Recent reviews by RexStrider

The gameplay and art design are hits for me.
And I commend on the route of making no pay to win options available.

The game takes too long to feel rewarding and fun.
You do not get enough Booster packs to be on par with the matchmaking you get put up with. The climb to getting a satisfying deck feels very slow and not helped by the games own design. This game NEEDS some sort of free daily booster for a quest or something.

Otherwise I fear for the player base as the new player experience was dreadful for both me and my friend. If the first 5 to 10 hours is this rough I doubt many will stick.
There are no roadmaps to progression besides get to lvl 8 which I hear does not get much better. And throughout my first 2 hours it was getting matched with high levels with 50 power while I could not get even 45 barely. I suggest making the started deck have 50 power and have more weapon options available in the starting deck.

This game is one I know I would enjoy if I had the tools. and Iv seen and played counter play in the beta. but getting to place where you are crafting a fun deck in this games current state feels so far away from grasp that the time sink to enjoyment ratio does not feel worth the it to me.

Ending with hope. The devs seem to be listening and are working on matchmaking and ways for the game to be faster and less of a grind. This is my 2 hour take away after losing about 25 games in row to mostly 10 level gaps. I hope things will change with patches. 1v1 matches have been allot more consistent about not having big level gaps.

Ever since the recent updates Iv had crashes and the like. Communities days have failed due to issues out of my control with this software and its disheartening when so much potential was there. Community made levels and mods that helped people have been taken down only to be replaced by a worse experience. I hope the devs can bounce back and correct the path of VR chat. as of now its not looking good

I fell for guys

Simply put. its a fun smash like by devs that give a damn about the community at the time of writing. AND ITS FREE. enough said

Profound. Thought Provoking. Funny. 83

TLDR Lived up to the hype.

Literally FromSoftware taking everything they learned several great games and going for an Open world game with enough effort to flex on everyone else's open world game.
its been 25 hours and im not even scratched the surface of this amazing game.

PC has hickups at launch with frame slow downs but has not hurt the experence for me personally. Use the return policy to see if it works for you because its worth playing NOW.

I regret not trying this at launch. Games so damn fun to play. The player base is lively. The Store player friendly. the online runs great.
You can tell this was a passion project by a indie dev.
its Free
Get it

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 cant tell what has more engaged. the Fun Deckbuilding gameplay or the Meta storytelling. Both are done top notch. you dig any of the two this game will pull you into it 100%
Anything this creator drops I'm gonna be giving it a shot!

Very solid puzzles with one of the best chase sequences iv had in a awhile. Def looking forward to the rest of the chapters