A Deep, Intricate Card-Battling Epic
It’s not often we see a truly great game which primarily revolves around the use of cards for gameplay. Off the top of my head, I could name Gwent, Hearthstone, and Slay the Spire as prime examples, yet after the release of Deathless. The Hero Quest, I believe we have a new contender.
This title takes us into the world of Belosvet, caught up in a takeover by evil sorcerer Koschey. With the world now covered in his gloom, nothing can stand in the way of himself, and an ancient relic to open the Beyond… except four courageous heroes.
Narrative takes an interesting approach in Deathless. The Hero Quest, instead of a streamlined progression, several playthroughs must be completed to reach the full ending, and obtain all lore tidbits, creating a rewarding experience of piecing a larger jigsaw together. And just like this narrative structure, gameplay takes a similar approach.
The Belosvet Blueprint
We all know the roguelite genre – death is a path to progression and gradual improvement – yet it’s used in such a distinct way in Deathless. The Hero Quest, that the game just oozes with personality. Your typical elements of a roguelite are present, however the fact this is also a card game, leaves it a unique experience everyone needs to try.
Being more specific, Deathless. The Hero Quest is a roguelite deck builder; you must obtain new cards for your deck which you then translate into battles. So how does, what many may view as, the most niche merging of genres put to gaming format, achieve the bulk of gameplay? All your standard deck builder tropes are here; action points dictate which cards you can use, characters have stats, buffs and debuffs add spice to combat, and finally a wide array of battle modifiers.
Beginning with action points, your typical run will begin with three, a number that can be upgraded through relics and other perks for us to cover later on. These action points are used to play cards in a default deck which begins with attack, armour, and a few other variations, even a curious X amount of AP which takes your current amount, translating it into said use from card X amount of times. Yet before we reach any of this, Deathless. The Hero Quest will present you with text dumps highlighting 90s RPG-esque fantasy options to choose your next encounter with. Each encounter has different rewards, be it gold, consumables or anything else, along with battle modifiers to spice things up, an addition that only strengthens the narrative/lore aspect of the title.
Armour Resets and Vampire Bosses
Now we’ve covered how you reach battles, what do you do in them? As mentioned earlier, your AP is a large factor to how they will go, after all that decides what moves you can use, however, more often than not it goes as follows. These separate encounters you choose, have different rewards and modifiers; some battles are fought for relics (semi-permanent items which give you perks) some for gold, and some to reach a merchant. Regardless of what you’re fighting for, a battle will always begin with a variety of random cards in your hand, of which all will reset each turn. You have a base amount of armour, which also resets between moves, and must bring all your foes’ HP down to zero to achieve victory. Your foes will of course attack back in a back and forth system, then throw in buffs and debuffs you may acquire or inflict through the use of cards you collect, and you have a card system that definitely holds some staying power.
Along with the card variety, the four available characters also have distinct playstyles. Whilst one protagonist may see you go for an all out attack approach, another will introduce magical fairies named Nursemaids, who gain charges through gameplay. Each character, card, buff, relic, hell just about everything in Deathless. The Hero Quest, holds depth, variety, and personality.
The highlight of these battles comes in the form of the big bosses you face; gruelling and unpredictable encounters. They have much more HP than your average foe, along with unique traits and cronies they summon, making for memorable set pieces during your runs. One of these intriguing cases is a vampire boss, able to drain your health to regain his own, along with taking advantage of the typical state of dying foes for his own game. This is one of many foundations of Deathless. The Hero Quest that sets it apart from its contemporaries.
A Gripping Fantasy Epic
I could go on and on for hours about the depth this title brings to the genre, through various factors including different forms of attacks (ranged, melee, rush) or the many types of cards presented and how you manage them, however my advice to someone looking for this, is simply pick the title up yourself for hours of fun.
Despite all the praise I have to give to Deathless. The Hero Quest, it sadly doesn’t get everything right. First of these missteps comes in the form of presentation. Many aspects are well presented – think the text dumps describing your journey – however, overall animations and menu navigation is tediously under thought. This creates a discrepancy between gameplay and presentation leaving something of high quality, looking and feeling cheap. My final observation is less a negative and more so down to what you desire from card games; personally I loved the basic system with so much intricate design, yet some people may be put off and desire more at face value.
Deathless. The Hero Quest is certainly a memorable title. Like it or not, there is an engaging core, which successfully merges with over the top set pieces, culminating in a fantasy-deck building-RPG epic bound to grip you. And that is despite its flaws.
Important Links
A Fantastical Reinterpretation of Slavic Folklore! Deathless. The Hero Quest is OUT NOW on Console – https://www.thexboxhub.com/a-fantastical-reinterpretation-of-slavic-folklore-deathless-the-hero-quest-is-out-now-on-console/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/deathless-the-hero-quest/9n4h1c86fpb0
