Words Can Kill

everything's a roguelike deckbuilder these days, even if they aren't or shouldn't be. this plays like [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/dohi64/recommended/373970]letter quest[/url] (the undisputable king of the genre) or bookworm adventures (also good but no word definitions, just like here, and it's not available for purchase anymore), except when you die, you start over because that's always more fun than making progress. also, [b]the demo quietly got removed after release[/b]. always a ♥♥♥♥ anti-consumer move but I had even lower standards a few years ago and kept it wishlisted, then eventually bought it for less than half price (6 eur outside a sale, not too bad). wouldn't do the same now, ♥♥♥♥ these practices and devs practicing them, even if the game itself might be fine otherwise. very basic presentation, very basic settings, available anytime. separate volumes, resizable windowed mode, a few languages, v-sync, toggles for alternative controls and censorship. there's an in-game stats screen with achievements, unlocked equipment and whatnot. no bestiary, missed opportunity. alt controls are only explained with a tooltip in the pause menu (and the patch notes from years ago …

A neat little scrabble-adjacent type game. It's a little clunky and slow in certain moves, but it's entertaining.

Words Can Kill is an inventive combination of word puzzle, roguelike progression, and tactical deckbuilding that manages to turn vocabulary into a genuine combat system. Instead of relying on conventional cards representing attacks, spells, or defenses, the game gives players letters and challenges them to assemble useful words while surviving a sequence of encounters. Developed and published by Typing Monkey, it takes an immediately understandable concept and surrounds it with enough resource management and strategic decision-making to become much more than a simple spelling exercise. The central combat system is where the game establishes its personality. Letters function much like cards in a traditional deckbuilder, and the words created from them determine what can be accomplished during a turn. Finding a valid word is only the beginning of the decision-making process. Players must consider word length, available equipment, enemy intentions, remaining letters, and what resources might be useful on subsequent turns. A perfectly valid word may therefore be strategically inferior to another combination that leaves better possibilities available for later. An especially interesti…

I like word games. I like rogue-likes. I enjoy slay the spire. This game is just not fun. Maybe if I could select targets I would enjoy it more. Too many mechanics are more irritating than difficult.

There are quite a few deckbuilder / roguelike word games out there and this is one of the most original. It's really really tactical; it's not about knowing lots of words, it's about planning your moves and using the combos of gear and tiles synergistically. (I was really skeptical of the mode where the game simply tells you all the words you can make with your current hand, but actually hints don't make the game particularly easier, and anyway you can turn it off if you hate it.) The enemies feel genuinely different to each other and there's plenty of replayability and meta-game depth. The graphics are a bit rubbish, very generic cartoons, but aside from that a very satisfying game.

This game is great fun! I enjoy trying out the different weapon and armor enhancements, and trying to build my words around those strengths. I've played for just over 9 hours, and I have just now beat the first castle. I love seeing the new items that unlock after each run. Kudos on developing a keeper!