There are a lot of deckbuilding roguelikes around these days. Between Balatro, Slay the Spire, Monster Train, Wildfrost, and many more, the prospect of building a deck and taking that into your next run is all too familiar at this point. The genre is diverse, but with so many excellent entries demanding my attention, it’s difficult to pick up an entirely new spin on a randomized deck of cards. That’s where Hellcard comes in, because not only does this roguelike channel the positional CRPG combat of Baldur’s Gate 3, but it’s also a co-op spin on the genre you can play for free right now – but you’ve got to be quick.
Okay, so what exactly is Hellcard? The co-op deckbuilding roguelike starts off familiar. You build a deck from over 400 cards, unlock artifacts, and pick between multiple classes as you create your own synergies for combat. Just as you can choose decks in Balatro and characters in Slay the Spire, Hellcard sets you up with plenty of choice.
Developer Thing Trunk twists the genre with combat, though. As you (and your friends in co-op) stand in the middle of a circle, you need to pick your cards wisely. Some draws buff you and your party, others hit or stun individual enemies, and others attack in a cone shape. Just like the turn-based action of Baldur’s Gate 3, you’re constantly weighing up your available actions with enemy placement, trying to set up sweeping moves.
In Hellcard, communication is key. So if you thought a BG3 Honour Mode co-op run was hard, bring that skill (and those friends) into another challenge. Make sure you all know who has what cards, what they can do, and the enemies you’re about to face. Otherwise, I don’t know that you’ll make it.
If that’s not enough, Hellcard also has an endless mode. So if you fancy pushing the deckbuilding to its limits while holding your highest floor reached over your friends’ heads, this is the way.
Thing Trunk’s stunt to make the game free is working as well, with the playercount surging from around 100 to over 3,000 as players drop in and give it a try. If you’re sat on the fence a bit (and a roguelike deckbuilder being free isn’t enough for you), Hellcard has over 2,000 user reviews sitting at 84% positive – so people clearly love it.
You can play Hellcard for free on Steam until Monday August 26, and the game is also 40% off until Thursday August 29 so expect to pay $14.99 / £12.59 before then. You can find the game right here.
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