If you're looking for a new kind of CCG Roguelike because you're through with Slay the Pyre and the likes, you might come across Haxity. Cards, their mechanics and ways to implement them into games have become very popular, to a point where I feel some genres should rather stick to their roots. Personal bias aside, this doesn't undermine Haxitys attempt to achieve something new; it simply serves as an explanation for the mindset I started the game with.
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What drew me to Haxity in the first place were the colorful graphics and the amazing soundtrack. Both greatly serve as a means to paint a vibrant cyberpunk world, filled with augmentation, mutation and hacks. The card design is low in detail but the colors make up for it. Each of the three characters, we do talk about in a second, look quite distinct from each other. Even without knowing their backstory, you can clearly tell something about their motives and reputation. The games backdrops, while sparse in number, greatly add to the worldbuilding. That beast of a soundtrack! You rather turn it over 9000 or you're missing the point. Expect some hard hitting cyberpunk and darksynth vibes, which made my body move along.
Art aside, there is a game to play and this is where opinions might divide. A big game changer in Haxity is that your cards do fit in categories to use a principle of Rock-Paper-Scissors. Melee beats Skills, gets beaten by Ranged and ties with another Melee, so Melee -> Skills -> Ranged -> Melee if you put it into perspective. Keep that in mind before you draft your deck and hit battle, because drafting is one of the biggest parts in the game. Since it is a roguelike, you're not managing your deck like you would in Magic. You rather pick one of three starter decks which mostly differentiate in one or two cards and add other cards on top.
Haxity offers a campaign and versus modes, whereas the latter offers the possibilities to fight against humans or an AI. The start for all modes is merely the same. Choose one of the three given characters, suiting to your prefered playstyle. The Banshee looks like a rollerblade assassin and tries to involve charged attacks while Copperson, some kind of ex cop, relies on shields and momentum. The last of the three is Dr.Ratz, which, like the name implies, has gotten some serious rodent traits and tries to infect his opponents.
If you're playing the campaign, don't expect a backstory. Like in Slay the Spire, you're moving from node to node which do offer different actions. Pick a new card, buy a mod or fight an opponent. There are optional and mandatory fights and I had to learn the hard way that optional fights can be much more difficult. So, what is all this talk about gameplay and hacking?
[i][h3]Fool me once, frustrate me twice...[/h3][/i]
The battles in Haxity work in very specific way. Cards played move onto the discard pile but get shuffled into the deck again once there aren't enough left. Unless a specific card effect doesn't imply an exception to this rule, you don't need a big deck to play around a strategy. That said, there is a major drawback for those who like to plan in advance. At the beginning of the turn, you choose three of your five hand cards and put them into play. At this point you don't know what your opponent chose to play so it's more a game of chances. Once both players finished this phase, the cards get revealed. Now you're applying the aforementioned circle in which some card types beat others.
You planned a tactic in which your first card boosted the latter? Bad luck if your skill got beaten by a melee and is not used this turn. But worry not! There is some kind of side deck we can use to influence the outcome, our hacks. Unfortunately one time use mostly and require energy to play. Let's shuffle our first two cards. It might hurt the strategy I had in mind but at least my opponent can't play his cards either. Right? Well, here is where my frustration starts and I learned to look at Haxity at what it is: a card brawler.
While playing more matches I couldn't help but feel it's less about using your own strategy but sabotaging my opponents'. Many times I would have loved to pull a combo but rather had to rely on little pinpricks to ship away some health. It really feels like an exchange of blows instead unfolding a great plan. One might argue that once you've seen more of the cards your opponent has in his deck, you'll act and put counter cards into play. However, you never can't be absolutely sure about it and you're still drawing by random.
What also bothered me is how the hack initiative gets handled. I read a comment, saying that only when both sides haves passed, the round starts to resolve. This is not exactly the truth. If I had a great start, I don't want to change anything but it's my turn to start with hacks. There is a very big chance that my adversary wants to manipulate the board. Since I don't intend to act, I'll pass. He'll play a hack and I won't get the chance to answer. I'm not sure if this is the way it should be but these were the most frustrating moments in the game. So you're either forced to play a hack anyway because then you haven't passed and can answer his call or bite the bullet, although the board did already look good.
[i][h3]The Balance.[/h3][/i]
Haxity is in early access and it clearly shows. I'd argue that your experience might wildly vary depending on the first character you played with. Mine was the Banshee. The first matches were fine but I felt the problems her charged mechanic faces in comparison to momentum or the infection of Dr.Ratz. To get your charged bonus pulled off you'll often need at least a second card to charge it. Maybe your lucky and found a mod that pre-charges your cards at the start of the match. Copperson and his momentum rely on hitting repeatedly, making the move stronger each time. Although getting your cards played can get tricky, it's easier to pull off. Then there is the rat.
His infection makes you take more damage for each stack. I had a fight where I took 95% more damage on turn two. Combine this with the feeling you get when you're not able to prevent your opponent from playing his cards and you'll get why I mostly did only play 4-5 matches in a row. Clearly, early access is meant to collect experiences and player voices, which I'm offering. At this point it really hurts newbies, still figuring out the mechanics. Did I mention that your cards can also be fast or slow? If two of the same card types stand against each other, you can still win or lose if your card is fast by nature or hacks do come into play.
[i][h3]Thoughts left?[/h3][/i]
Haxity clearly pulls off game mechanics which I did not expect. It is refreshing and will certainly make a lot of people happy. Saying I’m one of them wouldn’t be the truth but neither a lie. In some matches I did have the illusion of having figured it out. My opponent mostly used skills and ranged attacks and thus I put the respective cards into play, hoping that I’d either be able to beat them outright or make the hacks work for me. Then again I played against others who did not have this kind of system. So instead on focussing on my tactic I tried to figure out theirs. Every blue moon I got a combo which still fell short against the sheer simple strength of momentum or infection.
I can best summarize this by using my earlier words. Haxity is a card brawler that can be influenced to a certain extent but doesn’t provide the option for grand scheme tactics others might like. It’s fast and brutal, just like the amazing soundtrack and graphics do suggest. In the end it’s a game I’d recommend for its different approach to a well liked genre and the certainty that, while I might not become the biggest fan, there are gamers who will love it.
[quote] This review was written for [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/27632048-Arcane-Raise/] Arcane Raise (Steam Curator)[/url].[/quote]
