I believe that with some further development, this game has a lot of potential I'll go into why I believe in both the potential and the current frustration with regards to playing this game. The atmosphere and ambiance is on-point, providing a creepy medical eldritch atmosphere. There isn't anything terribly overt with storytelling, leaving the player to discover for themselves and draw their own conclusions as to what we're really doing and why.
The visual style is pixelated, and I think it works quite well. The screen getting more splattered with biological refuse as you progress is an interesting choice, and you have the option to clean it off whenever you want. The sound effects I would describe as disgustingly moist as you play cards, and I do mean that in a positive way as I feel it was intended to be. There is some great ambient music to go with it.
The conceit of the game is a rather interesting one as well, in which you are tasked with amassing points to win the game, while also having to [i]spend[/i] those points to upgrade your deck to make that possible. I actually like this idea. Having to manage the very resources you need to amass in order to win is a unique concept and it being in a rogue-lite deck-builder is also very interesting.
That being said, I have to say I haven't been enjoying playing it. As of writing there's only one other substantial review on this game and it is [i]scathing[/i] in ways I don't feel are particularly fair. So I'd like to more tactfully go into why I haven't been having a good time playing it as well as provide some constructive (and I do mean that genuinely) criticism toward the author.
I'd like to preface this critique by saying I'd rather not make constant comparisons to Balatro, a much more popular rogue-lite card game, but I do feel it will be necessary for the feedback I need to give.
First off, there's a design choice to deliberately not explain most of the mechanics in the game or how they work to the player. This is a problem because, making that comparison to Balatro, that game is based on a card game a broad audience is familiar with (poker hands) while Voden's Job is not. This means that a player is going to be naturally unsure of what they're being asked to do. To be clear, you [i]are[/i] given a simple tutorial on how to play hands and the three types of cards (Mutations, Eyes, and Enzymes).
However, there are quite a few things that are [i]not[/i] explained. An important example of this is the Tools menu, which states: "These tools can help with your work, if you know how to use them." This text speaks to me that you're not intended to understand what they do without trial and error, and with one exception these tools are usable only once per run. This means that, in addition to the fact you are likely to use these tools without understanding how they work, even if you do come to an understanding through that experimentation, you are likely to forget at some point in the future.
The same is true for between rounds when you are given options to spend DNA to enhance your deck. There's no explanation as to what the myriad of choices you have between rounds actually do. This is especially pressing on your first rounds as you're extremely limited in the amount of DNA at your disposal to actually spend, and it can be difficult if not impossible to know what the best options are for spending your precious DNA on early-game.
Both of these issues combined mean that you're unlikely to succeed or even feel like you're making any progress on your first, second or third playthrough. Luckily, as of time of writing, there's a player-made Steam guide that explains the very basics of how you actually play this game and what the various options do. Given that this information is now out there, I would highly encourage the developer to bake this information into the game itself. I do not believe the game's atmosphere will suffer from tooltips giving a basic overview of what tools do.
Another issue is that rounds end very abruptly. Rather than having a limited number of hands, the round simply ends when you don't have a valid play. And by that, I mean [i]immediately.[/i] Taking a moment to inform the player there are no plays available before moving on to the upgrade select screen would at least be more informative. That way they may understand why, after playing a single hand, the round is just over. This is especially true when a player plays a hand that draws cards, because the player doesn't even get to see what cards they drew. The upgrade screen simply appears without any feedback.
I feel like either the game would benefit from some rebalancing or at least a couple basic strategy tips as well. As of time of writing I have yet to even come close to winning a run, but I'll confess that may just be a skill issue on my part. I haven't yet worked out a successful strategy, though I may put a little more time into the game to try to work that out. I feel like it'd be nice to at least be able to say I've won at least once before I make too much commentary on the balance, but I think really just a pointer in the right direction would be nice. After all, the guide maker has a screenshot with them getting a whopping 400 DNA, so clearly it's possible to win.
In any case, this game is free, so I can't say I'm too bothered over it, but I do believe the game has a lot of potential to do and be more than it currently is. I'll keep the game around and keep an eye out to see if there are any additions to the game in the future. This is by far not the worst game I've ever played, and I'd actually very much enjoy a new card-based roguelite to occupy my spare time.
