This review is out of date as since it is written the game has changed. It still provides decent information about Duelyst but it misses some key features and some described here are changed.
Have you seen Star Wars, the original, old movies? Do you remember the cool hologram chess that they had in one of them? I always had dreamed for one of those as it looked really cool. When I started playing CCGs especially digital ones this dream expanded and now I wanted the creatures that I summon to look more alive and not just cards on the table. Basically I wanted Yu-Gi-Oh the anime into a video game! It might sounds a bit lame to some of you, but think about it - your favorite creatures from Hearthstone moving, smacking each other before your eyes. Your massive green beasts in Magic charging at your opponent! Sounds cool, right? Now you can experience this in the new creation of Counterplay Games - Duelyst.
How original it could be?
Duelyst is online game which blends turn-based battles
with CCG in a great way. Right now the game is in open beta, but even in this
state it looks really close to complete and offers to the player good amount of
features.
After a short tutorial you will have few game modes to
freely choose from.
The first one is Training where you will be able to
complete challenges type Beat guy X in one turn. This mode is great for
learning different mechanics of the game and earning a good amount of cash to
buy few boosters and improve your card collection. There are 45 challenges
right now (v0.49) separated in 9 sets of five, every set harder than the
previous.
To unlock harder challenges you will have to play
certain number of PvP matches first, which bring us to the next mode. For now
the PvP in the game is only 1v1 and there is only ranked. It is also season
based with rewards for everybody in the leaderboard, based on their best
rank in the season. From what I have seen there is good amount of
players and you will not have to wait long for an opponent. The 1v1 PvP is also
the only way to complete your daily quests which usually revolve around playing
certain number of matches with certain faction.
The third game mode is Gauntlet where you will have to
fight matches one after another and longer you survive, the better the reward.
Great mode to test your skills and decks.
And the last fourth mode of playing is sandbox where you will be able to
test your decks against each other playing for both sides.
After I mentioned decks and factions few times
already, let me tell you more about them, before we get to the battles
themselves. In Duelyst there are seven factions including a neutral one which
is the only one that can be combined with others when you make custom decks.
Every faction has its own different play style. For example the Songhai are
crafty ninjas which will beat you with backstabs, range units and spells;
Vetruvian rely on a lot of summoning; Abysal capitalize on sacrificing weaker
units to boost stronger ones etc.
When I was building my custom decks though I noticed a
small problem in that the game does not tell you how many of each card you have
put in your deck, making following what you have included and what not harder
than it should be. It tells you if you add the maximum 3 cards, but it does not
if you add less. But other than this small detail I have not seen any problems
with the game. It runs smoothly, its stable, has not disconnected me and have
not crashed so far.
Now that you know the basics of the game let's talk
about the battles! Duelyst uses mana and muligan systems similar to those in Hearthstone.
The different mechanic here is that once per turn you can discard one card from
you hand and draw a new one. Also you can have maximum of 9 mana.
But what really set Duelyst aside from other similar
games are the tactical turn-based battles. In battle every player has his
General which is something like a hero or a Planeswalker if you want. Your opponent
General is your target. If you kill him you win the game. All generals have the
same base stats - two attack and 25 health. Which makes them pretty weak
fighters at the beginning of the duel. To boost them you can use spells to
equip them different artifacts. Also you will have to summon your first
creatures next to your General. After that you can summon new creatures next to
other units under your control. When you summon a new creature unless it does
not have the Rush ability it will suffer from summoning sickness and it will be
unable to act this turn. All creatures and Generals can move only two spaces.
Something a little confusing at first, related to movement is that when you
choose path for your units it will not show you that they can move diagonally,
but they actually can, though one square diagonal movement counts for two
spaces. Also all of your units can pass through your other units. Very
important thing to remember, I lost few games because I didn't used that and
circled around my own creatures.
As a whole Counterplay Games have done great job in
blending CCG with turn-based tactical game. The battles are not only
interesting, but they are also fast paced and end quickly.
The way it looks, the way it is
When I heard about Duelyst at first I was really
excited as it sounded right up my alley. Then I saw the game for the first time
and its pixel graphics almost made me not touch it as I was quite tired of this
style already. Thankfully I decided to give it a try and the pixel graphics not
only didn't bother me, but I loved them, because they are done masterfully.
Duelyst is the second game where I see such detailed and gorgeous sprites (The
first is Serpent in the Staglands, for those of you who wandered). And it's not
only the sprites. The animations are detailed, well timed, you feel the impact
of the strikes; the spells are simply beautiful to watch spirals of fire
cascading towards the skies and giant skulls roaring before horrible
curses befall your enemies. What I'm trying to tell you is to not judge it
before trying it as it is a lot better than it looks.
Conclusion
When I saw the name of the game I wondered why they
have decided to name it Duelyst with "Y", but I thing I know now.
This game at first glance looks like something very familiar, but actually it
has such great twist to it that it is something absolutely unique. Duelyst has
made the greatest dream of countless CCGs players become a reality - to see
your summons smash each other on the battlefield. But Counterplay has not just
done that they have built upon it, turning the battles in fully fledged tactical
ones which in difficulty can be compared to classics like Heroes of Might and
Magic or King's Bounty.
If you like turn-based battles and CCG games there is absolutely no
reason not to try Duelyst. This game is amazing!
Where to find it:
Official site
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