Dimwood

hidden gem of a game, no one is talking about it, idk how i found it, for the love of god please tell people about this game

Wonderful, unique deckbuilding roguelike game where its not about what rng gives you, but how you use what rng gives you. Other games in the same genre feels like playing a rail shooter with cards, where you always run the same 2 builds that the devs intended. I have 100%-ed the game and played close to 200 runs at the time of this review, and each of them were truly unique. Dimwood breaks the mold of the typical Slay the Spire clones by creating a new card system involving "pips", which changes how you view each card. Instead of saying "I want this specific card", you say "I want a card with this property". The game introduces many ways to manipulate the cards in your deck, rewarding you exponentially the more you learn about the game. The devs don't take the game too seriously, in a good way, and you can tell the devs were having a blast making this masterpiece. The only real complaint I have is that most of the color palette options you unlock hurt your eyes, otherwise a 11/10 game.

I've never been one to really get into roguelike deckbuilders, but Dimwood has me hooked. I'm a sucker for 1-bit style, but the draw doesn't stop there. It's simple to approach, but the build variety is quite impressive. The light system adds a layer of depth that will always keep you on your toes. There are 111 in-game achievements to chase—most unlocking new cards—along with other meta collection systems to explore. Each of the three characters feel completely unique and are very fun to play. I haven't even gotten into the descension system, but I'm sure there is a lot to explore there as well. Let's venture into the heart of the Dimwood.

Every point of damage is painstakingly earned through careful deckbuilding decisions. The result is that when you feel powerful in this game, it feels very earned. A very refreshing take on the genre, with a brilliantly polished presentation.

this game has so much love put into it EVERY RUN is so fun and different. the way youre able to change the cards and merge cards together to make crazy builds is so AMAZING me and my partner last night were joking about merging two food items together as a joke to get "Golden apple apple" BUT INSTEAD IT BECAME APPLE STEW. it feels like they thought of everything. theres so much care put into this game. At first it can be a little intimidating getting the combos figured out and down, but once you get the hang of things after a few games. this game COMPLETELY opens up for some absolutely insane card combos. this is not like anything ive ever played before. PLEASE give this a shot! its so worth it. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE RELEASE MORE CONTENT FOR THIS GAME IN THE FUTURE ITS AMAZING <3

Criminally underrated, this game is an actual hidden gem.

tragically this seems like the sort of game that hasn't really taken off, which is a shame for how much fun I've had playing it. structurally, I would describe the game as "unsubtly inspired by slay the spire", but it at least has a unique twist going for it. instead of text that rigidly defines what a card does, each card is broken into 4 "phrases" made up of 0-5 "pips", little icons that do extremely elementary actions like "deal 1 damage", "gain 1 block", "draw 1 card", etc. when you play a card, it plays all the pips in its default phrase, along with all the pips in the phrase matching the current light level, which can be bright, dim, or dark. enemies have their own deck of cards as well, so adjusting the light level alters the behavior of both your cards and your opponent's cards, which adds an extra dimension to battles. the primary purpose of this system, however, is that it modularizes EVERYTHING about your cards. it might be better to describe this game as a cardbuilder rather than a deckbuilder. very few cards are useful enough as-is to defeat the final boss (and then the second final boss (and then the secret final boss))). instead, you are responsible for creating the cards of your dreams and mowing through the opposition. each character has a different ability for rearranging pips on their cards, and various events can add, move, and remove pips as well. you don't usually decide to pick up a card because it has a good effect as-is, but rather what kinds of effects it could have when you finish messing with it. it's very common to pick up cards that aren't useful in the immediate term, but are fodder for upgrades and grafting later on. if all that sounds interesting to you, please give the game a chance! I would love to see this game find its success some day, these devs are worthy of your money :3

Real roguelike deckbuilding for real roguelike deckbuilder nuts

an amazing game that really scratches the rougelike itch. deckbuilding ACTUALLY matters, and the game presents so much depth from simple mechanics. on top of that, you have a well-crafted meta-progression system, amazing pixel art, and great music. this game really, really rocks.