Have you ever found yourself swinging longswords or performing incantations in an engrossing fantasy RPG and thought to yourself, ‘Hmmm, I wonder what this would feel like as a roguelike deck builder?’ Well, whether you’ve thought about it or not, I’ve gone and found you the answer. Meet Claymores of the Lost Kingdom, which aims to create the ambience and feel of a medieval fantasy RPG but with a big ol’ deck of cards.
Pioneered by the likes of Slay the Spire, the happy marriage between roguelike games and deck builders has now endured for many years, with newcomers arriving on a very regular basis. Claymores of the Lost Kingdom is the latest, and just like so many of the best RPGs, it wants to keep you immersed in a medieval battle of wits and might, even if it’s the cards you’re controlling rather than the weapons themselves.
When you first begin, those RPG hallmarks are plain to see. You get to pick your name, background, and a race that comes with a certain distribution of stats across strength, constitution, dexterity, wisdom, and intelligence. You’ll then be placed in the starting area of a vast kingdom, and you can choose which location and encounter to take on first from the map.
From there, it’s time to pick some starting cards for your deck and head into battle. Your opponents are depicted with some really beautifully-drawn artwork, performing animated attacks on their turns and reacting to your attacks and the cards you play. More hand-drawn characters appear in narrative segments before and after battles or to give you quests.
There are over 300 unique cards in Claymores of the Lost Kingdom, and as you increase your character’s specific attributes, you’ll get the chance to unlock cards that compliment those stats. With such a wide range of cards, the unpredictability of roguelike encounters, your individual stats, and some modifiers too, there are a lot of potential combinations and outcomes in every encounter and plenty of strategic thinking is required.
As you progress, you’ll unlock more of the Lost Kingdom’s map until you’ve eventually visited and conquered all 99 locations it has to offer. Both visually, and with the exploration and player progression systems at play, it feels like there’s just the perfect amount of RPG-ness here. The deck-building is the star attraction, but it’ll still slightly scratch the itch that you get for games like Fable, Kingdom Come Deliverance, or Skyrim.
Claymores of the Lost Kingdom is out now on Steam, and up until Monday, December 9, you’ll be able to get 10% off. That means that you can get everything Claymores has to offer for just $13.49 / £11.51.
For more deck-building experiences, check out our list of the best card games on PC right now. For more ye olde titles, our best medieval games guide is the place to be.
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