Roguelike game titles usually offer random dungeons where players have to fight and survive till the end. If you are looking for a roguelike game on smartphones, Card Crusade is exactly what you should give it a try.

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The game is released by Pollywog Games

Dungeons in the game will be generated randomly and the goal is to complete all ten progressively difficult levels. Enemies are waiting everywhere on the map to attack. Players have to fight against these enemies, loot all the chests, meet shopkeeper and finally knock down a whopper of a boss at the end of every level. To move the character, players simply have to click at the spot they want to go. Whenever the characters get close to enemies, a battle automatically begins. And in this game, players won’t have to worry about getting ambushed. Since this is a turn-based title, take your turn, take your time and plan out your moves to win.

2Card Crusade’s display

In the actual battle, players need to use their deck of cards to fight. These cards consist of attacking and defensive ones. However, players have a restricted amount of energy for each turn and playing cards will cost a bit of this resource - the exact value is shown on each specific card. Some enemies are straightforward, but some will have more complicated mechanics such as spawning more enemies. That’s where strategy is needed.

Card Crusade doesn’t really bring anything too new, but that's actually what makes it shine. There are eight characters to choose from when starting a new dungeon (but first you need to unlock them one by one), each with different features like cards or powers. The first unlocked character is a crusader. The player can choose between two avatars for each character, however, this is purely for presentation purposes and basically affects nothing. The typical role-playing game classes are available here under different names: white mages are healers and dark mages are Sorcerers. How to unlock them depends on their characteristics. Enemies in Card Crusade are similar to those in other role-playing games, from rats, slime to other sorcerers.

This video below will the first level of the game:

One of the small changes that Card Crusade makes is the addition of altars. They appear randomly and can change the gameplay, bring a new level of depth. For example, they can strengthen an aspect (such as blocking), but at the same time weaken another, like making your spells less effective.

So, about the all-important decks in the game, every player that loves collecting cards can be satisfied with the number of items to collect in each level. While some cards can be used only once for each battle, others are ready for repeated usage. There are defense and attack cards, physical cards, armor cards, and magic cards. Players can also find cards to purchase at the shop and ask the shopkeeper to remove cards from your deck with a cost. However, the price is quite reasonable compared to the amount of gold you earn on your adventure.

Perhaps the biggest surprise about Card Crusade is its huge collection of cards. Players can find usual ones like a sword for attacking or armor for defense and at the same time can come across stranger things from funny to pop culture. All of the cards have their own advantage and disadvantage and can help players at different levels. Here are some exceptional cards:

  • Mitosis causes a little physical damage to your enemies and restores a little energy for you. The special thing is, it can permanently duplicate itself every time you use.
  • Horcrux also deals a little bit of damage, but more importantly, gives players a permanent +4 damage if the attack kills.
  • Berserk deals damage equal to the amount of health you're missing. This card is considered a lifesaver for many players

With all those pros, this $3.99 title still has some minor cons. The first thing to be mentioned is the way the decks are currently presented: They appear as a list when a tile view would have been better. The second issue is saving. Many players think that this game would be excellent if it uses cloud saves so that they can transfer their progress between phones and tablets. Finally, the leaderboards don't seem to be working.

Card Crusade can be considered a new classic when it offers classic gameplay as well as classic villains, same old pixel arts and characters. This world is basically limitless and packed with strategic possibilities.