Card games, played on PC screens instead of tables, are becoming one of the most popular video game genres nowadays. Just take a look at Twitch and you’ll see Hearthstone, Gwent and many others topping the rankings.
While we usually write about games that require no electricity, today we want to tell you more about these games and how they use card based gameplay in various ways.
Hearthstone
When you ask somebody about digital card games, that aren’t based on any already existing games, they will likely mention Hearthstone. Developed by Blizzard and released in 2014, the game has gathered quite a huge fan following. Porting it to mobile devices has helped to spread its popularity even more.
Hearthstone is a game where 2 players fight in an all-out duel where the main way to win is defeating the other fighter. Inspired by good old Magic the Gathering and World of Warcraft TCG, Hearthstone allows you to cast spells, summon various creatures and use your own powers to lower your opponent’s HP to zero.
The game has a great netcode and allows players from all over the world to compete. Various game modes and new sets of cards released every few months make it continuously fresh and full of content. Here, like in many games by Blizzard Entertainment, a not necessarily new concept is polished to perfection and made deliciously addictive. Some may argue that Hearthstone is rough on new players and may require some microtransactions to fully enjoy, but still it’s a fantastic game worth at least trying for free.
Slay the Spire
Slay the Spire uses a completely different formula, and still manages to borrow tons of ideas and mechanics well known from tabletop card games. The game was released in 2019 by Humble Bundle and developed by MegaCrit. Since its premiere, it got tons of praise in reviews and sold over 1.5 million copies.
In Slay the Spire player is traveling through an increasingly difficult dungeon – roguelike style. Progressing through randomly generated floors extends your card arsenal and allows you to upgrade your deck used in combat. Each chooseable character has their own ability and an unique card deck that makes their gameplay much more different.
Each turn you get 3 energy points that have to be spent on cards you have in your hand. These are drawn every turn and any unused cards get discarded when your turn ends. Cards include various attacks, buffs and long lasting effects. Each encounter won and floor cleared grants you new rewards that increase your stats or improve your deck.
As you progress Slay the Spire feels more and more like classic deck building game (e.g. Hero Realms), where you pick the best cards to add to your deck while trying to skip ones that would make it too big and random. All in all: the game is a great mixture of roguelike gameplay with a tabletop-style card game. Unlockables given to the player after successful runs make it even more replayable.
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The Amazing American Circus
The newest game by Klabater is coming to Kickstarter on February 3rd and it is a perfect example of how you can still do something fresh when it comes to the digital card game genre. The Amazing American Circus merges a number of different video and board games into one solid piece of entertainment. You’ll find elements known from card games, strategy “tycoon” games and the adventure game genre.
What’s the story here? The player becomes a 19th century entrepreneur dead set on creating the best troupe of artists and managing the most popular circus in the region. At first you will be playing as a poor owner with a bunch of faithful artists. Later on you’ll explore various states and perform in many cities, each sporting its own unique audience and preferences.
Each game works like a set of card based duels with the audience of your show. Your cards include various talented artists and their specific stage numbers. You have to figure out the mood of the local audience and act according to it. Meanwhile you will also work on recruiting new talent to the circus. The game features over 100 famous characters inspired by real 19th century figures. Over the course of the game you’ll be able to recruit or confront them all. If you’re really successful, the final chapter will have your circus competing against the legendary P.T. Barnum. Defeating him is the main goal of the game, and if you succeed, your circus can continue its career overseas.
The Amazing American Circus features over 170 beautifully illustrated cards and every single artist has 15 unique ones. As you progress you and your troupe will travel from the Wild West to the East Coast, while showing your talent to the local population all over the US. You can improve your group by inviting characters like the illusionist, the mime or even the one man band.
Every battle requires lots of deck building and smart management of your resources. Successes will lead to unlocking new wagons from Recruitment Cart to the Voodoo Emporium. Each new wagon adds more options and allows more stat increases.
The Amazing American Circus is launching on Kickstarter on February 3rd. Count us hyped!
>>> Check out the pre launch page here
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