Review: Solitairica
Goutham Jayaraman
Ravencrow Game Review #26
Solitairica
https://store.steampowered.com/app/463980/Solitairica/
Genre | Solitaire, Roguelike, Deck Builder |
Platform | PC |
Developer | Righteous Hammer Games |
Publisher | Righteous Hammer Games |
Playtime | ∞ |
Date Completed | - |
Date Reviewed | 11/6/2021 |
Overall Grade | S- |
Solitairica is a roguelike deck builder that uses a modified version of solitaire as its core gameplay mechanic. The game consists of 19 battles that span across 6 zones (granted they all look the same), with the last one being a boss battle. The goal is to clear out several stacks of cards by selecting cards one number bigger or smaller than the one currently drawn from your own deck. If there are no matches, you simply draw another card from your deck and the enemy takes a turn. Basically the same as how solitaire works. Each card is categorized into 4 spell types (Attack, Armor, Agility and Wisdom) and clearing or drawing a card of a certain type powers up your energy in the corresponding area. You then use that energy to unleash powerful spells that can attack cards on the playing field, put up armor, heal yourself or have other varying effects. Before every battle, you have the option to preview the enemy, who can be randomized to have a special trait that changes their playstyle slightly. You also have access to a shop where you can buy items and spells. You can also swap out items and spells as you please.
That is the core gameplay loop, and for me, it was a positive experience.
What I liked
- Loved the gameplay. It felt fun, engaging. I couldn’t stop playing until I won once
- The decks all seemed very interesting and felt like they had their own playstyles. I felt genuine desire in wanting to try each one out
- I liked how much I was stopping to think. It made the game seem strategic and not entirely reliant on luck
- I liked managing my items and spells, constantly being able to buy new ones and swap them out at any time
- I liked the enemy designs. They were actually unique and required some amount of consideration in terms of how I approached them
- Card corruption was a fun twist that enriched gameplay
What I disliked
- Winning and losing some games due to a final top deck
- The upgrades were poorly balanced. Something definitely felt amiss when I saw that a new deck and a minor upgrade costed the same, and that I could only get so many gems each run
- Randomization was still a bit lacking
Gameplay 21/20 | The gameplay here is a fun and addictive loop that will keep you wanting to play the next match. I basically played 3 times, lost all 3 times about a third of the way in, then made it all the way the 4th time, doing all 4 playthroughs in a single session. I think the game is especially fun. You have spells that you can use as many times as needed. You have a shop from which you can buy something new after each round. You have the ability to pick and choose your spells and items. You get to fight a new enemy who will absolutely be different from the last. You get a fantastic adrenaline rush when using multiple spells a turn and clearing out big combos like a boss. Each and every win is challenging and satisfying. You have different curses that can be applied to cards that each present their own special twists to the gameplay. You may find yourself stopping to think regularly You even have multiple decks to choose from and upgrade and each one looks interesting and fun to use. So, yeah I can say that the core gameplay loop is solid. Of course, it can certainly be improved in various ways such as generic upgrades, new spell/item unlocks and more variety, but overall, I can confidently say that the game is fun and engaging and feels like a rougelike deck builder done right. The biggest problem would be frustration caused by not drawing any usable cards and feeling helpless at the mercy of your enemies. Perhaps something could have been done to deal with this as it did make me feel sore, but didn’t stop me from playing I guess. |
Game Design 15/20 | Hmmm, I think designwise, there are definitely good points and bad points. + First of all, the overall design of the game is certainly good. You have 4 different types of cards along with coin and neutral types, and each type powers up your energy for the corresponding type. This energy is then fuel for attacks. It does feel like an optimal way to handle spell usage and is well balanced. I think any more types and it may have become strained. Any less types and it would have been boring. + Enemy design can be applauded as each enemy has his/her own unique deck of cards and each fight will feel different. Enemies also can have random attributes attached to them that provide for further differentiation. I also generally think about the enemy when selecting my spells. For example, if the enemy is going to use poison, I could opt to remove armor spells completely. If the enemy is going to corrupt cards frequently, I can focus on spells that focus on clearing cards faster. It’s nice that each enemy has a preview that allows you the opportunity to plan your strategy before heading in. + On that note, I can appreciate the different curse effects that can be applied to cards. They are each annoying in their own special way and that’s good. + You earn just enough coins from each victory to be able to afford something from the shop. This way, you feel like you are always progressing and becoming stronger. Even if you don’t have enough coins to afford the flashiest items, you can still hold them for a low cost. + Each deck has a unique set of spells and hence plays differently from the rest. Buying new decks feels rewarding and lucrative, and there is genuine desire to want to try out each deck, validating their design. The neat thing about the decks is that they each have different specializations and the cards you draw will ALWAYS be one of those specialized types. For example, the Rogue specializes in Attack and Agility and so only draws Attack and Agility cards. This allows you to plan accordingly. + Spells and items gradually get better whenever you progress to a new area. However, they don’t always outclass earlier spells because more powerful spells are balanced by requiring more energy and costing more money. + The spells and items for sale in the shop at any given time are not obviously superior to each other and so you can find reason to buy any of them depending on your playstyle or needs. You’ll also usually have one spell of each type for sale in the shop, so there should always be something to catch your attention. + Difficulty scales well. Battles do in fact get progressively harder and wins further down feel like they took more effort and hence feel more empowering. + All the different elements come together to create a game that depends on strategic decision making despite the obvious luck factor. You always do have the ability to change up your playstyle and try new things. - And now for the negatives. First of all, it seems like the upgrade feature is not balanced properly. The amount of rainbow gems you get doesn’t scale evenly (doesn’t get higher with every victory), and it can take a while before you can buy your first deck or upgrade. About half of the gems I earned in my winning playthrough came from the final fight itself, further proof that it is imbalanced. I think you should ideally get a certain number of gems for each enemy defeated or gem cards should appear in regular battles rather than just the final boss battle. Otherwise, progress can feel excruciatingly slow. - The deck upgrades feel VASTLY INFERIOR to buying a new deck. I have literally no reason or motivation to go for the upgrades, both because the effect is not as appealing and because the cost is the same as buying a new deck. The only upgrade worth considering is the item upgrade, but even then, it has to be bought separately for each deck. I think I would have liked to see permanent upgrades that could apply for every deck, or more powerful upgrades that unlocked exciting new spells, items, traits or even mechanics. Obviously, the upgrades shouldn’t be costing as much as a new deck either. Some serious rebalancing is needed here. - While enemies are somewhat randomized in the sense that they can have traits, they are overall still fixed. You see the same 3-5 enemies in each of the game’s 6 zones, and often in the same order as well. Each zone also only has one mini boss. The zones are also fixed. So, it has the potential to get old quickly. - Spells and items are also somewhat fixed. You typically will see the same ones appearing in the same zones. I think maybe there simply aren’t that many spells and items there. - I found myself constantly wishing for a spell that would perfectly complement my deck’s core strategy, but the spells in the shop are almost always just generic spells. It took a very long time before I found spells that truly excited me. I think the game could use with a huge content boost and increased randomization. - Items are too generic too. Would have been nice to see items with more special attributes. - There could have been more spells and items that comboed with one another as well. Again, a lot of lost potential in the spell and item design department. - Luck plays a fairly huge role. I mean, it IS solitaire. There will be times when all the strategy in the world cannot overcome having an unplayable card and staring down the barrel of your enemy’s impending attack. I think the developer tried hard to minimize the luck factor by introducing strategic decision making, but there really were so many battles won or lost because of the final top deck. I guess there are easy ways this source of frustration could be mitigated further. For example, there could be a bank slot where you could store a card for future use. There also needs to be stronger spells that can look further into your deck, shuffle your deck, allow you to choose from multiple draws, reveal more cards from the playing field and so on. - There should be a way to increase the number of spells you can use. Six feels just about right at the moment, but if additional spells are added, I think it would be best to allow a 7th and even 8th slot as expensive upgrades. So yeah, overall a lot of things can be changed, but I still like what the game has to offer at the moment. |
Graphics 19/20 | The graphics overall feel crisp and polished. They look and feel pleasant. Enemies, cards, spells and items are all colorful and well drawn. The only gripe with the graphics would be the game world which is rather minimalistic, just consisting primarily of darkness. The zones each have their own names but yeah, just don’t look different from one another. |
Audio 12/20 | + The sound effects are great and echoey. But that’s about all I can say about the audio. There is no music in-game, which I don’t particularly care about but may feel lacking for some. The only music you get is in the overworld area, and even then its quite limited. |
Story 0/0 | Nothing significant |
Lore 1/3 | I guess the enemies do have some kind of a personality, but it really isn’t anything significant. On the other hand, the zones don’t have their own unique feel to them, which is a wasted potential. |
Value 18/20 | Let’s be honest, you probably won’t stop playing that easily. I think there is merit in going through the game with every single deck. Still, the game does have many fixed elements and so despite its immense replay value, it can still end up feeling monotonous if played excessively. |
Overall Grade 17/20 | S- |
Score | 84 |
I would say that Solitairica really surprised me with its engaging gameplay and great game design resulting in solid replay value. There are many parts of it I would love to touch on if I had the chance, but I think it is one of the better roguelikes out there and you won’t go wrong with adding it to your library. The only thing you need to be mindful of is things getting repetitive, but that depends on how often you want to play the game.
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