It seems like deckbuilding roguelikes have been popping up everywhere in the indie scene since slay the spire released, and it seems to have picked up all the credit for starting the trend. Rightfully so, with how much it blew up.
However, seemingly hidden from the general gaming public is dream quest, arguably the progenitor of roguelike deckbuilders. It's honestly shocking how little attention the game seems to have received, with just over 500 reviews combined from the app store and steam page for the game.
There's a decent chance that this is due to the art style, which is probably the first thing someone will point out about the game. While it's obvious how it could turn people away, it does have its own charm, and everything still looks distinct despite how simple it is.
The gameplay itself is easy to understand, but has plenty of depth You move your character around a board, revealing locations and enemies as you go. You can approach these in any order you like, allowing for some extra strategy. When having to choose between one high-level enemy or two low level ones, do you battle the high-level monster to level up and optimize the full-heal you get from levelling, or battle the lower-levels enemies first and hope the loot you get is enough to take down the bigger one?
Combat is obviously where the meat of the game lies. The main cards you utilize basic attack cards, action cards which use an hourglass resource, magic cards that use mana, and equipment cards that provide passive buffs for the battle. The character you choose will also provide you with passive and active buffs to help you in battle, such as fully restoring your mana or making a copy of the next card you play.
While certain characters will obviously play better around a certain archetype due to their abilities, the enemy design makes it difficult for you to rely on one resource to win. Certain enemies can reduce or completely remove one of your resources with their moves and some are resistant to certain types of moves. There are even enemies that will slowly remove cards from your deck, preventing you from keeping your deck small to always draw what you need. The knowledge that there's always an enemy out there that could completely counter your build means you always have to keep your deck flexible, which feels like a big departure from similar games.
All in all, if you have any interest in card games, deckbuilding games, or indie games in general, you need to give this game a shot. On top of being a great game, it's one of the first of its kind, and it's a shame that it seems to have slipped through the hands of so many people.
However, seemingly hidden from the general gaming public is dream quest, arguably the progenitor of roguelike deckbuilders. It's honestly shocking how little attention the game seems to have received, with just over 500 reviews combined from the app store and steam page for the game.
There's a decent chance that this is due to the art style, which is probably the first thing someone will point out about the game. While it's obvious how it could turn people away, it does have its own charm, and everything still looks distinct despite how simple it is.
The gameplay itself is easy to understand, but has plenty of depth You move your character around a board, revealing locations and enemies as you go. You can approach these in any order you like, allowing for some extra strategy. When having to choose between one high-level enemy or two low level ones, do you battle the high-level monster to level up and optimize the full-heal you get from levelling, or battle the lower-levels enemies first and hope the loot you get is enough to take down the bigger one?
Combat is obviously where the meat of the game lies. The main cards you utilize basic attack cards, action cards which use an hourglass resource, magic cards that use mana, and equipment cards that provide passive buffs for the battle. The character you choose will also provide you with passive and active buffs to help you in battle, such as fully restoring your mana or making a copy of the next card you play.
While certain characters will obviously play better around a certain archetype due to their abilities, the enemy design makes it difficult for you to rely on one resource to win. Certain enemies can reduce or completely remove one of your resources with their moves and some are resistant to certain types of moves. There are even enemies that will slowly remove cards from your deck, preventing you from keeping your deck small to always draw what you need. The knowledge that there's always an enemy out there that could completely counter your build means you always have to keep your deck flexible, which feels like a big departure from similar games.
All in all, if you have any interest in card games, deckbuilding games, or indie games in general, you need to give this game a shot. On top of being a great game, it's one of the first of its kind, and it's a shame that it seems to have slipped through the hands of so many people.