Last week saw the announcement of a shiny new plaything for all those who can't get enough of building a deck of cards and pitting it against semi-random events and enemies: Yogscast Games and Save Sloth Studios debuted a trailer and Steam page for The Royal Writ, an upcoming "lane-based deckbuilder" with a gorgeous coat of paint and some intriguing twists on the genre.
See what I mean about the visuals? Royal Writ is going for a hand-drawn-storybook style with some medieval flare, and as far as I can tell they're nailing that target. The illustration has a cohesive, high-quality feel dripping with charm, and everywhere I look there are bouncy animations full of character.
Gameplay-wise, we can see that you'll be deploying your army of animal-soldiers into lanes that will march across the battlefield, with the goal of reaching and defeating an enemy base. But as the Steam page warns... "beware: any card that reaches the enemy base before victory is permanently destroyed and removed from your deck for the rest of your run."
The page advertises 2 full campaigns, and the trailer shows off what looks like some unique boss characters/mechanics, shops to browse and wheels to spin, and a very Balatro-esque score multiplier that builds as you play.
In addition to some fun-but-not-so-thinky titles, Yogscast Games have produced quite a few strategy experiences of note in the past: the blackjack-roguelike Dungeons and Degenerate Gamblers, the 4X-with-cards Hexarchy, and the recently released Kaya's Prophecy to name a few.
The Royal Writ is expected to release sometime this year. For now you can wishlist and find more info about the game on Steam.
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