⚠️ Beware of some reviews! DO NOT FALL INTO THE TRAP! The game is VERY GOOD but it is not for everyone!

Many people will tell you that Chrono Ark is way better than Slay the Spire… The truth is, IT DEPENDS:

Slay the Spire (A20) is easy to learn. The cards are simple, and you will quickly understand what to do. You know the enemies’ intentions and you can easily counter them. Plus, you can finish your runs in under 20 minutes, and the game autosaves during the run.

Chrono Ark, on the other hand, is hard to learn. Most skills are complex with a bunch of synergies, so you will need to invest TIME AND PATIENCE to know what is going on.

You will have to learn how to fight each enemy, as there are no clues about their actions, and each enemy has different mechanics.

The biggest downside, in my opinion, is that the runs in Chrono Ark are longer: my fastest run, rushing like madman, took 55 minutes. Most runs will take over an hour to finish, and you have to manually save.

So, if you want quick runs with friendly mechanics, Slay the Spire is better.
If you want a complex and challenging game with waifus/husbandos, deep strategy, a story and longer runs, Chrono Ark is the choice.

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I initially hated this game. I even opened a thread on the official forums to understand how to read the f*****g skills. But once I managed to understand the game, I loved it.

You can choose from 20 characters and form a party of 4. Each character has unique card sets (skills), roles and passives.

At the start of a run (and depending on the mode), you can only choose 2 characters from the pool to form your team. You will recruit the rest randomly during the run.

You will also get each character’s skills randomly, that’s the deckbuilding part. Likewise, you can equip each character with 2 pieces of gear (some with special perks) that you will obtain randomly from events or shops.

In those events/shops, you can also get Relics. Relics passively enhance the party. Unlike in Slay the Spire, Relics must be placed on a Stand to take effect, and there are limited slots!

Also everything happens in a randomly generated map full of secrets! So yeah, it is quite likely that each run will be unique.

You will not always face the same enemies or bosses. There are many, and each has their own mechanics. Often, you will not win by brute force; if you ignore the mechanics, you will wipe and cry. All of this comes with a wonderful combat soundtrack!

Generally, the combat is like a JRPG: turn-based. Although this is not entirely true, because depending on the skills, passives, and enemies, EVERYTHING CAN VARY A LOT.

Most combats might seem unfair at first and even completely unbalanced. And that is true. But the game usually gives you enough resources to compensate it, you just need knowledge. Although let’s be honest, if you have had bad luck, some battles are impossible to win, lol

There are also multiple game modes and challenges to raise the difficulty, and if you get bored, you can always install mods with new characters, enemies, difficulties and a lot of stuff!

The game has a story, and it is okay. However, there is a lot of text… Most of the stuff that takes over 30 minutes of reading can be summarized in 5 lines…

You will gradually discover what is happening as you play naturally. You will also unlock some CDs that, when you watch them at home, will complement the story details quite well.

While the story is not a masterpiece, it is quite interesting. However, as I have mentioned, it can feel quite overwhelming because it doesn’t know how to summarize the information (just like this review, lol). Anyway, if you don't like to read, you can skip it.

I recommend buying this game if you meet most of these points:

• You are a waifu lover
  
• You enjoy playing complex games
  
• You love JRPGs
  
• You like deckbuilders
  
• You have fun reading a lot of text

I don’t recommend this game if:

• It is not on sale
  
• You hate fanservice
  
• You are looking for a simple game
  
• You cry when an enemy unfairly wipes your entire party
  
• You don’t have enough time to play (you want fast runs)

[quote]⚠️ Beware of some reviews! [b]DO NOT FALL INTO THE TRAP![/b] The game is [b]VERY GOOD[/b] but [u]it is not for everyone![/u][/quote] [h1]Chrono Ark vs. Slay the Spire[/h1] Many people will tell you that [b]Chrono Ark[/b] is way better than [b]Slay the Spire…[/b] The truth is, [b][u]IT DEPENDS:[/u][/b] [b]Slay the Spire[/b] (A20) is [b]easy to learn.[/b] The [b]cards are simple,[/b] and you will quickly understand what to do. [b]You know the enemies’ intentions[/b] and you can easily counter them. Plus, [b]you can finish your runs in under 20 minutes,[/b] and the game [b]autosaves during the run.[/b] [b]Chrono Ark,[/b] on the other hand, is [b]hard to learn.[/b] Most skills are complex with [b]a bunch of synergies[/b], so you will need to invest [b][u]TIME AND PATIENCE[/u][/b] to know what is going on. [b]You will have to learn how to fight each enemy,[/b] as [b]there are no clues about their actions,[/b] and [b]each enemy has different mechanics.[/b] The biggest downside, in my opinion, is that [b]the runs in Chrono Ark are longer[/b]: my fastest run, rushing like madman, took 55 minutes. [b]Most runs will take over an hour to finish, and you have to manually save.[/b] So, if you want [b]quick runs[/b] with [b]friendly mechanics[/b], Slay the Spire is better. If you want a [b]complex[/b] and [b]challenging[/b] game with waifus/husbandos, [b]deep strategy,[/b] a story and [b][u]longer runs,[/u][/b] Chrono Ark is the choice. [hr][/hr] [h1]About Chrono Ark[/h1] [hr][/hr] [b][u]I initially hated this game.[/u][/b] [url=https://steamproxy.net/app/1188930/discussions/0/4354495576380388478/]I even opened a thread on the official forums to understand how to read the f*****g skills.[/url] But once I managed to understand the game, I loved it. You can choose from [b]20 characters[/b] and form a [b]party of 4[/b]. Each character has unique [b]card sets[/b] (skills), [b]roles[/b] and [b]passives.[/b] At the start of a run (and depending on the mode), [b]you can only choose 2 characters[/b] from the pool to form your team. [b]You will recruit the rest randomly during the run.[/b] You will also get each character’s skills randomly, [b]that’s the deckbuilding part.[/b] Likewise, [b]you can equip[/b] each character with [b]2 pieces of gear[/b] (some with special perks) that you will obtain randomly from [b]events[/b] or [b]shops.[/b] In those events/shops, you can also get Relics. [b]Relics passively enhance the party.[/b] Unlike in Slay the Spire, [b]Relics must be placed on a Stand to take effect,[/b] and there are [u]limited slots![/u] Also everything happens in a [b]randomly generated map[/b] full of secrets! So yeah, [b]it is quite likely that each run will be unique.[/b] [h2]Combat[/h2] [b]You will not always face the same enemies or bosses.[/b] There are many, and each has [b]their own mechanics.[/b] Often, [b]you will not win by brute force;[/b] if you ignore the mechanics, [b]you will wipe and cry.[/b] All of this comes with [b]a wonderful combat soundtrack![/b] [b]Generally,[/b] the combat is like a JRPG: [b]turn-based.[/b] Although [b]this is not entirely true,[/b] because depending on the skills, passives, and enemies, [b]EVERYTHING CAN VARY A LOT.[/b] [b]Most combats might seem unfair at first and even completely unbalanced.[/b] And that is true. But [b]the game usually gives you enough resources to compensate it,[/b] you just need knowledge. Although [b]let’s be honest[/b], if you have had bad luck, [b]some battles are impossible to win,[/b] lol There are also [b]multiple game modes and challenges[/b] to raise the difficulty, and if you get bored, [b]you can always install mods[/b] with new characters, enemies, difficulties and a lot of stuff! [h2]Story[/h2] [b]The game has a story, and it is okay.[/b] However, there is [b]a lot of text…[/b] Most of the stuff that takes [b]over 30 minutes of reading can be summarized in 5 lines…[/b] You will [b]gradually discover what is happening as you play naturally.[/b] You will also [b]unlock[/b] some [b]CDs[/b] that, when you watch them at home, will complement the [b]story details[/b] quite well. While [b]the story is not a masterpiece[/b], it is quite interesting. However, as I have mentioned, [b]it can feel quite overwhelming[/b] because [b]it doesn’t know how to summarize[/b] the information (just like this review, lol). Anyway, if you don't like to read, you can skip it. [h1]Conclusion[/h1] [b]I recommend[/b] buying this game if you meet most of these points:[list] [*] You are a waifu lover [*] You enjoy playing complex games [*] You love JRPGs [*] You like deckbuilders [*] You have fun reading a lot of text[/list] [b]I don’t recommend[/b] this game if:[list] [*] It is not on sale [*] You hate fanservice [*] You are looking for a simple game [*] You cry when an enemy unfairly wipes your entire party [*] You don’t have enough time to play (you want fast runs)[/list]