Hmm...I feel like I should start this off with a clever FAWE acronym...
...but I'm apparently too dumb for clever,so I'll just get right to the review!
You're one of four elemental sorcerers battling for...some reason.
Hurl all the forces of nature at your opponents faces and win!
There are three to four players per round,either in teams or against each other. The character you play as seems random,but they don't have unique abilities,so that doesn't really matter.
The goal is to lower all opponents HP to 0. Players all share a turn,but the order they act in rotates each turn.
There are 3 phases to a turn:
Phase 1 "Battle": You choose between 2 elements,which give you ATK/DEF power,and either choose to attack an opponent or pass. If you attack,you compare both players ATK to their def,difference is done as HP. When a players DEF level hits zero,they lose their element and it's bonuses.
Phase 2 "Magic": If you managed to not lose your element,you now get to use it's magic,whose effects vary by the element you used. These effects act as buffs/debuffs on the following turn.
Fire: Decreases target enemy HP
Air: On SELF,increases ATK. On ENEMY decrease ATK.
Water: Increases own HP
Earth: On SELF increases DEF. On ENEMY decreases DEF.
FAWE: when you have used each element once,you get the powerful FAWE skill,which has high ATK/DEF ,and provides bonus to all stats on self,or decreases all stats on an opponent. It also moves you on to Upskill phase.
Phase 3 Upskill: When a player has used FAWE,they then can choose between elements to increase their power,this increase last the rest of the game. If a player used FAWE on an opponent,they will be downskilled instead.
After phase 3,a new turn begins,with the order of play shifted. Play continues until only one remains.
The game has a cool artstyle,I really like the look of the characters. And the soundtrack is...weird but excellent? It's a mix of fantasy/lofi/ hip-hop? Somehow it really works.
The gameplay has a good amount of strategy,and is a nice mix of semi-tense/relaxing.
My one nitpick,is the tutorial could maybe have been a little more thorough,I had to play it twice before getting it.
So here's the thing...the game plays great,looks great,sounds great and has a well thought out system...but It's almost TOO well thought out, I have no idea how it would expand. It definitely could use a story mode or something,but as is, it feels like a minigame that should be in a larger fantasy game...like Triple Triad in FF.
Without a story,or ways to grow,it feels sort of incomplete...
...but don't get me wrong,I dig it! This is a really cool and unique game.
I love the designs/music,and the whole "stacking elements" theme.
This isn't a new Gwent/hearthstone/MTG. But what it is is pretty darn good. I'll definitely dust it off for a game now and then,and hope to maybe see more of it in the future.
If you're into unusual card-ish games,this is well worth trying a few rounds.
