only 800 odd cards, this is no competitor to Hearthstone or MTG, and the actual rest of the game is a train wreck. It's an imbalanced clunky mess, and without any anticheat, if it did have any players they would all immediately destroy you because the back door is wide open.
It's obvious there's no polish, testing or basic quality elements here... despite being truly free (and while ethics are mandatory, so is talent), the production values are through the floor.
This is a dead PvP game. Why did "Duelyst GG" fail? Time for a video game autopsy.
[i]The vast majority of PvP focused games on Steam are failures.[/i] Most fail because developers assume just because the game project code completes a successful build, the game will instantly and magically "go viral" just for existing. There's nothing in this to appeal to gamers that hundreds of other PvP games are already doing better.
The market for PvP games is crowded and the player base is limited. This game never reached "critical mass", didn't "go viral", and didn't offer anything to differentiate itself enough. Even with no upfront cost, it failed to appeal to gamers for several reasons.
There is no real single player content here. The developer thought other players could replace actual storytelling and level design. That was a bad bet to make, and yeah, the developer lost. Hard. Without a player base or meaningful solo content (storytelling, narrative, you know, what makes games like GTA famous), the game has nothing to offer. Other players are not a substitute for doing the job of a developer and creating meaningful game content.
This is clearly a mobile app... it makes no difference if this hit PC before the app stores, or if it never even launched on a phone. This was made by mobile app "developers", and intended for the lowest common denominator in gaming, and it must be judged accordingly... there's no contemporary, modern PC gaming experience in mobile apps. That alone is enough to disqualify this from any recommendation. We don't spend thousands building gaming rigs so that we can pretend they're iPhones and play iPhone games and mobile apps.
The graphics are lacklustre because this was designed for mobile phones, not gaming PCs. Whenever a product is designed to run tolerably on 5 year old iPhones, it's obviously not going to come close to the minimum quality standards that PC gaming enthusiasts except on their cutting edge gaming rigs. One more, mobile devs have made gaming worse for everyone. PC gamers don't spend thousands on their gaming rigs so they can pretend they're iPhones. That alone is enough to disqualify this for recommendation.
Let's talk about price and the value this represents for us gamers.
Most "free" games on Steam aren't really free. There's usually some kind of monetisation, from nasty mobile app cash shops, or content locked behind DLC, or donations being requested, to any other number of shady pricing schemes that could mislead gamers, but in this case I'm glad to say this really does appear to be a fully free game.
Nothing demonstrates a developers belief in themselves and their work than giving it away without any remuneration. This is a service to themselves, and the gaming industry, and should be applauded. Of course, just because something is free, doesn't necessarily mean it's valuable, or something you might want to spend your time on.
In terms of public reception, the "free" price tag didn't help. This peaked at a handful of players and then immediately cratered. With a peak count of less than 50 gamers (out of over 130 million gamers and over 40 million daily logons), it’s safe to say the PC gaming community has collectively decided to ignore this, probably because of the reasons supplied in this review.
All other issues aside (any of which would disqualify this from being worth your time), this is a game that relies on other players for it to be viable, and because there's not enough players, it's not viable. I can't recommend anyone downloads this, it's basically dead.
