Writing as of v0.3
The art looks good and the characters are interesting. The game is only a short demo at this stage, but it has definitely laid the groundwork for a solid game.
The characters each have their own motivations and interesting personalities. The authors have also left some hooks for the story development and I'm interested in seeing what happens next. I also have to say that the protagonist starting in a relationship and having healthy personal relationships is a breath of fresh air.
In terms of gameplay, the card game itself is "okay". It's somewhat disappointing that the biggest weakness is the card game itself. My main issues stem from a lack of depth and a very easy difficulty.
In regards to depth, the 2 lane system is okay but felt very limiting. I found many turns would simply be spent passing as there was no more space on the board to play.
It also felt very simplistic in strategy, with no more than put the melee in front and the archer in the back to win fights. I expect this to change as the game develops and more cards are added but worry that the existing system will run into design constraints.
Another issue I felt this was that the amount of information available isn't sufficient to determine what you should actually do. The turn order is not viewable by default, though thankfully there is an option to see it. Lots of other details are missing as well, such as things like how the turn order is effected by new units, what the range of your cards are, or even the abilities and effects of them.
On the plus side, I did think the deck building element is interesting. Each card (unit) can be equipped with a variety of items to strengthen it. Right now the items look only to be stat boosts but there is definitely a lot of flexibility here and would allow for many unique customization options. It would be nice to be able to unequip items from cards, but I could also see that equipping items is permanent as a solid game mechanic as well.
With all the being said, this is an early release and overall I think the game looks very promising. I'm going to give it a high rating based on the potential shown.
The art looks good and the characters are interesting. The game is only a short demo at this stage, but it has definitely laid the groundwork for a solid game.
The characters each have their own motivations and interesting personalities. The authors have also left some hooks for the story development and I'm interested in seeing what happens next. I also have to say that the protagonist starting in a relationship and having healthy personal relationships is a breath of fresh air.
In terms of gameplay, the card game itself is "okay". It's somewhat disappointing that the biggest weakness is the card game itself. My main issues stem from a lack of depth and a very easy difficulty.
In regards to depth, the 2 lane system is okay but felt very limiting. I found many turns would simply be spent passing as there was no more space on the board to play.
It also felt very simplistic in strategy, with no more than put the melee in front and the archer in the back to win fights. I expect this to change as the game develops and more cards are added but worry that the existing system will run into design constraints.
Another issue I felt this was that the amount of information available isn't sufficient to determine what you should actually do. The turn order is not viewable by default, though thankfully there is an option to see it. Lots of other details are missing as well, such as things like how the turn order is effected by new units, what the range of your cards are, or even the abilities and effects of them.
On the plus side, I did think the deck building element is interesting. Each card (unit) can be equipped with a variety of items to strengthen it. Right now the items look only to be stat boosts but there is definitely a lot of flexibility here and would allow for many unique customization options. It would be nice to be able to unequip items from cards, but I could also see that equipping items is permanent as a solid game mechanic as well.
With all the being said, this is an early release and overall I think the game looks very promising. I'm going to give it a high rating based on the potential shown.