Malice & Greed

Developer abandoned the game. No update since 2022.

I usually don't review as I'm not secure in my ability to judge a games value but I stumbled on this little title and am having an absolute blast with it....Seems to be a tiny learning curve and a lot thrown at you all at once but after playing abit its coming together and I can see me getting many hours outta this Title.

Cool amalgamation of design ideas with notable influences coming from the likes of Shin Megami Tensei and Slay the Spire. Party building and combat are quite deep and there's just enough well-placed randomization so no run ever feels like the previous, even if you try the exact same setup. Its developer Xendra is ambitious and inventive yet the game's scope seems well-defined. Great music and art design to accompany the gameplay, giving the experience a distinct setting and vibe. It's still in Early Access at the time of this writing, but updates have been abundant over the time I've had access to it.

Edit: A developer response! That's a new one for me. making some changes here based on that response + using less brash, d***ish wording. I really don't like the way that the game looks so far and it doesn't feel very professionally done. I don't really look into developers much to learn more about them but there's definitely a lot of indie titles / passion projects that I really love so I don't typically give anything like that out as a crutch when judging things. That said, the game is less than $10 right now so this is like a half-hearted thumbs down, it's hard to be too negative with something that's this affordable, but I just found myself not really wanting to continue playing the game because of the visual experience of it, hence thumb down. Gameplay is feeling solid but my fear is that it won't visually improve much or at all by full release because from my past experiences that's typically the one thing that rarely changes with early access games. (Developer says otherwise, I'll definitely eat my hat if that turns out to be the case!)

dev abandoned the game dont buy

In short: This is a well made Monster tamer that takes its inspirations and does them justice while forging its own identity with style. Lots of style from the art and dope music that is getting constant updates even as we speak. If you dig SMT mechanics and the rouge-lights of stuff like slay the spire and darkest dungeon, pick this RAD one up In long: - Music : FIRE. Very Shin Megami Tensei in vibe. Val knocked it out of the park with Torn to Shreds (look it up XD) Having the music beat drop on first hit a great touch! Honestly everything feels like its set to the right spot when it comes to mood and tone. it blows my mind that there's plans to actually add even MORE tracks to the game in the future! - Art: If you are a fan of Yoshitaka Amano's work from final fantasy you will dig Lyfeu's awesome enemy art. I've had plenty times I could not pick which enemies to take cuz they all looked dope! definitely a good thing to see when you have a game based around using the monsters as your party members. - Mechanics: Very in depth yet familiar to anyone who has ever picked up a SMT game. Elements It feels like a great mix of Slay the Spire and SMT. That being said just like its inspiration it does NOT hold your hand! expect to get gud or die XD at least though you are given a pretty decent tutorial to show you the mechanics before things get truly challenging. Another thing thats nice is it seems they have added ALLOT of things to get after a run is finished. passives. buffs. new starting kits. the works. so ending a run not too far still feels like you are making progress. - Story: Usual Deck-builder afar. as of right now the story is not a focus point. its mainly "Hey. get to the end for revelation yo" as of right now. I can safely say the attitude of the game really gives it a great Cyberpunk vibe that feels like guardians of the galaxy or mad max at times with its sense of gritty humor. Monsters smack talk you pretty hard to often hilarious degrees XD The entire butcher your monster for money or power really sets a tone that I can only remember getting from Lisa the painful. Dark humor and all XD Some cons: Due to early access there is a lack of a full story going on, though the world is very rich with style. For deckbuilding standards it gots enough to get you going. But since you hear the characters engage and the esthetic put me in a shin megami headspace I really wanted more of a story. You kinda just get the general Idea then that's. it from there I'v had bugs pop up but nothing that has completely broken my run. And at the rate the devs are doing mini updates I'm confident that they will be gone by the time most play anyway. Allot of placeholder stuff put a damper on atmosphere but again. being updated very fast too with new art literally be added last night. This is a con and pro because I dig the challenge. Did I mention the game was hard? We talking Darkest Dungeon stuff. if you don't use the mechanics to your favor, such as the sacrificing. RIP. But just like a good SMT game, ones you get a grasp of the mechanics you are able to save runs in ways that feel very gratifying to pull off. think I rambled enough anyway. Games a solid suggestion from me. Literally has had 2 updates since I started playing this Friday, with new art for the roster XD looking forward to seeing the progression!

i dont know how to describe this game other than shin megami tensai meetsslay the spire with plenty of its own mechanics and ideas. the developers are active on discord and have talked about a full modding tool being made one day as well as upgrading graphics(these things will likely be after the game comes out in full) so far iv enjoyed the game a lot.

Malice and Greed is a fun monster-collecting rogue-like. The budding art style is fantastic, the music is dangerously good, and the developer is actively talking to the community in a way I feel can only help the game. I think this game can reach its best potential, and highly recommend it if you like monster taming and high-risk, high-reward styled gameplay!

Interesting roguelike take, with acquiring party members through combat and/or getting rid of them for extra items or abilities. There's a lot of depth to party composition, even if any given run might result in some poor chemistry at times -- looking at you, Sungazer in my party with only fire attacks against a boss that absorbs fire damage! The soundtrack is excellent (for my tastes, anyway). Most importantly to me (and probably to some of you who are checking out these reviews), the developer of this game pushes out updates VERY frequently and values feedback provided in reviews or on their Discord server -- so if you think this might be up your alley, grab the game and be sure to let your thoughts and experiences be heard.

The artwork is pretty good and I only anticipate it to become better. The gameplay is addicting and at times a little too gripping (I am still grieving the the difficulty of getting "Lucy, from dirt"). The music makes every battle feel epic. And no matter the duration of time you spend in a fight, the music doesn't get old. There is much variety that is already in the game. The player is incentivized to get better and break the game (something that I always love when playing a game). And even if you don't get super good at it, you can still find progress within the game. The steady release of content gives me confidence that this game will release feature rich and feature complete. I highly recommend this game to anybody.