Dawncaster: Deckbuilding RPG 9+

Excellent!

I’m loving this deck builder so much, I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase expansions or maybe a variant on the gameplay formula such as a Sci-Fi Fantasy or possibly a Cyberpunk theme, if the Developer considers it. From playing various other card games, this game mostly reminds me of Ascension, MTG, and Fate Hunters. What works for me here is that I can play at it at my own leisure, solo without any human competition. The game has high replay value as you get to level up and unlock various items among the 7 classes you can choose from. Dying on your first few runs is not a penalty but rather a means of learning what your facing up against when it comes to the enemies you’ll encounter and the various card types you can choose from or whether or not you should accept certain cards as you’re building your deck. NO IAP IN ORDER TO PROGRESS IN THE GAME. It’s a pure premium game that screams the quality most mobile gamers are searching for. The atmosphere, music, sound effects, and artwork stand out and are very well done. I highly recommend it if you’re a fan of deck building games. It didn’t take me long to pick up the game’s first expansion, after doing a few runs. Trust that you will lose track of time playing it. Pure fun!

Developer Response ,

Thank you so much for the support @CorpseEater81!

Want to like but either buggy or overly complicated

I like so many things in this game and want to feel like I’m making progress, but little things keep cropping up that kill my runs. 1 time I took a card that wasn’t labeled as uncommon and it killed my ‘common only’ card requirement on a card. Didn’t figure out the problem until 2 combats later and then I was dead. Perhaps that’s my fault but that kind of info needs to be front and center if it impacts your deck (and this was a special card selection screen, not the standard post battle one so there were no fancy light effects), but that’s just one example. One time my healing card didn’t work. Another I got no energy at the start of a turn. Another the effects of my enchantment didn’t work for one turn. None of these are big, but at higher difficulties, not getting a bonus on the turn you’re expecting a bonus leads to game over.
I also have no idea why there needs to be so many key words. I end up just building my decks around basic cards because too many cards have these rare key works, making them unworkable. And basic cards are so powerful in late game (with powerups) that it feels almost pointless to get other cards.
I’m not great at this game but I keep having these bad experiences the further I get. Loved the game for the first week, but now just frustrated with it

Excellent game, active community

No microtransactions or ads!

This game is challenging, highly engaging, and can be played one-handed. It strikes an intriguing balance between randomness and player control.

Progression is linear from low to high numbered areas. Each combat area includes an encounter deck that consists of Enemies, Shops, Rests, and fleeting Opportunities. The player is presented with 3 cards from the encounter deck (similar to Night of the Full Moon) and must choose 1 to proceed. Each combat area has a boss at the end.

Combat consists of playing cards. Each card had an energy color and cost. The player can generate energy in different colors based on stats (Dex, Int, Str). Pay the energy costs to play the cards. The enemy also has energy and a small deck of cards. Enemy actions are telegraphed by the cardback icons. Beware of black cardbacks! Upon victory, the player is presented with gold, XP, and 3 cards. Choose 1 card to add to your deck or skip.

After the player XP bar fills, the player gains a Talent. Talents are ongoing passive effects. Talents may increase a stat, upgrade card damage, add or remove combat status effects, etc.

I have played this game from early iterations and have now come to expect the developers to recognize, respond to, and incorporate good suggestions into future updates. The Discord (linked in the app) is an active and helpful place. Though the game is single-player, the Discord community adds a social element.