Platform(s): PC (via Steam, version previewed), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch
Genre: Card-Battling, RPG, Roguelite, Anime

Inti Creates, an indie game studio celebrated for their expertise in crafting exceptional 2D action games with anime aesthetics, is set to make a splash with their upcoming release, Card-en-Ciel, a captivating turn-based card-battling RPG. Boasting a collection of over 300 unique cards, each featuring distinct characters, 50 fully orchestrated vocal tracks, and a 6×3 playfield offering strategic depth, the game is a delightful amalgamation of various genres rolled into one. With its promise of providing an enjoyable, challenging experience and flexibility for both deckbuilding aficionados and newcomers, Card-en-Ciel is shaping up to be a highly anticipated title.

Following an extensive 7-hour hands-on session with the preview build, which showcased two primary dungeons from the full game alongside a tutorial dungeon, Card-en-Ciel truly shines. Plus, players can obtain around 100 of the 300 cards and all progress made, including the collected cards, can be transferred to the full game on 24 October 2024.

Diving into the VR world

Explore the world of Card-en-Ciel as you step into the shoes of Neon Nanashiki, the Gaming Chair Detective, in a full-body VR game called Rust Tactics. In this bright-cyberpunk adventure, Neon teams up with the insightful developer Ancie to investigate a bizarre malfunction that is causing characters from other games to seep into Rust Tactics. The game’s storyline is easy to follow, thanks to the excellent voice acting and the support of Ancie, who provides valuable tips as you navigate the game’s dungeons.

In the demo, you’ll find yourself delving into dungeons, encountering enemies, and discovering chest rewards that can bolster your health or even recruit new cards to aid you on your journey. Whether you choose to face numerous enemies or head straight to the boss fight, the freedom to explore the dungeons at your own pace adds an exciting element to the gameplay. As you progress through each floor, you’ll encounter larger maps, more rooms, and tougher adversaries, making for an increasingly challenging experience.

When facing off in battle, you’ll have the opportunity to play 5 cards per turn, each offering distinct abilities and directions. The immediate execution of card effects, coupled with the energy cost associated with each card, adds an extra layer of strategy to the gameplay. Once your energy is depleted, you’ll need to carefully consider your next moves as you wait for the enemy to make a move.

Mastering the Art

Certain enemies will have a countdown timer which will reduce with every action you take. Once the counter hits at 1, players can utilize the Action Card to deal damage to the enemy and avoid its attack at the same time. Discarding a card will move you in the direction denoted by the card, without expending any energy. This is important because enemy attacks will have their area of effect highlighted on the grid. So, combat at a base level is considering when to use specific cards for damage, and when to use cards for movement. There may be some cards that you’ll have to decide what to use for, assuming that they come with both a movement direction and an ability.

Next up is the Muse Cards, which will automatically activate after prerequisites have been met. The Muse Card will support you through a song playing during battle, which will boast special effects and skills energy, allowing you to power up certain of your cards. Whereas the cards with Break effects will decrease the enemy’s attack damage in each turn. This is highly effective if the enemy occupies your whole base grid which makes avoiding the attacks impossible. The Break System will also reduce the enemy’s balance, which if it hits zero, the enemy will go stunt and any attacks made to them will be doubled in damage.

Every battle win will let you recruit one card of the three choices presented. Plus, every room cleared will give you the choice to increase your HP or place a card, granting a buff when battling nearby. Positioning a Muse in the room will let the character make a performance beginning of a battle if you’re battling nearby, which you will start with a special skill energy, a big advantage to defeat tough enemies. It takes a while to get the hang of the gameplay technicalities and rhythm to truly enjoy the game, but its ton of different playstyle approaches will make any deckbuilding gamers want to get their hands on with Card-en-Ciel.

A Promising Experience

The first dungeon in this demo relates to the game Yggdrasil Records IX, a fictional RPG that’s part of Card-en-Ciel’s world, which you will come across the main characters from Yggdrasil Records IX: Aelfric Leaf and Canaria Drasil. These characters hold the Partition Data, which also causes the other games to come to the Rust Tactics universe. Defeating the enemies will grant you Canaria as a Muse Card and Aelfric as one of your Skill Cards. Plus, you’ll get the usual new recruit card of your choice on top of the winning rewards. Boss battles can be tricky especially when the characters combine into one single character, which happened on the second dungeon, Kizuna Connect.

This second fictional game appearing in Rust Tactics is a tactical RPG where you can fuse monsters and have them battle. Plus, these monsters can communicate with humans. Pretty similar to Digimon, if you asked. This game story lets you travel between the real and digital worlds alongside these monsters. The main characters are Mahiru Ichinose, the protagonist, and Shinya Zerosaki, the rival.

You’ll still be exploring the procedurally generated 6×3 playfield dungeons. I was expecting a different environment to say the least, since we’re on the second fictional game. The boss fights are much tougher compared to the first one and the cards given are different, since the more smaller enemies you fight, the more newer cards you’ll get. The gameplay is pretty much the same as the first one, but you can still experiment on your preferred playstyle and what-have-you.

Despite being early days for Card-en-Ciel, I must say, I was thoroughly impressed with the game’s build. It strikes a perfect balance between challenge and enjoyment. Even with its roguelike elements, starting over doesn’t feel like a punishment. The characters are eye-candy to watch, and the storyline immerses you in a visual novel-style experience. While I’m no hardcore player of this genre, I can say that Inti Creates will receive a warm welcome once Card-en-Ciel releases.

Fans can try out the demo version for Steam on 4 September, followed by the Nintendo Switch version on 5 September 2024.