Playtap Games, creators of the newly released game Card Dungeon, is based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The studio was created by Ryan Christy and Fredrik Skarstedt in 2010. Playtap Games has chosen to roll the dice, and create a unique game, that is part dungeon crawler, part RPG, part board game and card game. With an uncommon art style and game presentation, Card Dungeon will have you exploring various regions, as you sojourn to Northvale. It will not be easy. The legions of Nethermist abominations will try to stop you at every turn. This is a fun game.
Card Dungeon, upon first glance, will take you back to your days of playing board games. Anyone that has played Dungeons and Dragons, or any other type of board games, will immediately have fond memories of playing games with friends in their bedroom, garage, or wherever it was that you hung out with your friends, to play games. It is immediately accessible because the presentation of the game is set up like a board game. The main character and enemies move one tile at a time. The pieces are very well rendered, 2-D board game pieces, that slide with each move. Yes, Card Dungeon, is a turned-based game. You are trying to make it to a land called Northvale, and your journey is fraught with peril.
“Take control of the Crusader and free the lands from the hordes of the Nethermist in this turn based strategy rogue. Card Dungeon is a completely unique and handcrafted board/card/rogue-like game experience unlike anything you have played before. Easy to pick up and play for 10 minutes, but has enough depth and strategy that you will still be playing after multiple hours. You can only do 1 thing … turn. Choose wisely.” – Playtap Games
You start the game by choosing your character and trait. There are multiple cards shown, but you can only choose three cards in the beginning. The remainder of cards will become available, as you scour the lands trying to survive your journey. The game is played in a portrait view as opposed to landscape. This seemed unusual to me at first, but it made sense to me as I played more of the game. The layout of the dungeon and presentation of the cards works better in portrait mode. In the Google Play description, it says the game is made for phones, but it also works well on a tablet. The tablet helps visually, as you have more screen real estate, and it makes it easier to read the cards, as well as seeing the attributes of your enemies. Playtap has designed it so that you can tap the cards and you zoom in on the card to see all of the information. This definitely helps when you are playing on a phone because some of the text can be hard to read when zoomed out. You do have excellent control over the game. It is easy to zoom in on areas using typical controls of pinching and swiping to navigate the game screen.
As with any dungeon crawler, there are plenty of enemies, loot, potions and cards to discover. When you encounter an enemy, you have three cards to choose from. There is a screen where you are able to manage your equipment, so when you find better boots, weapons or armor, you can upgrade them. Since the game was just released today, I cannot say how much loot or armor you will be able to carry. While I was playing, I could only carry three cards with me at any given time. I am not sure if you are able to increase this or not. One thing it definitely does, is make sure you hold on to those cards that you deem most valuable. There is a lot of strategy involved in doing so. When sending a creature to its doom, you will be awarded with coins, potions, armor or other cards/traits.
I was immediately grabbed by how well this game was put together. Quite frankly, I was amazed that I had not really seen anything like it before, which is rare in this industry. You explore everything one move at a time, one room at a time. This heightens your expectation of what may be lurking just around the corner. The games’ levels are randomly generated within each region. The challenge is increased with this game because when you die, you have to make it back to where you were, no portals here. I am not quite sure how this works yet, but here is how PlayTap games describes it.
“With permanent death there are no shortcuts to reaching Northvale. Strategy, planning and a pinch of luck will get you far. And when all is lost, start over and see if you can reach the point where you died last, so you can recover all that sweet, sweet loot you had gained on your previous run through.” – Playtap Games When starting the game there is a continue button, so that is at least encouraging.
Again, the game was just released, so we are going to play it more, to see how all of this shakes out. I can say that since you are travelling from room to room, it would be nice to have a mini-map, so you can at least keep track of where you have been and where you are going. We know the game was designed for exploration, but it would most certainly help, to keep the adventurer on the right road. When starting the game, you start at Gorebasch’s Doomed Isle. There were at least six other regions to explore. I successfully got through my first boss encounter and can say it was fun, yet challenging, since the cards I had were pretty limited. It makes me want to explore the game more, to see how I can level up my Crusader.
Card Dungeon Features:
- Full 3D. Rotate, zoom and pan across gorgeous board game tiles.
- Discover and equip 1000’s of cards.
- Each play through genuinely unique as you transition from playing a hard hitting warrior to a summoning wizard to a trap laying rogue, etc., etc. Dozens of combinations await you!
- Randomly generated levels with hand placed creatures.
- No defined player classes. The cards define your class!
- Discover armor and weapon cards that help define who Your Crusader is this run.
- Unlock trait cards which modify how the Crusader acts in game. Play a cowardly, but strong Crusader. Next time play a Crusader strong with magic, but one that keeps losing money.
- Record short video clips and upload your achievements and rare card finds for your friends to see. you can even record in-game commentary.
- 21 levels packed with 40+ monsters, each with their own unique skills for Crusader to overcome.
- Original score by Ian Dorsch
- No IAP. No in game ads. No internet required. Buy it once and get the full game as it should be.
Playtap Games has created a fascinating game in Card Dungeon. If you enjoy dungeon crawlers with an old-school type of flair, you should download Card Dungeon. The game has plenty of action and lots of areas to explore. The game presentation and game play, equals a fun-playing game, that should not be missed. It was released a few weeks ago on iOS to much acclaim.The inclusion of Everplay, which allows you to record elements of your game to upload for people to see, brings another dimension to the game.
The game at this time, is not integrated with Google Game Play Services. Let’s hope Playtap Games includes this in the future. In the Play Store, it lists achievements, but these must be in-game, and I have not seen how they are tracked yet. The game has a launch sale price of $1.99. There are no in-game ads, no in-app purchases, and no internet required. Those qualities alone, increase my appreciation for what Playtap Games has created. Are ready to try to make it to Northvale? If so, you can download the game now in the Google Play Store or the Amazon App Store.
Amazon App Store: Card Dungeon
