I'm the first reviewer! Do I unlock a Steam achievement?
Let's start by acknowledging that this game appears to be a student project that has escaped the confines of the classroom and entered the market. Maybe it is, I don't know, but that's definitely the vibe here. It also appears the game is essentially a solo dev with some buddies kicking in for support, so again, the vibe is very much homebrewed. Is that a bad thing? No, it isn't, but be prepared for a decent game that is quite basic and bare.
The game itself is a combination of deck builder and auto-battler. You start with a deck of cards, you play a few rounds, get more cards, build your deck, play a few more rounds, get more cards, build your deck, and repeat. This process is divided into different areas, e.g. you play against and unlock red cards in one area, and green cards in another. Turns are played out simultaneously with your opponent, you each play cards and then their effects play out on the field in the order of their "speed". Cards are broadly divided into unit cards and power/item cards. You can create different synergies between cards and decks as each unit card has different amounts of health, damage, and powers. The cards start out pretty basic; bears and falcons, a few goblins sprinkled in, but they do become somewhat more creative and imaginative such as a lunatic rabbit , penguin with a surfboard, and of course, a shotgun. It's the Palworld mentality: what if woodland creatures had guns?
If you're looking for a comparison, a heavily simplified version of singleplayer Hearthstone is probably the closest, just without all the microtransaction ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ and loud presentation.
On a technical level, this game works, it's not janky, the rules play out as they should, everything is very simple. On a mechanical level, the rules and cards go well together, the pace is quick so that you're constantly engaged rather than waiting for turns to take ages to pop all their animations. It plays well, and this is the area that made me write a review. The concept of a good game is here, you can play it casually or really optimize your deck, and both methods are rewarded. You can play this game while watching your favorite show and win, or you can lock in, build a great deck, get more cards and continue to optimize your deck. This game is simple, but it has a good variety and pace to allow for creativity in deck building without being overwhelming. Are you suddenly going to lose your weekend to this game? No, probably not. But will you find yourself playing another round during a commercial break? Absolutely.
Should you try this game? That depends, if the following list sounds like you, then yes, you should try this game:
- You enjoy exploring new games by new developers
- You enjoy trading card games like Hearthstone and Magic the Gathering
- You are not bothered by very basic graphics, design, or presentation.
- You are looking to support new artists
- You are looking for a simple game to play while multi-tasking.
I do have one complaint, and dear developer, if you are reading this, please do something about the music. It's one song, on repeat, the whole damn time...and it's not a good song. Thankfully you can turn the music off. But really, a little musical variety would help a lot.
