Initial release date: September 4, 2024
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X and Series S
Developer: Inti Creates
Publisher: Inti Creates
Genres: Role-playing video game, Strategy video game
While demos can provide a good initial impression of a game, they are no substitute for experiencing the entire game for yourself; possibly more than any other game I’ve reviewed recently, Card-en-Ciel exemplifies this fundamental reality. While the gameplay in Card-en-Ciel is compelling, the total package falls short.
The majority of what I have to say about the gameplay remains unchanged from the demo at Anime Expo; your fundamental gameplay loop revolves around your cards, which are used for both actions and movement. During conflicts, enemies will count down to their next assault, and your goal is to deliver as much damage as possible or weaken their defenses while remaining out of the way of any incoming attack by the time you retire your turn. What makes this difficult is that different cards will have different prices to use and will allow you to progress in different ways if you freely discard them. Your aim is to shatter the enemy’s guard and deliver as much damage as possible in one turn; how you get there, however, will depend on the strengths and weaknesses of each deck.
Every turn, you’ll have a limited amount of energy to use cards; certain deck setups can make it easier to use whatever you want with enough preparation, but at the end of the day, you won’t get anywhere unless you carefully plan your next moves and consider what you have available to you with whatever deck you’re running for a specific mission. Each level, which is ostensibly themed after a specific game – either one that already exists in the Inti-Creates catalog or one that was created specifically for this game’s storyline and does not yet exist in reality – tends to provide you with cards that teach you how to play a specific archetype of deck. I’d go so far as to say that these stages are effectively disquise lessons, especially because your deck is reset with each level, with the exception of a single muse card handed to you to experiment with at the beginning of the stage.
Muses are the glue that holds Card-en-Ciel’s gameplay together; activating them has specific conditions, and once activated, you can immediately boost your cards in ways that correspond to the playstyle that these muses represent. When you activate a muse, you receive access to a charge that can be used to activate one of your card’s sub-abilities, such as a version with significantly improved stats, the power to clone itself numerous times, or more. By the conclusion of the game, there are a plethora of various playstyles to explore, thanks to systems such as Convert, Break Points, Forging cards, and much more, which means that each deck you learn how to play feels distinctly different from the last. However, it is quite evident that these steps are effectively glorified tutorials.
There is nothing wrong with this, of course. However, other from each level simply teaching you how to play a specific deck, there is little that distinguishes each stage – despite the fact that they are supposed to be you immersing yourself in each game environment. Dungeons and ordinary foes both look the same, with only stronger units that have stationed themselves on the map providing any visual difference. To be honest, there is no actual story connected with these missions; instead, there is a brief description of what the game is about at the beginning, followed by a brief discussion with the game’s key characters at the end of the level. It becomes old soon, especially since the tale between these levels does not provide a good initial impression.
In between missions, the story revolves around Neon, the “Gamer Chair Detective” who investigates crimes within various VR games and worlds, and Ancie, his assistant who approached him to help solve the MODs problem, which involves data from other games leaking into other game worlds and, eventually, the real world. However, the tale is absolutely threadbare, and the relationship between Neon and Ancie, which is the foundation of it all, is weightless because you don’t get to know either of them. Fanservice with Ancie appears to be the story’s cornerstone. If that’s what you’re looking for, go for it, but I can’t help but be unhappy that the broader storyline appears to have received little attention.
I didn’t have the opportunity to test multiplayer, which appears to have been far more of a focus for the game than I had anticipated; however, in terms of what else you can do in single player, you’ll gain resources that you can expend to permanently buff things like Neon’s HP, as well as the possibility of rare cards and modifiers appearing during levels. Aside from that, after every few stages, you’ll gain entry to a Grand Battle dungeon to complete a section of the story. These are the same as standard stages, with one key difference: your deck contains every card you’ve ever collected, including muses, and your HP is determined by the amount of cards in your possession. Aside from that, they’re largely the same – however with so many muses in your hands by the final game, these dungeons become more of a hassle than an enjoyable experience. It’s very easy for things to spiral out of control after you engage one muse, which can set off a chain reaction in which a dozen more are awakened in rapid succession. While enjoyable at first, it can quickly get tedious; and adversary stats, the HP you’ll have to cut through, and the Break you’ll have to inflict on their Balance in order to put them in a position where your cards can be most effective.
While Card-en-Ciel’s decks provide a fascinating and interesting experience as you learn to play around them, Grand Battle dungeons appear to represent the game’s own worst shortcomings. Inti-Creates had a fantastic idea for a gameplay system, and it’s endearing to watch them use their own IPs as fodder for the cards that populate these systems – but at the end of the day, it appears that they simply didn’t know how to develop a full game around the system they’d imagined. Card-en-Ciel isn’t a bad game, but you can sense the team’s limitations; perhaps the gameplay will be enough to make it worthwhile, but it’s difficult to provide a strong recommendation when so much of the experience feels disconnected and threadbare.
Review Overview
Gameplay: 85%
Controls: 88%
Aesthetics: 90%
Content: 83%
Accessibility: 82%
Value: 87%
Overall: 86%
GREAT!
Summary:
“Card-en-Ciel” distinguishes out as an appealing deck-builder that combines strategy and horticulture. Its lovely hand-painted visuals, paired with its ingenious card mechanics, make for a distinctive and fascinating experience. Though the gameplay requires some practice, once mastered, it transforms into a beautiful blend of strategic planning and resource management. The aesthetic appeal is a big pull, making the game feel both relaxing and intriguing at the same time. While it may require more content for those looking for prolonged play, “Card-en-Ciel” is a unique take on deck-building that is well worth the commitment.