Add in buffs that give ongoing effects over multiple rounds, and the potential complexities really begin to pile up. There’s even an XCOM-style loadout screen that you can use to tailor your character builds between battles. Items can be improved with resources that you gather in the world, which can boost those card stats in the process.

Think of it as an item slot in Diablo or XCOM 2 : War of the Chosen. In fact, loot is the main way that new cards enter the game.Įvery piece of equipment - every sword or scrap of armor - comes with its own unique cards that you can add to a character’s deck. Not only will you find simple moral choices to make along the way, you’ll also find plenty of loot. But, in order to keep your team fed and motivated, you’ll need to engage in those encounters on a regular basis.

Image: WhatboyĮncounters appear randomly on the overworld map, and are opt-in as you make your way toward your ultimate destination. Note the three decks on the left for the players, and the five on the right for enemies. Three player characters go up against five enemies. Trials of Fire gives a single player control of three different characters, each with their own individual deck of cards, and then it sends them into the forbidding ash wastes on a random quest. To become a better fighter, players must optimize that stack by drafting new, more powerful cards and discarding weaker ones. In a deck-building game, players work from a single stack of cards that represent their actions and abilities in combat. The latest is a Windows PC game, a roguelike called Trials of Fire, and I think it’s among the best of the bunch. Hits like Gloomhaven and Slay the Spire have exposed the genre to a much wider audience, and that’s brought plenty of ambitious teams out of the woodwork to have a go at making their own.

Deck-building games are very hot right now.

For windows download Trials of Fire