![]() So far, so very Hearthstone, however the added dimension of movement and extra tactical considerations it brings do subtly affect the gameplay. Everything works using the mouse, mostly via drag and drop mechanics that emulate the use of a finger on a touch screen, and generals each possess once special skill that has its own cooldown timer. Three points exist at the centre of each map that when conquered add 1 temporary point of energy to your pool for the turn, and these are usually the source of an initial scramble and armouring stage before the two sides really get down to fighting. Monsters and Generals have a clear health and attack value, and the objective is to kill your opponents general by any means necessary. These represent your options and a new card is drawn at the end of every turn to give you time to think about what you want to do next. ![]() A hand of five cards is drawn at the start of the game signifying your initial options, of which 3 can be discarded and redrawn, obviously with a preference for lower cost cards at the games outset. Each side takes turns to move their general on a small 9×5 grid, attack, play any spell or equipment cards and summon monsters using a pool of energy that increases by one point every round. Gameplay, or more specifically combat, is the meat of this title. There’s a wide range of initial units to unlock. It’s really just a setup for 2-party battles to take place indefinitely, but the background has clearly had a great deal of thought put into it and unlocking narrative content always feels like a treat. Nations have agreed to forego wars in preference for placing rules and backing their generals in the contest to conquer this tower, and put their full weight behind every action you take in their name. The plot largely revolves around the presence of a mysterious monolith that chosen Duelysts are sent to conquer, with the world around spiralling into decay. The narrative for Duelyst is unlocked through play as a series of optional but informative books that can be read or listened to as an actor/actress emotes their way through their entry into the worlds history. Voice acting, when presented, is of a good quality throughout. There are a few too few effects to cover the large range of units and generals to collect however, making for a good deal of sharing between the small pools of sounds on offer. Sound effects vary but are on the whole a strong selection and they leave no doubt that blows have connected as visceral blood splatter, sword swings and blunt impacts resound from the speakers of your desktop. Battles feel fast and furious all the more because of this and the whole atmosphere of the game is lifted. Musically this title manages to pull some truly epic feeling punches by using an orchestral soundtrack that really pops from the second the game is booted up. The menu system is clear however and details are always easy to read and assess. ![]() It does gel after a short while with the game, but the overall lack of cohesive art style harms Duelyst in its long run and some sprites fall into pixel messes trying to convey richly detailed characters in a small space with limited assets. Clearly they are using pixel art to look cool for retro players rather than creating HD character sprites with a high level of polish (which ‘Battleborn Tap’ managed effortlessly despite being a humble Tapper). It’d an odd combination that works, but makes you wonder if they are appealing to too many niches with this product. Graphicalls the game mixes HD anime inspired hand-drawn visuals for characters (largely the generals you command and their opponents) with slick menu presentation that uses high quality painted art and a faux-retro 16-bit graphical style for characters on the field. There’s a heavy lean on building a competitive and loving community for this title that’s supported by social media links and discussions on Reddit and Discord as well as a complete Wiki made available at launch, which should make for an interesting period of players finding they groove and friendly competition that will be the heart and soul of the game. There are clearly defined elements of Hearthstone here, but also early Tactics RPGS, pixel art based on the 16bit era and visuals clearly inspired by the extreme end in over the top Anime and Manga. The product of Counterplay Games, Duelyst is a love letter to a lot of different sources. ![]() It’s an interesting take on the online PvP and tournament genre, but does it stand up to the usual depth that a Tactics RPG contains? If you fused the basic battle system found in the original ‘Shining Force’ with the card-based play style of ‘Hearthstone’ you’d have a decent idea of what Duelyst is. ![]()
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