Surgeonfish's Long Winded Review and Feedback

This is my full feedback from the Beta of Card Hunter. Keep in mind these are my opinions based on my experiences with the game and yours may be different. Also that Card Hunter as I play now is a very early beta product and as such all content is subject to change at will by BlueManchu and company to better benefit the enjoyment of the game in the long haul. I'm writing this review as if im talking to someone who has never heard of the game before or has not gotten into beta. Enjoy.

Graphics:
Graphics of the game are very reminiscent of a table top game. Characters and environments are cartoony and shaped to give the feel that you are playing something you could physically own with your friends. Its a very nice touch and different from other games that are on the market. While there is a lack of animation aside from your character tokens hoping around, it never feels cheap as it adds to the aesthetic of the game. Cards that you use in combat are well detailed and have a nice artistic flair about them that you would expect from a trading card game. While maybe not as detailed as a physical card game like Magic the Gathering, they do their job to stand out other cards and can be nice to look at in the menus.


Sound and Music:
There is an obvious lack of music in the game aside from one in a multiplayer map. It was interesting as I didnt even notice for the first few hours of play and I never felt that it was really needing music. While it would be a good addition, its not necessarily important to draw you into the game. Sound effects are varied more-so then i thought they would be with male and female characters having their own sounds, as well as the various monsters in the game. Card skills also have their own sound effects though if you spam multiple of the same kinds of cards like I do, this can get a little annoying, but just as easily remedied with a lowering of the volume. All in all, they get the job done, but in a long gaming spree, you may want to turn down the sound and listen to something else.

Deck Building:
I was honestly surprised with this! BlueManchu did an amazing job and figuring all of this out and making it streamlined without removing the strategy from advanced deck building. Equipment pieces won from combat go on your characters like in most other RPG games, but with a twist. The equipment pieces form "Card Suites" that act as packs of cards in your deck. Various equipment pieces coming with 3-6 cards on them with a nice range of different cards will add a nice variety to your deck. While at first this seems easy as you dont have to add individual cards to your deck weighting a single card over another, the full strategy of figuring out what cards you need, getting a proper balance and tempo for your characters is still very much there. The game does a good job easing you into this as well, unlocking various slots on your characters over time as they level up. While early game you will likely spend just a minute or two picking out your equipment slots, late game you will be crunching numbers on spreadsheets to figure out how to get the most out of your decks and in a good way. There is a much larger variety of cards than I anticipated from a game like this and its welcome!

Drawback cards are an interesting addition as since they come with the card suites is something to be mindful of. They come in many flavors and can seriously dampen your game if you are unlucky enough to draw one. Keep this in mind when selecting them suites with them.

Talent points also become a factor at much later levels. These little "restrictions" make you choose between strong suites of cards and mediocre ones. This can ensure you dont blow through and get super high gear and is a nice way to balance between players in multiplayer.


Character selection is important as well. Different race and class combinations can add just enough minor differences to set you up the way you want to play. Dwarves having more overall health, but slower movement in general, while elves have lower health and fast movement can make all the difference in the game. They each have their own racial slot where you can add another suite of cards to help them stand out.


Gameplay:
Combat starts and you have free reign to use any card or move any character you wish. The game is done in turns where you play a card, then your opponent. The exception to this is if you play a card that states you can make another action afterwords which will be detailed on the card beforehand. Trait cards are always played first and are free to play. You are always given a movement card determined by your race as well as two from your deck. You move on a grid on the map and fight against your enemy using the cards you have drawn. Be careful when selecting some cards as you may not be able to cancel out of them so choose carefully. Combat is fun to play. Trying to out-think your enemy, size up what cards they have, figure out if they have line of sight on you. It all makes for a satisfying experience. I encountered almost no issues with the cards themselves and their abilities are well explained that as long as you know what your cards do, you should be able to jump right into gameplay with no issues.

Most adventure modules are multi-map adventures making you complete them all to finish that part of the story. Completing each map will net you a chest filled with random equipment loot you can add to your pack for use and will also give you the chance to change what equipment your characters are using before the next one. Completing the entire adventure will net you a larger
loot chest with higher chance of rare, epic, or legendary equipment pieces or treasures. My only complaint with the adventures is although they save between maps so you can leave your computer and come back to it later, they dont save on the maps themselves making you start the map over. This may be an issue for some people as if they have frequent computer crashes or if you have bad internet connection, completing some of these 10-20 minute maps may be more difficult.

Now as it stands right now, this game is fairly difficult. You may find yourself running adventure modules over and over to try to beat them. The only advice i can offer here is to figure out what cards your enemy has and prepare. Think about how you should move and engage before you do. If you keep beating your head against it and are unsuccessful, then i would recommend trying another Adventure as some can be easier than others, and the difficulty sways a bit depending on deck setup and the enemies involved. If you lose a match against the computer, you will get two additional attempts to complete the adventure and you start off at the map you were defeated on.

Multiplayer is a lot of fun with the standard 1v1 setup with 3 characters each. Both parties are bumped up to max level to ensure health fairness. Other than that, it plays identical to the singleplayer campaign. Just keep in mind if you have a fresh character group and you are playing against someone with many equipment pieces at their disposal, then you may find yourself getting into a one sided fight rather quickly as some of the higher level gear can be devastating.


Cash Shop:
The currency used in Card Hunter is Pizza Slices bought with real world currency. With this you can buy a few things. Firstly you can buy additional skins for your characters helping you stand out among your peers or just having that really cool look for your in game model. Next you can buy some of the starter packs which net you three new characters and an equipment set for each of them. Buying one of these can set you up quickly in multiplayer to help skip some of the single player grinding for gear. These new characters should you take them into single player start at level one. Now keep in mind these equipment pieces mostly still require talent points which you dont get for a while in single player, so if your looking for an easy way past those first few levels then this may not help you. Lastly you can buy entry into their premium dungeons for a gaurenteed drop of an epic item displayed on the adventure module of these dungeons. I cant say for sure if these items drop anywhere else in the game as epic items are more rare to find and as such this may be as some might reffer to as "pay to win", but you still have to complete the dungeon to obtain it and its for one equipment slot for one of your characters. I wasnt able to try one of these myself so buyer beware.

Summery:
If you enjoy collectable card games or table top stratgies, you may very well get into this game. Its put together very well and plays fluidly. Collecting the equipment pieces and messing around with your deck is strangly enjoyable and coming up with new strageties at higher levels with different sets can net you that win you were having difficulty with. Players are also fun to play against as trying to figure out what a player will do is much different from the computer and can get into some pretty tense moments.

 

Additional Feedback after the fact:

While i was playing thursday i had a thought. This game could use a ranger class for sure. Either all ranged physical or a Melee/Ranged hybrid. I think this would compliment the other classes very well.

 

Additional Feedback after the fact:

Bosses or boss style mobs are too easy while multiple of many mobs(minions) is too difficult. In some maps the many mobs can be manageable in some maps with line of sight and small hallways. Open areas become a big problem because they surround you quickly. Even more difficult are the ranged stabby guys (spearmen) as they are a pain to deal with.

Probably an easy solution is to give stacked minions more filler cards in their decks while taking out some filler cards for bosses.

 

The Tree boss who is the only monster on the map i defeated in two attempts. The green dragon was the same setup, i defeated him in two attempts. The gladiator arenas where you fight 3 bosses at the same time were push overs.

Single mobs are as easy sometimes because they dont draw enough strong cards. Yes they are strong when it comes to most maps, but only because they can attack multiple times and often get involved in the "Pile Up" (situation where everyone groups together and swarms the PCs). When it comes to maps where there were multiple mobs like the kobolds, i had to retry them soooo many times because there just isnt a solid way to deal with them thats not "hope you draw lucky". Strategy for them boils down to wizard fire then priest/warrior chop cards with heavy armors.

 

no the tree is just a level 17 adventure, the dragon is a premium though.

 

Another note for feedback. I currently see priests falling out of favor with a lot of people. Maybe more interesting cards earlier or equipment pieces with more damage cards on them for their weapons to spice them up. I know they are good t higher levels when their cards get really good, but early on they suffer and you can tell the way beta testers are reacting to them.

 

I would concur. Without rare to epic items, they seem like a bust getting cards like minor heal is discard worthy and some of their decen weapons have cards like bludgeon which I only use if she happens to be close and I don't plan to end my turn first