Review - Gordian Quest... Cards for Days

 

Image courtesy of Mixed Realms & Soft Swag Holdings

Deckbuilders are those kinds of games that have a certain niche fan base that can be hard for some companies to break into. In an attempt to do so with Gordian Quest, Mixed Realms and Soft Swag decided to go for a jumble of different elements that might appeal to a larger fan base.

    Think of it like the Wu-Tang strategy.

    Before the Wu was formed, each one of the rappers had their own fans, but there weren't enough of them to really generate any kind of income for them as individuals. By joining forces to create a rap supergroup, fans of Inspectah Deck could be introduced to the likes of Method Man. Gordian Quest doesn't necessarily have its own RZA, but it does have an amalgam of elements from RPGs, dice-rolling dungeons and dragons themes, roguelike runs, and deckbuilding strategies that all combine to create its gaming experience.

    The problem is that it can be a little convoluted. Not everything flows as well as Wu-Tang on their assorted mics, and Gordian Quest struggles a bit to have all these components mesh together well enough to create something as truly epic as they were going for.

The Good

The art is great. Let's just say that right off the bat. This is especially true in comparison to other deck-builders. The only one that I would say tops Gordian in style is probably Thronebreaker of The Witcher franchise. Mixed Realms and Soft Swag did a great job in creating visually distinct characters that all fit into their distinct archetypes. The same goes for the baddies across the maps too. The background art is there, but not necessarily noticeable, however the layout of the city/caravan that acts as your homebase is pretty cool.

    I like the fact that Gordian tries for a narrative. That's a rarity in deckbuilders, just look at Roguebook's flat attempt, and it's nice to see them go towards keeping everything together. Otherwise these games can feel a bit like... what am I doing this for, again? Just my own sheer boredom? Maybe that's okay for you. Maybe it's not. Either way, Gordian tries to alleviate this by giving us a generic story about cults utilizing ancient magic and artifacts in ways they don't fully comprehend that have cataclysmic results across the world. It's definitely something we've all seen and heard before, but I appreciate that some of the NPCs have more to say than merely tutorial jargon.

    The blend of elements is probably the last bit of good that Gordian has going for it, but it's not fully working all the time. The RPG set-up is great. Rolling dice on certain events is good too. Killed on a run and sent back to camp? Sure. That roguelike stuff is just fine. Decent assortment of cards? You got it. As a matter of fact, the only thing that Gordian's stew of different game types doesn't exactly hit right is in combat.

The Bad

I'm hesitant to fully put combat and gameplay here, but it can't go in The Good. It could for Act I, maybe, but anything beyond that becomes such a slog to get there. Villains with well over 1000 HP while your individuals still just have 50? C'mon. Even when those heavy hitters are only chipping away 5 HP at a time off your heroes, it takes a five minute card battle and drags it out into a battle of attrition. That's not fun anymore, it's just getting through it.

    Music and sound is negligible. It's not really good. Not really bad either. But it had to go somewhere.

Not Exactly a Crit

I really do think it's too bad that Gordian couldn't nail down its combat and gameplay just a bit better. If it did, I would have place it among the best deckbuilders I've ever played. As for now, that role is still filled by Thronebreaker by a wide margin. That said, if you're looking for deckbuilder that will give you hours of combat but isn't in the same setting as Slay the Spire... I still recognize the notion that Gordian Quest might just be for you.

    As for me, my quest has come to an end.

7/10

Good Enough

If you're interested in a sword-swinging story more based in reality, check out my book Leatherneck for free on Kindle Unlimited