A deckbuilder for those who avoid deckbuilders
It’s Steam Next Fest time, friends!
If you look at my most-played tags on Steam, “Deckbuilding” is nowhere to be found. It’s not that I’m not a fan, but give me a game with some mysteries, puzzles, or semi-forgiving platforming any day of the week.
You might be wondering why, then, I’m writing about a roguelike deckbuilder here. Moonsigil Atlas takes the part of what I dislike about card-based games and throws it out the window. You don’t have to worry about spell points, mana, or energy, but rather, geometry.
There’s a defined space in each level, a large hexagon where the battles take place. Each card you have has a shape on top, ranging from simple ones like triangles to more complex forms like hourglasses and abstract designs. (I started to give each one nicknames as I played more, actually.)
These can be rotated as needed to fit in the space, and can do anything from inflicting damage on an enemy, to shielding yourself from future blows, or removing something you’d already played on the field to attack more or protect yourself from your opponent.
The roguelike structure of the game also prevented things from getting stale. While it took me a few tries to get past the first run as I adjusted to what different cards brought to the table, it was nice not to come across the same cards over and over again.
The updated demo for Steam Next Fest includes:
Windows, Mac, and Linux support
10+ hours of content in the demo alone, and near-endless replayability
2 Acts of content
2 Characters (Feldryn, Aladara), each with unique card sets and play styles
Unlockable Challenge Levels
Localization to Simplified Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Russian
If you find the demo to your liking, the full game will have:
Further gameplay after the Second Act
The third character (Tark’Thul), with his unique “Burn” mechanics and an entirely new card set
Additional Cards, Difficulty Levels, Artifacts (items), Achievements, Encounters, Music, and more!
Controller Support
There’s no release date yet for the full version of Moonsigil Atlas, only sometime in 2025. You can keep up with Snake Tower Games on Bluesky and Twitter, as well as their Discord.