There are plenty of fighting games on the market already. Massive combos, impossible reaction times, flashy supers – you know the drill. But Yomi 2 takes a very different approach to the genre, asking one simple question: what if all the mind games of a fighter could work perfectly in card form?
Available now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, Yomi 2 arrives from Sirlin Games as a strategic battler designed to capture the feeling of games like Street Fighter 6. Just without the inputs.
Instead, every attack, throw, dodge and block comes from the cards in your hand, turning each match into a tense battle of prediction, reads and bluffing.
At A Glance
- Title: Yomi 2
- Publisher: Sirlin Games
- Developer: Sirlin Games
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch
- Genre: Strategy Card Fighter
- Complete Edition Available: Includes Renegades Expansion content
A Fighting Game Built Around Reading Your Opponent
The big hook with Yomi 2 is that it doesn’t just borrow the look of fighting games. It attempts to recreate the psychology behind them.
Throws beat blocks. Dodges avoid attacks. High and low mix-ups force difficult defensive reads. Zoner characters can pressure safely with projectile-style cards. Super moves build over time and can completely swing a match when used correctly.
Yes, it sounds like a fighter because it absolutely is one. It’s just that this one is played through cards instead of combos. The result is a tense strategy experience where every turn feels like a miniature staredown between two players trying to second-guess each other.
Twenty Fighters And Plenty Of Ways To Play
Yomi 2 launches with 20 playable characters, each carrying their own unique playstyles, strengths and mechanics. Some are aggressive combo monsters, others focus on spacing and projectiles, while defensive fighters can slowly punish mistakes and control the pace of battle.
The new Gem system also adds another layer to proceedings, allowing players to customise characters with special abilities and powerful once-per-match Gem Storm attacks.
And if you prefer solo play, there’s plenty here too. A full Career Mode sees players visiting tournaments, battling rivals and climbing the ranks of the Yomi scene, complete with fake social media popularity contests because, naturally, no competitive experience is complete without online clout these days.
The Complete Edition Adds Even More
Alongside the standard release, players can also pick up the Yomi 2 Complete Edition (£20.99), bundling together the base game and the Renegades Expansion.
That expansion adds two additional characters – Troq and River – alongside two new Gems and access to unlockable wacky rulesets for online friend matches.
As the team behind the game explains: “Yomi 2 is a competitive strategy card game that plays like a fighting game, where every match is about reading your opponent, managing mind games, and outsmarting them turn-by-turn.”
Yomi 2 is available right now on Xbox Series X|S (Standard Edition – £16.74), Xbox One, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.
