Gordian Quest, an RPG review with cards that can be turned into a roguelike

After two years of development on the Early Access release, it’s almost time to get our hands on the definitive release of the rogue-like deck building RPG, Gordian Quest. Mixed Realms and Swag Soft Holdings.

The date to be marked on the calendar is June 23, 2022 and will allow us to find a new hero, the fourth and final act of the main campaign, and additional ways to continue the adventure. But before we get into all that, it’s best to go back to the basics of the game and try to fully understand what we’re talking about. here is ours Gordian Quest review.

D&D

Gordian Quest offers a variety of mods, but the main and biggest one is, Countryside. Divided into four episodes, each lasting at least five hours, the campaign mode puts us in the shoes of a group of heroes who must face an invasion of the undead openly summoned by mages.

through map In the game world, we will have to move from one point in the region to another, completing the battles and narrative events with the occasional D&D style “skill checks”, during which a dice will have to be rolled to add to the stats. that moment. Don’t expect the depth of D&D, because everything is boiled down to three statistics about hero archetypes (strength, dexterity, magic).

yes it can increase each character in various ways, in all cases, both by leveling up and through equipment. Then there is the extensive skill tree system that allows us to acquire new cards, improve what we have, and increase the character’s attack and defense values. There are also various RPG elements in Gordian Quest, but at lower difficulty levels, not all of them really matter to continue successfully.

Sword and magic

The focus of the game is skirmishes that take place in turns. card deckdetermining the abilities of each hero.

The build is classic and well known to fans of the genre deck construction: Each deck contains attack, defense, and other cards that can apply buffs or weaken enemies. Each hero has a set of moves that can be performed per turn, and in addition to dealing damage, they must increase their armor to dodge their opponents’ blows. It wouldn’t surprise anyone to know that enemies signal an incoming attack so we can organize ourselves.

Unlike simpler games like Slay the Spire, battles take place in one go. arena divided into rows and columns: Location and attack range are important and we will usually need to move our heroes to take down monsters. Secondary aspects such as poison, weakening, and various elemental effects are also adept: The point is that the fight is always fun, thanks to the variables to be noticed.

The game mechanics are not too complicated to understand, and above all, there are multiple difficulty levels that allow you to aim for a casual game or a seriously challenging game depending on your taste.

Roguelite or not

There customize The experience also depends on how we want to approach the game. The campaign can also be tackled in roguelike mode, where death is certain and it is not possible to resurrect defeated heroes.

But more importantly, Zone addition mode, which makes Gordian Quest a true roguelike. Rather than having a narrative campaign and a map to explore freely, the game takes the structure of Slay the Spire and asks us to complete a series of challenges, after choosing three heroes, moving towards a boss at the end of the level. , going through battles, safe areas where you can heal, merchants to buy items, etc.

This is an alternative way to play Gordian Quest, if you only care about the core of the game and don’t want to (re)play the narrative campaign. Also consider what every hero has four decks different, this changes the way he fights: the content is not missing and you can continue for dozens of hours.

Finally, one is also available 1vs1 PvP mode Where you can build a deck for each hero and face other players online.