Summary
- The deck-building genre is filled with a variety of sci-fi and fantasy options, offering unique and challenging experiences.
- Games like Beneath Oresa, Zet Zillions, and Cobalt Core bring innovative twists to the genre, focusing on tactical elements and immersive presentation.
- Dune: Imperium merges deck-building and worker-placement mechanics, offering a strategic experience with diverse gameplay and meaningful decisions.
The deck-building genre has become increasingly over-saturated ever since the dramatic popularity of Slay The Spire and its immediate imitators, with games such as Monster Train and the more recent smash-hit Balatro keeping the genre alive since Mega Crit's standout release.
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While deck-building games such as the aforementioned Slay The Spire and Monster Train bring their settings to life with fantastical flair, there are plenty of deck-builders for science-fiction fans to enjoy. From the tactical spaceship battles of Cobalt Core to the tower-defense deck-building of Tower Tactics: Liberation, sci-fi deck-builders have a lot to offer.
1 Beneath Oresa
A Sci-Fi Fantasy Dungeon-Crawl With A Focus On Positioning
- Platform(s): PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch
- Released: 2023
- Developer(s): Broken Spear Inc.
- Genre: Deck-Builder
Beneath Oresa is a relatively challenging roguelike deck-builder with a sci-fi fantasy theme, combining traditional fantasy imagery with science-fiction elements such as robotic characters. Beneath Oresa's greatest strength may be its stylish presentation, including memorable character designs and immersive environments, but its moment-to-moment gameplay is a frequently satisfying experience.
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Barring its comic-book 3D visuals, Beneath Oresa may look somewhat similar to cornerstone deck-builders such as Slay The Spire, featuring turn-based combat played with a hand of cards, each requiring energy to play. However, the game's focus on tactical positioning with its zone-based system allows it to stand out in the busy crowd of roguelike deck-builders.
2 Zet Zillions
A Competent Deck-Builder With Incredible Style
Zet Zillions
- Released
- May 23, 2024
- Developer(s)
- OTA IMON Studios
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Genre(s)
- Roguelike, Digital Card Game, Strategy, Deckbuilding
Though it appears to be a standard deck-builder on the surface, Zet Zillions is elevated by its wild themes and imaginative visuals, bolstered by creative character designs and a bold, colorful art style that pops off the screen. Its narrative may be a jumble of nonsensical (albeit creative) ideas, but the moment-to-moment gameplay is what makes Zet Zillions live and breathe.
The most unique element of Zet Zillions may not be its unhinged presentation, however, as the game also features a distinctive fusion system that allows players to combine cards for powerful results. Zet Zillions is also a roguelite, so players who don't enjoy meta-progression may want to steer clear.
3 Tower Tactics: Liberation
A Unique Combination Of Tower-Defense And Deck-Building
- Platform(s): PC
- Released: 2023
- Developer(s): asraworks
- Genre: Deck-Builder
This science-fiction roguelike features gameplay that combines traditional tower-defense mechanics with deck-building elements akin to games such as Slay The Spire. The game's art style may be minimal, but the unique premise and easy-to-learn gameplay loop make for a worthwhile experience.
The structure of Tower Tactics: Liberation is relatively simple, with players taking on encounters that play like most tower-defense games. This time around, however, players are placing turrets using cards. Players can add cards to their deck throughout the run, while also acquiring a variety of relics (passive items) to support their build. Towers aren't the only type of card, however. The game also features spell cards that players can cast during battle, resulting in combat encounters that can be much more active than traditional tower defense games.
4 Griftlands
Klei Entertainment's Blend Of RPG And Roguelike Deck-Builder
Griftlands
- Released
- July 11, 2019
- Developer(s)
- Klei Entertainment
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Linux, Microsoft Windows, macOS
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Indie Games, Adventure, Strategy
This creative combination of a role-playing game and a roguelike deck-builder makes for a tremendously unique experience that's replete with strategies and diverse gameplay. From interacting with the many unique NPCs, some of which players can have a genuine impact on, to negotiating with potential threats, to taking on dangerous foes in turn-based combat, there's a real ebb and flow to Griftlands.
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The presentation of the game is superb, which is no surprise given that it was developed by the prolific Klei Entertainment. However, the RPG-influenced gameplay loop is arguably its greatest strength, allowing for a more immersive, narrative-driven experience while ensuring many of the interactions are mechanical.
5 Cobalt Core
A Tactical Blend Of Familiarity And Innovation
- Platform(s): PC, Nintendo Switch
- Released: 2023
- Developer(s): Rocket Rat Games
- Genre: Deck-Builder
When it comes to deck-builders, Cobalt Core is the perfect blend of familiarity and innovation. Players control a ship and its crew of three, put together from an ensemble of distinctive and wholly charismatic characters, with each member of the crew being represented by their unique cards. These cards are shuffled together to produce a highly thematic deck for the player to command their ship within the game's tactical combat encounters.
Cobalt Core's unique selling point, however, is its tactical twist on the deck-building genre. For the most part, cards allow the player to physically move their ship left and right, as well as fire their weaponry. That's not all, though. The enemy ship can move, too. This results in a tactical back-and-forth that's unique to Cobalt Core alone, and the narrative elements and colorful pixel art presentation result in a neat package.
6 Dune: Imperium
Deck-Building And Worker-Placement Packed With Meaningful Decisions
- Platform(s): PC, Xbox, Mobile
- Released: 2024
- Developer(s): Dire Wolf
- Genre: Deck-Builder
Dune: Imperium is a digital adaptation of the popular board game of the same name, a unique deck-builder that combines traditional deck-building with worker-placement mechanics. In the game, players use cards to send agents to a variety of unique locations, each of which reaps its own rewards. These cards, however, also (but not always) have two unique effects, one of which triggers when played, the other of which triggers in the deck-building phase.
This results in an incredibly strategic experience packed with meaningful decisions, as nearly every single card played can be a momentous choice. The variety of playable leaders provides their unique strengths and weaknesses, and the diversity of cards and potential strategies keep the gameplay fresh for a good while. Furthermore, the game features a recently released DLC that only adds to the game's strategic depth.
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