Have deck builders peeked?
I’ve been asking myself this question for a while, wondering if there were simply too many new titles coming out, repackaging the same familiar mechanics without pushing the genre forward. Like many fans of the genre, I was captivated by 2019’s Slay the Spire, and have been on the lookout for the elusive alchemy that game achieved, ever since finally beating that bothersome Corrupt Heart final boss. A few deck builders have come close to claiming Slay the Spire’s crown, while many more have fallen short.
Despite the flood of new titles, I feel optimistic for the genre. The competition seems to be pushing developers to get genuinely creative and innovative in order to stand out from the pack. With that in mind, I’d like to highlight five deck builders slated for release in 2024 that have the potential to shake up the genre in exciting ways.
Throne of Bone
Ever since I figured out how to summon a posse of skeletons in Diablo 2, I’ve loved the idea of taking on the role of a creepy necromancer. Throne of Bone promises to fulfil that fantasy within the context of a deck builder.
You’ll start off with a couple of minion cards which you can lay out anywhere within a 2×2 formation (which expands to 3×3 later in the demo). Once you’re happy with your placement, you enter an auto-battle encounter with a band of heroes. You have no direct control over this—your minions simply take it in turns to attack the enemy.
Each card (yours or the enemy’s) has an attack and hit point rating, and they all fit into two categories. You might start with a skeleton warrior and a zombie spellcaster, for example. Cards, spells, and upgrades will sometimes affect monsters in a specific category, so it can be beneficial to collect several minion cards of the same type, as well as being aware of the types of enemies you are facing. Cards in the front row generally protect those behind them, and you can combine cards of the same type to gain a single version with better stats, so you’re never stuck with useless duplicates.
As you progress, you’ll unlock magic spells that are cast during combat, and more minions to deploy in your pint-sized army. Your followers are all undead, so it’s not a big deal when they die—they simply revive at the end of the encounter, but if all your cards are wiped out during, any enemies that are left over will attack your necromancer directly. When your necromancer loses all their hit points, your run is over.
The flow of combat and the theme here reminded me of Monster Train, but I prefer the art style here. The card art strikes an excellent balance between being creepy and cartoonishly goofy. The auto-battling element means that this feels like a fairly hands-off deckbuilder, but that makes sense since you’re supposed to be a necromancer relying on your undead followers to do your dirty work. Even though the demo was brief, I had a great time trying to maximise my army’s potential, and I can see myself sinking a lot of time into the full game when it comes out, indulging my skeleton-summoning, hero-crushing fantasies.
Breachway
Breachway is a sci-fi game that really impressed me during Steam Next Fest earlier this year. Unfortunately, the demo has since been removed from Steam, but the full game is slated for release into early access in July, so if you like the sound of this one you won’t have long to wait to try it out.
You’re placed in charge of a spaceship and have to navigate the dangers of space, which generally involves blowing up other spaceships using cool lasers and stuff. Your ship has a number of equipment slots into which you’ll place cards representing pulse lasers, shield generators, missile pods, and the like. You can then play these cards in battle to attack enemy ships and protect yourself. Your ship also has a reactor producing power, and you can shift power around on the fly to give you more energy to play different card types. If you know you’re going to face a massive barrage in a couple of turns, you can shift power to the defensive system in advance to potentially allow you to play more shield cards. Cards stay in your hand until played or manually dismissed, and likewise energy can be saved up between turns.
Because of the precise control I was afforded over power distribution and the fact I could retain cards in my hand until I needed them, I really felt in control of the action, more so than in other deck builders where you’re more at the mercy of card draw and just have a flat amount of energy available per turn.
Between battles, you’ll plot a path across space. Every point on the star map is under the influence of a different faction, all of whom view you more or less favourably. Enter a sector controlled by an ally, and you can expect extra help during battle. Enter a hostile sector, and you’d better be prepared for a tougher fight. There are also decisions to be made along the way, and a lot of well written dialogue, with your crew arguing over how best to survive the journey and complete their mission.
The art on the cards and character portraits is nice, but the real stars are the spaceships, which are represented by glorious 3D models that made my eyeballs very happy indeed. I spent way too long in the space dock, slowly spinning the camera around my ship to admire it from all angles.
It took me a couple of hours to get through the demo. During the final boss encounter, a hulking cruiser shredded my shields and turned my ship and crew into space dust in a matter of minutes. And I loved every second of it. Breachway combines great graphics and solid fundamentals with surprisingly deep ship customisation and an intriguing narrative. If the full release lives up to the promise of the demo, this could be a truly special experience.
Earthless
Earthless could be described as Breachway with the camera zoomed out to a more tactical view. Your starship is a part of a diaspora from an ill-fated planet earth. As captain, it’s your job to navigate the dangers of deep space and get your crew to its destination safely. You’ll do this by manoeuvring your starship around asteroids and other hazards, and dealing with multiple enemy ships on each stage, which consist of rectangular grids.
The grid-based tactical combat felt satisfying, as getting your starship into an advantageous position was just as important as playing the right cards at the right time. You also have several crew members attached to your ship who can be upgraded to increase their usefulness. In addition to levelling up your crew members, you also need to worry about their morale. Playing favourites by focussing upgrades on only one or two crew members can annoy the rest of the crew and tank their morale. Decisions you make through the game will also affect morale. For example, your gunnery officer might advise you to blow up a stricken enemy ship just to be safe, but doing so will draw the disapproval of your ship’s doctor. It’s a cool system that has the potential to add more depth to the experience over the course of a long run, and it also serves to make you feel more connected to what’s happening on a human level.
I’d describe the art style here as the future seen from the point of view of the 1970s. Upgrading your cards and managing your crew happens through a series of menus that look like old-fashioned-yet-high-tech computers with chunky, physical buttons and acid green display screens. It’s a stylish look that reminded me of the Alien films and the Fallout series. I was immediately drawn into the game’s world because I felt like I was really punching buttons on my starship, not just selecting options from a menu in a video game.
The story, which centres around a fleet of starships fleeing a doomed Earth, reminded me of the old RTS Homeworld. I (genuinely) made this connection in my head before realising that the developer, Blackbird Interactive, was founded by devs who worked on the original Homeworld games in the naughties, and are currently working on Homeworld 3. Those older games had excellent, atmospheric stories, so I’m excited for where the narrative of Earthless might go.
To my surprise, I shredded the final boss in the demo with ease after less than an hour. The game is releasing into early access this year, so there is likely still a fair way to go in development, and it’s probably too early to judge whether or not the cardplay has enough depth and staying power. But I really like what I’ve seen so far, and Blackbird Interactive’s pedigree makes me excited for where Earthless is heading.
Dungeons and Degenerate Gamblers
This one caught my eye with its lo-fi aesthetic and simple but potentially addictive gameplay. Dungeons and Degenerate Gamblers is blackjack with a deck building twist. You arrive at a tavern and proceed to play cards against a succession of opponents—from amiable drunks and card sharks, to cryptocurrency bros and witches. You start with a standard deck of playing cards, which you can then customise as you descend further into the strange and sinister world beneath the tavern.
The visuals here reminded me strongly of the versions of Solitaire and Hearts that came with Windows PCs from the mid 90s onwards, and while they are unlikely to wow anyone in the graphics department, it’s a style replete with nostalgia for gamers of a certain vintage. Brief text narratives between rounds of blackjack do a good job of creating a spooky atmosphere and a sense of intrigue as you explore deeper into the game. There are ironic references to loot boxes and bitcoin, and cards with cheeky names like ‘Terminate the Tower’ and ‘Gerald of Riviera’. The tavern is described as a place where unfortunate blackjack-addicted folk are exploited by ruthless capitalists, so I think it’s fair to say the game is partly a satire of the modern video game industry (or really any industry where addictive behaviour is exploited for profit).
I played the demo a handful of times and still felt I hadn’t fully grasped the utility of some of the cards in my deck. That isn’t necessarily a bad sign—it likely means I need to spend more time with the full version to properly explore the possibilities for different strategies and synergies. And I liked the fast-paced and intuitive nature of play here, which comes from the game being based on the fundamentals of blackjack.
The recent stunning success of Baltro, a deck building take on poker, shows that there is definitely an appetite for deck building twists on classic card games. If Dungeons and Degenerate Gamblers can stick the landing, it could be another winner.
Tendryll
I’ve saved one of the best till last. Tendryll is shaping up to be a wonderful, tactical, and creepy offering in the deck builder genre.
You’ll start off by choosing two heroes, who each come with a unique starter deck. Rather than simply taking turns to bash the enemy, your heroes and their opponents will be placed on small gridded battlefields. You’ll play two-handed and use your cards to move your heroes around and attack. There are different types of terrain, some of which will block attacks, so you’ll need to position your forces carefully if you want to succeed. As well as running separate decks, each of your heroes have separate energy pools.
I liked the fact that you can play a card from one hero, then switch to the other hero and back again. This allows you to carefully construct a precise set of movements and attacks to outsmart your opponent. Enemies telegraph their moves in advance, and there’s an emphasis on shoving them around to avoid getting hit. After only a couple of levels, I found myself staring at the screen for a long time before making a move, trying to puzzle out the perfect turn to deal with the enemy while minimising damage to my heroes. With its tiny, grid-based levels, the ability to push enemies around, and the intense puzzle-like quality of each encounter, it’s hard not to compare this to the outstanding Into the Breach. I think fans of that game will instantly enjoy the gameplay here, as, perhaps, will fans of turn based tactics games.
Even with only a limited slice of gameplay available in the demo, I was able to conjure up a few satisfying combos. I’m sure there will be many more to discover in the full release, and I can’t wait to explore them. Aside from the gameplay, Tendryll has a fantastic creepy vibe infusing every aspect of the presentation. Levels take place underground and the graphics style reminded me of Hollow Knight. The soundtrack was low-key and eerie, which complimented the art style perfectly.
Tendryll is due to release in April, so I won’t have long to wait to find out whether this game lives up to its potential.
With so many new deck builders coming out all the time, I could have easily added another five to this list, but I had to draw the line somewhere. Which upcoming deck builders are you most excited for? Do you think the deck builder trend has run its course, or are you still excited for what the genre has to offer?
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