Claymores of the Lost Kingdom

Claymores of the Lost Kingdom is an ambitious roguelike deckbuilding RPG that aims to break away from the tightly structured paths typical of the genre and instead present a broader, more exploratory fantasy journey. Rather than funneling players through a linear sequence of battles, the game places them in a famine-stricken world where survival, growth, and discovery are shaped by choice. From the outset, it communicates a sense of freedom: your character is not defined by a preset class or rigid role, but by the cumulative decisions you make, the attributes you develop, and the risks you are willing to take as you travel through an unstable kingdom filled with danger and opportunity. At the mechanical core of Claymores of the Lost Kingdom is its classless progression system, which strongly influences how each run unfolds. Instead of choosing a warrior, mage, or rogue at the start, players invest in core attributes such as strength, dexterity, intelligence, and constitution, with these stats directly determining which cards, skills, and synergies become available. This design encourages experimentation and personal expression, as builds emerge organically over time rather than be…

I was reluctant to try it, because from the outside the mechanics looked overwhelming, like too many things thrown together. However, I decided to give it a shot in the dark, and was pleasantly surprised. The mechanics build well on top of each other, learning what the game is really about is very rewarding (while difficult), and wisdom is fun to start with. Give it a shot!

Very interesting concept, can be a little confusing to start but super satisfying when it clicks.

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The game just isn't fun sadly. The balance is all over the place.The builds rely heavily on RNG to get particular cards that will carry your runs, and about half an hour in, the enemies will probably get 2-3 defense against physical and/or magic, while doubling their damage. Some of the cards don't do what they say, either. Blizzard costs 4 mana and is supposed to do 1 damage for every stack of frostbite on an enemy. It always does 1 damage, regardless of how many stacks of frostbite are on an enemy. There was another card that would inexplicably give me 1 extra mana every time I cast it. There's just a lot of little things that add up to make the game irritating. To top it all off, runs are pretty short, probably an hour or two, and you have to listen to the same ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ trader and click through his dialogue every time you start a new run. I understand there are some more story elements if you manage to get a god tier RNG run and have all the cards that actually work the way they're supposed to, but I just don't care enough to play over and over until the gods decide to allow me to build a proper deck.

I wish I could recommend it. It is so close to being good. There's just so much there that is unpolished: No general direction, no full map view with location names (seriously), limited game art variety, limited viable build variety, limited understanding of game mechanics even after several playthroughs to try to get achievements (limited guides), difficulty achievements locked behind developer-said impossible mechanics (view the 0% completions on those before buying). The trading system seems largely pointless. I just found myself feeling disappointed... a lot. I was just left with a feeling like it wasn't worth it for more playthroughs, which is unfortunate.