Hyperspace Deck Command

Very, very fun. Good balance with maybe just a few nitpicks here and there, lots of fun effects and combos to work around with, all of the status effects having both buff and debuff counterparts is a novel concept that is executed very well. The soundtrack fits so well you wouldn't think it's all cherrypicked royalty-free songs. The setting is very fun to get little tidbits of, makes me want to learn more about it.

Best in category of masterpieces that will nevertheless filter 99% of potential players. Try the demo. If it's for you, you'll know it immediately.

Deep and enjoyable operatic starship fleet battle simulator. Did you ever want to irradiate a ship so your boarders can overtake it? Send in a fighter squadron as backup so your bombers can obliterate a carrier? Overcharge your ships with fuel so they get first strike on a enemy mercenary fleet? Now you can!

You're basically thrown to the deep end from the start, but what can I say? You learn to swim by drowning or something. It's lane-based defense deckbuilder, so kinda closer to Monster Train rather than Slay the Spire. But only check it if you can stand learning by hitting your head on the wall until it breaks.

A frighteningly clever game wherein you may pursue and mix a plethora of strategies to give your ships the first shot, and their ships not even a chance to scratch yours. Ideally.

Charmingly garish, tactically sound, and deleteriously addicting. What starts as a simple turn-based game about managing your ship's attack timers and status effects very quickly starts to invoke the same nail-biting stress as FTL: one ship's on fire, you can't hit anything because all of the enemies have set up flares, and you really just need your commander to be anywhere except literally on the bottom of your deck. Micro-adjusting your fleet to take out an enemy or interrupt an attack is supremely satisfying, and managing to hang in there for long enough to start putting together some real power via the game's surprisingly varied upgrades is exhilarating.