- Publisher: Devolver Digital
- Release Date: Jun 2, 2022
- Also On: Switch
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
-
Jun 2, 2022Despite some pacing issues and uneven difficulty, Card Shark offers some very original card manipulation gameplay in a charming historical setting.
-
Jul 17, 2022Card Shark is a fun little game with plenty of shortcomings and some ways teach you several neat card tricks for loud parties.
-
Jun 2, 2022Card Shark’s story, art design, and soundtrack alone make the game a worthwhile experience. What begins as a classic rags-to-riches story quickly evolves into something far more interesting, full of intrigue and betrayal. Progressing the story by cheating the pants off a bunch of pre-revolutionary French dandies in cards is a truly unique and satisfying premise, and it’s largely pulled off well apart from a few imprecise controls. Otherwise, the gameplay might be a little too one-note to hold your engagement for the entire runtime of the game.
-
Jun 2, 2022Card Shark has a few things going for it, not the least of which is unique gameplay. I've never played anything like this. The watercolor style looks great. But the story feels like an afterthought; it never felt important or drove the actual game anywhere. The card playing part of Card Shark is nonexistent, instead focusing on the tricks you are trying to pull. While the tricking is fun, there is a lot to remember, and some of the tricks feel silly to perform. This might not be Devolver Digital’s biggest game to date, but it does have that feel that most Devolver Digital games give off - a unique game with a unique look and feel. Card Shark doesn’t fit into a genre, which is something to admire.
-
Jun 2, 2022Card Shark is an original concept and an intriguing demonstration of how the art of deception can be used to uncover the truth hidden in the upper middle class. Unfortunately, some technical problems have compromise the general experience of the game.
| This publication does not provide a score for their reviews. | |
| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
| These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation. | |
-
Jun 7, 2022There's an awful lot to admire about Card Shark. I want more games that do something original like this, that find beauty from odd angles and tell stories in new ways. But playing Card Shark like a real person - with breaks, and other things to do - is hard. If you can't count cards, and find rubbing your tummy while patting your head at all difficult, Card Shark will likely have you absolutely mogadored.
-
Jun 2, 2022Card Shark is easy to play in small chunks, and the relatively short levels make it a great fit for the Steam Deck (which is where I played most of the game) and the Switch. Though I did find I would have to be in the right mood to play it. Sometimes, after a long day at work, I would play something else because I was worried Card Shark would be too complex of a mental challenge. Despite that, I still found Card Shark to be a delightful experience. It hasn’t made me any better at cheating in real life, but at least I can now say I once outsmarted Voltaire in a game of cards.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 13 out of 24
-
Mixed: 9 out of 24
-
Negative: 2 out of 24
-
Jun 11, 2022
-
Aug 9, 2023Unique work and perfectly combines the narrative component together with the playful one
On an artistic and sound level we are at a top level -
Jun 6, 2023the game is quite unique, can be described as a novel with a touch of mini-games (rather difficult), while the result is a great mixture