Deep Sky Derelicts

The concept of card-based tactical combat in a rogue-lite setting is great and the first couple of hours can be very fun. The deckbuilding aspect with your 3 party members with different classes is enjoyable until you notice that there are several card combinations that are just broken and let you blaze through combat even on the highest difficulty. It doesnt help that there are stats that just dont work as intended and dont give all of their bonuses and later missions dont really play any different from earlier ones. If the devs put in a lot more work in terms of balancing and bug fixing this could still turn into a good game, but as it stands I cant recommend it.

This game is extremely good, and this is from a person who doesn't really enjoy rouge-like stuff. Let's start off with the presentation. Graphics are beautiful; 2D, hand drawn and comic book inspired, fitting the theme of mercenaries riding derelict ships for junk and ancient data. Sound is right up there with rather ambient sci-fi tunes, that maybe don't really make you hum the music when not playing, but definitely fit the theme and don't come close to becoming tiring or annoying. As for the gameplay... The closest thing to compare it to is Darkest Dungeon, but it's less brutal, if you take your time and manage resources right, you can enjoy the game at your own pace without living in constant fear of a "game over" screen. Encounters also seem quite fair, but if you want a challenge, harder derelicts are also available. The progression is well paced too, usually all party members will gain a level half-way through a derelict and you also get some loot to use and sell, but just the right amount, so you don't get overwhelmed right of the bat. Where the game shines is the combat. It's turn-based, but the attacks and skills each character gets to use per turn are actually cards, randomly drawn from a deck, so each turn is something new and there is none of that repetitive single skill abuse, because it's the one that's always best. At the same time, you are never dealt a really bad hand, so the it's there for variety not for extra difficulty. I think this is a great game for everyone who enjoys a story crafted through player actions and gameplay rather than something scripted and based on story choices. The fact that it's a rouge-like and there is several classes of characters to choose from, but you can only take 3 ensures multiple playthroughs will be enjoyable with different combinations. For me it's a solid 10/10 game that shows what can be achieved with good game design, yet limited resources. No tutorial though, but plenty on YT to show you the ropes.

I have to admit that the very positive reviews and the art style, that looks similar to Darkest Dungeon made me too impulse buy this. Only to be a little disappointed: The art looks great on a screenshot, but just is not as well executed as Darkest Dungeon did it with this art style. The animations just don't work out, like they did there. They just feel unfinished and unpolished. The great tension and forceful feeling of DD just isn't there. Then there's the gameplay: It just feels like made from a checklist for "Hot wo do a Roguelike for Dummies". Just go to a "Ship / Derelict", talk to an NPC, get something for them. That's it. That wouldn't be so bad, if the fight system would be a thrill. But it isn't. For me it feels more like a chore. Something you have to do, not something you enjoy doing, like with Darkest Dungeon. The card / deck mechanic felt very interesting and maybe it is, but that doesn't make up for the very basic feel everything has. The roster is always limited to your 3 guys and if you want to hire someone else, it means: goodbye to one of your team members. So there's no way to have different "teams" at your Overall, this is not a bad game and I am sure that a lot of people can just come to like it very much. For me, it was a disappointment. I expected more depth, that's all! So: three stars that I mean well. :)

Some reviewers already pointed out the reference to Darkest Dungeons, but I personally think this title is more like an homage to 2D RPG in the certain era of retro game consoles. The graphic design is characterized by semi-static comic book art styles: Portraits, backgrounds, and enemies - they all look finely tuned and unified for one big comic strip and its card deck. The combat mechanics can be, very roughly, described as a simplified version of DD again, but expressed as card game metaphors instead. You can create a party of 3 characters with various portraits, while costumes are determined by their class. As you level up after gaining exp in battle, you can choose new abilities. The dialogues are not voiced at all. I believe this is a design decision, leaving very detached atmosphere, which I have not seen in other revival RPG titles in the past few years. For me it did not discourage the gameplay at all. The whole setting reminded me of X-com a bit. The music, with or without in-game sound effects, is superb. The title track is melancholic, but very 8bit-ish. I liked some of the tracks used in the encounter battle. They sound like almost library music used in some SF documentaries, still with proper arrangements, which can be even better in loop on its own (soundtrack was included in Backups & goodies). I had an impression that the composer really knows how it should sound inside the game, which is rare these days. On the other hand, the thing which annoyed me, however, was the fact they don’t accept keyboard input except for arrow keys to scroll the map. I wish they support more shortcuts (especially in battle sequences) in the future update.