Letterlike

I've found it very enjoyable to play and keep the brain ticking over figuring out how to maximise points. Took awhile to wrap my head around some of the score elements, but it all fit together quite well once you get the hang of things. Haven't come across any bugs or crashes. It all feels very logical and a nice change to jump in for a few rounds from time to time. I do wish there was a bit more screen activity/celebration when you nail a really good point/combo. Very minor complaint though.

Was excited to receive a key for this as I've been enjoying the recent rise of these word-type roguelikes! Firstly I love how clean the UI looks, everything is quite minimalistic and nice to look at. Love the light/dark mode option! The new game menu, shop and end of level pop-up placements feel a bit off though, it doesn't sit centered like the others and sticks up from the bottom of the screen. I'm weird though, it just catches me eye! Personal preference etc xD There's a great tutorial included, and essentially you start each round with 5 word attempts and five discards, with the aim being to hit the necessary goal score within those five attempts. In Letterlike you earn currency (coins) after each round completed and can then spend those coins at the shop. You get a selection of 3 'buff' cards (initially at least, there are 3 extra unlockable slots after more runs) and these can upgrade things like word multiplier, the points certain letters score and more. You can also choose to upgrade the multiplier of particular word lengths, and there's the option to redraw the list if you didn't like what you got. Another shop option is to upgrade individual letter tiles with special modifiers that can affect other letters in words you enter. After beating a level, you'll be given 3 gift options to choose from; these sometimes include gems, which are your permanent upgrade currency also gained at the end of each game. These persist through future runs and are things like having more letters in hand, 'buff' card slots, Shiny (rare) card odds, etc. I like the variety of upgrades available, I feel like it'll help keep things feeling fresh in terms of build options that you have, which is always great in a roguelike. I haven't played enough to get a huge feel for builds as of yet card/upgrade wise though I like the variety I've seen so far. I've kind of just been building whatever I like while I learn, and I'm still enjoying it. Even though I haven't beaten a full five rounds yet I haven't felt frustrated or that I'm suffering from the ole roguelike RNG issue that some games suffer from. Difficulty curve has been nice and steady, although I'm one of those 'word games make brain go brrrr' (in a good way) people so I can see myself sitting and playing this a lot. Definitely hits all the dopamine spots for me. Overall really enjoyed it so far, would recommend for lovers of word games, even if roguelikes typically aren't your jam this will tickle your brain in a good way!

I cannot stress this enough: if you want to win, USE YOUR GEMS ON THE HOMEPAGE. I didn't know this at the start, but now I've unlocked most of the letters, a fourth card, and more. It makes it easier to get higher points, which you'll need to beat the 9 year old in the secret 6th round at the end of every game type. Collect those gems like you're a dragon hoarding them, and use them wisely. More cards, more letters, and then use the best cards you can. Even try out words you aren't sure ARE words when playing; you may be surprised. I was. Also try proper nouns; they can work as well. This is a great game which may keep you locked in out of sheer frustrated determination to win. Is it a cosy game? Not in that sense. But as a wordsmith, I'm determined to keep going. Also, since there's no plot to distract me, it's a good game to play when I don't want something where I have to follow what's happening; just to find the best words to get the highest score. This game is kind of like Scrabble, but without a grid. That's the best way to describe it. And you can get insanely high scores because of the cards.

This is a very competent word game in which you are playing a set of "rounds" against imaginary opponents to develop the most points out of random draw of letters from a bag. Every tie you win a round you earn coins that can be used to purchase buffs for the current game, such as score multipliers for given letters in a word, ways to change a letter so they are worth more or make adjacent letters more valuable, and so on. The game is addictive but it can sometimes feel like RNG screwed you over. During each run, you can accrue diamonds that persist between runs that you can use to improve your base stats and other similar things. The setup makes it so even when you lose you don't feel like you totally wasted your time. I don't think I'll play however long it takes to unlock all there is to unlock, as I've only successfully finished a run once, but I was hooked for long enough to say the game is worth anyone's time, or at least anyone interested in word games.

Balatro for words. Fun. Enjoying my time with it. Worth my time and purchase. Still checking it out, but I know a good review will help more now than later. I'll update if anything goes horribly wrong.

Word up!

Overall pretty solid but "scores words as if they are X letters less" is straight up a runkiller and needs to be adjusted.