Deck of Ashes

[h1][b]6/10[/b][/h1] Odd game design decisions drag down the fantastic art, but it's still decent overall. It's like a smaller, lighter version of Gordian Quest. Though I probably won't play it more than 10 hours or so because the design choices make combat feel awkward. [h2]Pros:[/h2] - Characters are quite likeable. Just blows my mind that this inexpensive indie game can have far more interesting characters vs $70-100 Outer Worlds 2 that I recently tried. Shame on you, Obsidian/Microsoft - Voice acting, music, and sound design are surprisingly good for being an indie - *Love* the art. It's got a very original vibe to it, and it's great at communicating emotions & abstract ideas. Probably the best thing about the game for me - Card art is pretty good too. Many of these games have very same-y looking cards that aren't instantly recognizable, but that's not the case here - Boss fights are pretty epic feeling [h2]Mehs:[/h2] - In the campaign, you don't really go anywhere. You just move around your camp over and over gathering stuff... and eventually the boss attacks you - Though turns can go quickly in combat, trash fights take way too many turns even on easiest difficul…

There's something seriously wrong with the controls in this game both on controller AND keyboard and mouse. Game is an un playable buggy mess. It's a real shame because outside of that it seems like a rather cool game. On control pad, in two parts in the tutorial, i had to press A, and nothing would happen. Made it impossible to even finish the tutorial without switching between control pad and keyboard and mouse. Then when i started a new game using keyboard and mouse, i pressed esc and it opens the main menu, yet no matter what i did (pressing esape again and etc), you can't close the menu. Bizarrely you can still play with that menu popped up over the comabt screen. But you cannot remove it. Even after finishing combat and starting a new battle, the pop up menu remains over the screen. Playing the turuorial with a control pad was a horrible experience. The controls were absolutely horrendous. using a keyboard and mouse seemed a lot better. Until i pressed esp and pressing it again does not remove the menu. Then, to make it even worse, i exited the game and it saves, when i tried to reload the game/continue, i couldn't get it to load, instead, i could only over write my …

There are literally hundreds of games like this that do everything better.

Deck of Ashes takes the deck-building roguelike formula and gives it a much darker identity by combining card-based strategy with survival mechanics and long-term resource management. While many games in the genre focus almost entirely on building powerful combinations and defeating increasingly difficult enemies, this game attempts to create a stronger sense of danger and consequence. Victory is not determined only by winning battles but by whether players can survive an entire journey through a world consumed by corruption and decay. The experience feels less like a sequence of isolated encounters and more like a dangerous expedition where every decision can affect future progress. The world itself immediately establishes a darker tone. Instead of placing players into the role of ideal heroes fighting for noble causes, the game follows antiheroes who are flawed, damaged, and often driven by personal motivations. This approach creates a different atmosphere compared to traditional fantasy adventures because the characters themselves feel less predictable. Their stories revolve around redemption, survival, and struggle rather than simple heroism, giving the narrative a rougher and…

Many of the issues with controls, are down to having a pad connected to the pc while playing. Once unplugged mouse should now work, or at least it did for me. Then becomes playable from a mess, its not at the same level as other well known deck builders.

picked up 5 years late for a few quid and im happy with it at that price, wouldn't be paying £16 quid for it, anything over a 10er is way too much for such a game. If you're into the card battler deckbuilding games this is a nice one picking up for a few quid. only 7 hours into it but i do see myself going back putting a lot more hours into it at some point.