Hellcard review

A Delightful but Daunting Triple Decker

As inaugural efforts go, Thing Trunk’s Book of Demons was rather remarkable. Although a comparison to Diablo’s dungeon crawls is probably the most obvious point of reference, the title delivered several deviations from hack-and-slash formula. From allowing players to dictate the length of a run to the integration of a card-based mechanic that simplified equipment and skill systems, creativeness was abundant.

And largely, that’s also the case with Hellcard, the Warsaw-based studio’s follow-up. Thing Trunk imagines this as another entry in their plan to construct a seven-game, papercraft-themed metaverse.  And while that’s an almost excessively ambitious goal, Hellcard doesn’t disrupt the developer’s fledgling success.

The Usual Suspects

Sure, there are still a few lingering issues following a year-long period in Steam’s Early Access program. But shrewd design decisions like co-operative play, a skillful user interface, and a push toward accessibility make this an easy recommendation for fans of card-based combat. And unlike many of its peers, Hellcard doesn’t feel like another Slay the Spire clone.

At the beginning of Hellcard’s descent through a twelve-floor dungeon, you’ll select from one of four fantasy archetypes for your character. While that might sound like a knock against Hellcard, it’s not. Instead, the Mage, Rogue, Tinkerer, and Warrior, all play like you’d expect, whether it’s a partiality for magical or physical strikes, ranged or melee attacks, or traditional weapon preferences. This approach helps to offset the lack of an extended tutorial. But it also seems that Thing Trunk expects a bit of intellectual exercise from its players.

Conquering the Hordes

Runs toss you into a single-screen gladiatorial arena with creatures who increase in quantity and capacity. The battlefield is built around a delineated ring that groups enemies into near and far zones. While your Warrior might do a bit of damage to distant foes, the injury is doubled for adjacent adversaries. For the bow-wielding Rogue, the opposite is true.

Drawing from your pool of mana, you’ll play cards that dispense different types of attacks, buffs, debuffs, or contribute to your defensive shielding. Thoughtfully, the game’s 400+ Hellcards are easy to read, and their properties are mostly clear (harnessing the ability of the tinkerer’s tools does require a bit of practice). Similarly, the game offers a distinct indicator of imminent damage and the amount of protection your character has accumulated. Icons floating above enemies indicate what enemies are about to attack, which is invaluable when developing a survival strategy.

Survival Requires Teamwork

When playing with online partners, your allies will have access to their own decks which they’ll have an opportunity to enhance and enlarge between stages. But for solo play, Thing Trunk makes some smart decisions. Instead of getting bogged down with the intricacies of micromanagement, companion upgrades are handled automatically. In combat, you’ll still be calling the shots from an abridged hand, extending a skillful balance of autonomy with prompt pacing.

Whether you play with real people or confront crowds with your companions, teamwork is essential. Occasionally, you might use one character to push a threat back and employ another party member when an opportunity to strike an AOE-attack as a cluster of foes emerges. Naturally, Hellcard tosses any increasing number of complications your way, from exploding enemies to ones that can deal damage if they’re not killed in a single attack.

The Joys of Artifact Collecting

Of course, these kinds of obstacles are only fun if you have a proper counter. Early on, making it through Hellcard’s twelve-stage trek is quite difficult. You’ll confront multiple muscular mid-bosses with large health pools while there are few chances for rejuvenation for your heroes. Fortunately, you’re showered with multiple rewards after each round so you’ll be able to enhance your deck. Meanwhile, metagame progression allows for the use of artifacts at the beginning of the game that provide your character with a slight statistical edge.

But that also means that subsequent runs can grow fatiguing. Part of the problem is the length of each game – which can stretch out for more than an hour. At present, Hellcard’s balancing means that dividends can be scarce. As such, you’ll probably need to allocate a portion of your time before unlocking Endless Mode or the Tinkerer class. If you’re a masochist, the presence of modifiers that increase of difficulty of a run can add additional punishment.

Hellcard was played on PC with review code provided by the publishers.