Shards of Order

Shards of Order enters a busy marketplace of excellent deck builders, and on the front of it; one could be forgiven for thinking this is just another clone of an idea that's already starting to get old.But go just a little past the surface; and you'll find that Shards of Order is a real gem of a game. The art style alone is gorgeous and the story that it paints really helps it stand out. Unlike many other deckbuilders, there's a single narrative that you're embarking on as you attempts to restore a world gone mad. I personally really liked that there was a subtle meta-narrative going on in the background that made my choices feel like they had weight. Beyond the art, story, and music; the real draw for Shards of Order is the actual mechanics of the game. Unlike other tactical deck builders, there's an incredible puzzle behind when you use your cards, and when you re-draw your hand. That change alone makes your cards feel far more impactful as you realize you could potentially use everything in your hand... but do you really want to? So many other deck builders over-value 0-cost cards, and I found Shards made a compelling case for building your deck differently. The last boss in particular has a really fun bit of expectation subversion which I won't spoil, but I will say that it's a very satisfying fight and I really enjoyed the little twists the game presents beyond 'hey, use your cards to just beat up everyone you meet'. Additionally; a real kudos goes to the team for making re-speccing and the actual building of the deck so malleable. I really loved that the game encouraged you to try different builds on the fly, rather than putting you in the analysis paralysis of 'do you take this card? It might be crap and you'll be stuck with it for the rest of the run'. Albeit, I feel like you may not get that many playthroughs of Shards; but I don't think that it's point. It tells a great story, gives you some really interesting mechanical puzzles with how you build your deck and items, and then leaves before it wears out it's welcome. In the interest of fairness; there are a few gripes I have. For one; I really think the UI could've been better. There are some tool tips to tell you what an enemy plans on doing, but there's a difference between 'this enemy plans to give you a minor health debuff' and 'this enemy plans to completely wreck your mechanics'. Both of these effects shouldn't fall under the term 'debuff' and there's definitely something to be said about other deckbuilders (slay the spire for instance) that could be learned from in regards to UI. Additionally; I found the way the game interacted with health to be a little odd. I certainly felt like I was doing well when I'd finish a fight with a minimum of damage sustained, but if my characters took enough of a beating before they could get to another campfire; then the quickest thing for me to do was generally just march into the next fight and surrender so I could respawn at full health. It didn't feel like there was a penalty to just falling on my proverbial sword, so... Maybe just let me get back to full health if I'm not doing an iron-man run? Props to those who are looking for that experience but for those who just wanted to play through to the end of the story; it felt like unnecessary busy work when I knew I didn't have the health to punch through. Those gripes aside though; Shards of Order is a must buy for anyone who enjoys their deck builders, but isn't looking for a game they'll play until they turn grey. It's a tight story, with great art, and a really neat mechanic that sets it apart from other combat deck builders.