If I’ve taken one lesson from the Steam spring sale, it’s that there are a lot of deck-building roguelikes out there. In fact, there are too many for my wallet to handle.
Make no mistake, the subgenre has proliferated in recent years because the mechanics blend together so well. The luck of pulling the right card at the right time and collecting the best additions to a deck lends itself to the luck-based try-die-repeat formula of roguelikes.
However, the genre is getting quite saturated, and new entries have an even tougher uphill battle to be noticed alongside megahits like Balatro and Slay the Spire – but based on the seven hours I spent with its demo, Shuffle Tactics might just be a real contender.
The kingdom of Asteria has been infected by a dark magic known as Glimmer, and it’s up to the protagonist (multiple characters are unlockable) and whatever motley sidekicks they can find along the way to save the kingdom. Shuffle Tactics applies the deck-building roguelike formula to the tactics RPG genre with enough personality and mechanical crunch to stand out from the rest.
The first big pull is presentation. Shuffle Tactics features 16-bit pixel graphics that hearkens back to the best tactics RPGS of yesteryear, or even some recent entries like Triangle Strategy. The animations are smooth and detailed, and I was especially impressed by the final blow cinematics that top off a boss battle – these flourishes are a nice little treat after typically grueling fights.
Graphics aside, I think the big sell are the mechanical systems in Shuffle Tactics. Each card is accompanied by a bevy of keywords that indicate buffs or debuffs that can be chained together in effective combos. These buffs don’t just add strength, but often more complex interactions like “Bloodlust,” which increases the power of a card based on how many enemies have been damaged, or “Sadist,” which means the card will do more damage to a target if they’re below half health.
There are also elemental interactions — ice becomes water, and water makes enemies ripe for an electric attack. On the other hand, fire can warm them up and take off that “wet” status, but it can then give them some burning damage.
These interactions can be daunting at first – players will need to take time to read the descriptions for keywords by highlighting them on each card, and figuring out how to maximize buffs and debuffs to maximum effect takes some effort. Keep in mind, so far I’ve only explored the first character — the next character to be unlocked has a completely different scheme involving totems and elemental effects.
Of course, as a roguelike, the player will unlock additional cards and charms that add even more effects, and this is where the real joy of roguelikes comes in– figuring out ways to absolutely break the game.
For instance, starting character (the Doberknight) has a sword he can throw and call back. The cards for each the throw and the return – two separate actions – always appear in the card draw. Add a charm that gives “Aegis” (a keyword that blocks the next attack) and you can stack up a near-invincible killing machine.
Figuring out how these systems work together is a skill the player will need to work on, but it fully aligns with the spirit of the genre, with players growing more powerful with each subsequent run due to their knowledge and cleverness expanding with each attempt.
As the current build is a preview, I did run into a few bugs and balancing issues (enemy numbers and their buffs can get wildly out of control) but these are things that I imagine developer Club Sandwich will nail down before a full release. It’s also obvious that there’s a lot more content than what’s on offer in the demo, but there’s enough meat in this slice to get a good taste of the full meal yet to come.
Shuffle Tactics is shaping up to be a treat for fans of deckbuilders, roguelikes and tactical RPGs. Its mechanical complexities and unique keyword systems offer satisfying depth that won’t hold the player’s hand. For anyone who enjoys this sort of challenge, it’s one to take notice of.
Download the Steam demo on PC now
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