Meteorfall is ready to make a big splash on mobile

iOS, Android •

I’m officially over collectible-card games. I’m done buying packs and chasing rares all to play random people on the Internet. I do love the strategy of deck building and tactics of turn-based card slinging, however, which makes me happy we have people like the fine folks at Slothwerks making games for us all to enjoy. Games like the upcoming Meteorfall.

Meteorfall is the upcoming deck-builder/roguelike card game that I can’t seem to stop playing. Why the infatuation? Well, I’m quite fond of a girl named Rose. In Meteorfall you choose one of four characters to take on an adventure, which amounts to a series of fights against creepy creatures on the way  to taking on a series of bosses.

The classes line up with what you’d expect from traditional fantasy fare—fighter, rogue, wizard, and healer. Each has different card options and, as you might expect, a different play style. I tend to gravitate toward the rogue in these types of games and Mischief is quite fun to play. She’s all about chaining together a series of small attacks that enable you to play another card, then another, until you can drop an attack that deals extra damage based on the number of cards played. Mischief hasn’t turned out to be my favorite, however. That honor goes to the aforementioned healer, Rose. She has access to heals and buffs that let her soak up damage and stall the game while you dig for big-hitter cards, dealing extra damage if you’re not on death’s door. Rose is the control specialist and I’m a sucker for a good control strategy. Undoubtedly each class appeals to different gamers, and the developer would like to add more in the future.

Meteorfall revolves around combat which is compelling and well thought out. Each battle is a tug-of-war between going on the attack and conserving your stamina and resources for another turn. Many cards require stamina to play, but Stamina isn’t restored at the end of each turn. This forces you to sacrifice attacks to replenish it, skipping cards and using up one of your precious actions without gaining the card’s benefit. Similarly, spells have a limited number of charges which only recharge when you play a “Meditate” card. This system creates tension by asking you to either add fewer Meditates to your deck to add more aggressive cards at the risk of running out of charges and having useless spells in your deck.

Great gameplay is one thing, but Meteorfall goes one step farther and wraps it in a clever and functional UI. Presented in portrait orientation with touch controls that require only the use of your thumb, Meteorfall is an ideal phone game. All decisions are made by flicking left or right in Reigns-like fashion. If you want to fight a monster flick right. To run away, rest, and regain some health flick left. To cast a spell or use an ability in combat flick right. To skip the card and regain stamina flick left. This flick-to-choose style makes Meteorfall play quickly and has made it my go-to game for short play sessions. I say “short play sessions”, but most of my forays into Meteorfall end up going an hour or more.

Meteorfall is a fun, absorbing, and well-designed game. It treads familiar territory but has made welcome innovations that make it both entertaining and easy to play. If you’re looking for that CCG fix in a premium title, or just enjoy single-player card games, I recommend Meteorfall without reservation.

We’ll have our official review up and ready on January 25th, which is when you can nab Meteorfall for iOS/Android for $3.

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