Recent reviews by Dioxys

Solid card game. It's not the usual Slay The Spire/Balatro rip. The game relies more on card synergy, and there are a lot of new interesting mechanics like inheriting/swapping/changing card traits as in abilities, cost, type, ability trigger! A 'curse' card can end up being amazing when you exploit its ability. Thanks to that, I even managed to get an infinite combo - though it took a fair amount of luck to get there.

Some enemies/bosses also have interesting modifiers. e.g. One boss changes the colour of all cards in your hand of the played card.

Amazing if you like complicated but familiar ways to make numbers go up for that dopamine

Coincidental 100th hour review for a game I thought I reviewed already here

Balatro has great vibes and art direction. Its core gameplay is very simple but difficult to master - particularly at higher stakes (difficulty mode). The game isn't perfect but it's extremely close. The syngeries you can get out of upgrades and card modifiers is really satisfying, especially because there's an endless mode. There are lots of jokers to discover, and a lot of base deck of cards to unlock which adds to the replayability.

If you like card games of any sort, Balatro is a must play. This game is my personal game of the year

P.S: There are mods you can use to add more cards/jokers/modifiers/etc but it is not currently integrated with Steam workshop.

Very mediocre which sadly means very forgettable. The writing seems to be AI written so I recommend skipping through it (which is always a nice feature to have). The gameplay however is lacking because it isn't very rewarding in terms of skill/relic synergies. The UI isn't as bad as people say because you can scroll through item effects, but it's also not the greatest.

The soundtrack and style points is great but the actual gameplay mechanics could use work. It could be improved by ways to control/improve randomness. Upgrades are boring and repetitive. Some cards are well designed but the lack of synergies makes the randomness less rewarding. By synergies, I mean transformations/merging/etc. These synergies would be one way to make less balanced archetypes a chance to shine. Overall, it's an above average tower defence game but it lacks the replay value that other roguelites would normally have - which is quite a shame.

This is the most fun I've had with an autobattler. Executing synergies are really fun.

The 'ascension/heat/blood cell' mechanics is more like a challenge mode with various buffs and nerfs applied to you. i.e. Grade level 1 effects do not apply when you play Grade level 2. and so on.

This opens the door to many more synergies depending on the Grade level. It's a great idea that really encourages experimenting with various builds. Summon a hundred rats from one card? Sure. Create an army of zombies/ninjas? Sure. The game just wants you to have fun. And I am having fun.

Music and sound effects are decent as well but this is the type of game you can play while watching things in the background as well. or you can really focus to figure out a new synergy.

The Hades successor with less grind and more interesting battle mechanics. If you like Hades, you have to give this a shot.

Edit: After 26 hours of playing this game, I can confirm it has great replay value. The 'heat system' is highly configurable after the first 6 have been beaten. There are still plenty for me to unlock, and the achievements are fun to hunt as well.

It's a rougelite bullethell. Gameplay is fun and as challenging (and rewarding) as you want it to be. The story is pretty wholesome. It feels a bit grindy because the monsters don't give a lot of resources for unlocking stuff but the game is good.

Skul is like Dead Cells but better. Instead of weapons, you have skulls (that give you unique abilities) which can be upgraded through each run to get stronger. They play out quite differently, and adds a lot of variability to the game. Most, if not all, skulls are good enough to beat the base game with.

The game also got a free major DLC update known as the Dark Mirror, this adds difficulty to the game (like ascension levels in Slay The Spire, or cell number in Dead Cells) but it also comes with perks. Some dark mirror levels provide an upgrade that let you better control RNG in the run to have better combos.

9/10 for me

Fun roguelike with roguelite elements as well. If you don't enjoy the core gameplay (puzzle mechanics, resource management) then this game isn't for you. If you like thinking your moves through and optimising your resources, then this game is a lot of fun.

There are a LOT of classes and races so there is a lot to discover and experiment with. The writing is also pretty funny. Compared to the original, this version also offers a free 'rewind' per dungeon which rewinds to the halfway point of your moves if you do. The game is more forgiving as a result, which is really nice to have when you're new.