So, this game is kinda bad. But you know what isn't? Some of the games I'm giving away for free here on Backloggd!

Sights & Sounds
- Not a lot to talk about visually given that it's just a card game with some FMVs separating the rounds. I did like the character portraits and some of the art on the face cards, though
- The soundtrack is pretty generic, and all that I really recalled about it was a predilection for brass instruments
- The FMV performances were interesting since all the actors are content creators, many of whom were at some point associated with Rooster Teeth. I won't say that it broke my immersion (how immersed can you truly be in solitaire?), but it's difficult to put on a serious face while taking mission orders from Greg Miller when all I've watched him do is video review Oreo cookies. I'm also more used to seeing Alanah Pierce try to convince a man from Tennessee that Deadly Premonition is good, not asking me to save her spy mentor

Story & Vibes
- You're just some dude that Greg Miller kidnaps because you're apparently some god of 1-player card games. In this universe, I guess that translates to being good at orchestrating teams of operatives aiming to waylay the global domination plans of the game's antagonist, Solitaire
- You'll travel the globe to exotic locales to... play a card game on an unthemed background. Could they not at least put a picture from the real world location or something?
- Honestly, the vibes are all over the place. I can't tell whether the game is trying to be serious or not, and I'm not sure the devs knew either. It comes off feeling inconsistent and confused

Playability & Replayability
- So, it's a game focused on a single card game, but there's lots of flavors of solitaire. Surely they mix it up here with stuff like Klondike, Golf, Yukon, or Pyramid right? Nope. There's only one variety with 8 stacks of face-up cards. You don't even have to worry about alternating suits or colors
- The game does inject a little variety by giving you factions to work with ahead of each mission. The face cards from each faction have special abilities that may be purely beneficial, purely problematic, or a double-edged sword that can be useful if used correctly
- These powers mainly come into play if you're attempting to beat each level in a defined number of moves. Finishing a mission in fewer moves than that limit will net you bonus experience points
- Leveling up doesn't confer any benefit other than unlocking more factions for use in other game modes, which include a survival mode, "countdown" (same as the regular game, but the move limit is actually enforced), and an infinite mode
- Your main task in the campaign is to reach level 15. Given that the reward for playing optimally is additional experience, the de facto upshot of good performance is that you play the game less. No new skills, card art, backgrounds, or side missions. You just get to play less Solitaire Conspiracy
- I beat the campaign, but I'm not so enamored with card games (or, in reality, the single solitaire variation present here) that I had any desire to go back and try the additional game modes. Not much replay value here in my estimation

Overall Impressions & Performance
- I'm not sure what I was really expecting going into this, but the biggest disappointment is that the game barely evolves as you beat it. Unlocking new factions just didn't offer enough variety
- It ran well, but that's unsurprising. All it has to do is render cards, a map, and some video. No issues on the Steam Deck

Final Verdict
- 3.5/10. I guess I just thought there'd be a bit more variety as far as gameplay is concerned. There's so many varieties of solitaire, and it's not like you have to pay anyone to add them to a game. It's not a complete waste, but I just don't know who this game is for or who I'd recommend it to

Throughout the campaign, you unlock new crew decks. Each deck has a unique ability that will either help your game or create a challenge. There are two extra recruitment crews you can unlock by completing missions. They aren't required by the campaign but it's added content.

Every Joker, Queen, and King card shares background story on the character's portraits. I enjoyed the art style and that each crew had a different vibe. I wonder why we didn't get the story with these characters instead of the FMV characters. It felt like they were separate things. The FMV was fine, but not everyone did a great job acting. I didn't care what was happening. The story was much too predictable. I was more interested in, well....playing solitaire.

After the campaign, you unlock daily missions and two gameplay modes. One is practice while the other is an endless mode if you can survive the time. Overall, it was a fun spin on solitaire.