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Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews What's this?

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7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 61 Ratings

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  • Summary: Duelyst is a tactical turn-based strategy game with a heavy focus on ranked competitive play, brought to you by veteran developers and creators from Diablo III, Rogue Legacy and the Ratchet & Clank series.
    The world of Duelyst has an expansive identity and mythology, with gorgeous
    Duelyst is a tactical turn-based strategy game with a heavy focus on ranked competitive play, brought to you by veteran developers and creators from Diablo III, Rogue Legacy and the Ratchet & Clank series.
    The world of Duelyst has an expansive identity and mythology, with gorgeous landscapes filled with rich, complex characters, untold stories and unraveled histories. The focus is on squad-based combat on a tactical map with fast-paced multiplayer 1v1 battles where victory comes from defeating your opponent's General. At launch, there will be five unique factions with a roster of 100+ battle units and spells.
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Duelyst - Open Beta Trailer
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 14
  2. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Jul 14, 2016
    100
    If you’re at all a fan of CCG or TCG games, whether digital or real, I’d urge you to check out Duelyst. You won’t be disappointed.
  2. May 10, 2016
    86
    The Duelyst is a damn fun game that is deeper than it looks and quick tactical fun for those who enjoy this sort of game. Sure the main body of work is a card, tactical turn-based game that requires strategy and patience, but Counterplay Games makes it far better with additional offline options and rewards to back up the effort.
  3. Jul 12, 2016
    85
    All-in-all, Duelyst is a high quality, collectible strategy card game.
  4. Jun 1, 2016
    80
    Duelyst overlaps enough with similar games in the genre that stepping into it doesn't feel like starting from scratch, but it still manages to distinguish itself with some clever additions. While it still has its faults, those faults never overpowered the satisfying feeling of executing a perfect play. Even if you're still devoted to your competitive card game of choice, Duelyst is definitely worth a look.
  5. Jun 7, 2016
    80
    If you are looking for a deep and unique card game that has a bright future, look no further. Duelyst might require more persistence and concentration than other similar games, but will engross you if you grew tired of trends in modern card games.
  6. Jun 4, 2016
    80
    From a presentation standpoint, Duelyst is beautiful in its relative simplicity, though a bit thematically confusing.
  7. 70
    Seeing as the game is free to play however, if you have any interest in the genre at all, there is no reason not to give Duelyst a try and see if its distinctive stylings suit you or not.

See all 15 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 14
  2. Negative: 4 out of 14
  1. May 20, 2016
    10
    Best of a kind, to be honest:
    * 3-10 minutes games, which is great for my game consuming pattern (doesn't need a huge amount of time)
    *
    Best of a kind, to be honest:
    * 3-10 minutes games, which is great for my game consuming pattern (doesn't need a huge amount of time)
    * Acceptable learning curve, but astounding depth.
    * Collecting elements, which always encourage you to keep playing.
    * Huge strategic element. After many hours you keep making strategical mistakes. Hard to play "the best way"
    * Really good legendary and rare drop rate. You don't feel at all like it's impossible to build your collection over time without spending a dollar. (However if you're the typical "I want it all fast to get to tier S that's going to cost you a few orb packs).

    If you like strategic board games and CCG, and don't have very long periods of time to spend gaming, this game is really really good. Trust me! Go download it and try it.
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  2. May 24, 2016
    10
    If you like CCG + strategy games this is a must!

    Made by a small team, Counterplay Games managed to create an amazing and involving game,
    If you like CCG + strategy games this is a must!

    Made by a small team, Counterplay Games managed to create an amazing and involving game, with rich mechanics, cool art style and rich lore. Don't be fooled thinking this is a copy of Hearthstone, besides some UI similarities, the addition of the board make the position aspect of the game very important and create some interesting situations. The game play is way more dense and skill related.

    Every factions and general (yes, generals, even being from the same faction, have different abilities called Bloodbourne Spells) feels very unique, not only for their looks and lore but also their playstyle. Its common to spend hours just creating and tweaking decks based on different cards, strategies and generals.

    The game is also very generous with card drops, and the usual chance to get a Legendary is 1 for 4 packs. And its not uncommon to get even 2 Legs per pack.

    The game just left beta, and still has a long way to go and features to be added but looking the product now its future already looks bright! Give it a chance, you wont regret!
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  3. Aug 25, 2016
    10
    This is the deepest, most challenging, most fun, and least cost-prohibitive card game on the market right now, despite what some negativeThis is the deepest, most challenging, most fun, and least cost-prohibitive card game on the market right now, despite what some negative reviews may say.

    Pros:

    1) FAST card generation. A pack costs 100g, and you get ~50g from easy daily quests (play 4 games as X faction), 20g for your first win of the day, 5g for the daily puzzle, and 15g for every 2nd win. If you miss a day of quests you get a Welcome Back bonus of 5g/missed quest. You'll generate a big collection in no time without paying a single cent. Some of the top players competing in tournaments have never spent a single dollar.

    2) High legendary drop rate. The community has collected data on thousands of orb openings, and determined that 1 out of 4 packs contains a legendary! Plus the legendaries aren't as OP as Hearthstone, so they feel more fair when played against you. Granted, you need them for the most competitive decks, you can certainly get by without most of them. You'll get some sick legendaries in no time.

    3) Duelst is a UNIQUE card game, with a key difference that makes this game shine above all the other card game on the market. The 5x9 board makes the game come to life. You need to just play a match and you will understand how much depth the board adds to the game. Positioning is everything, this is the steepest part of the learning curve, but the most important and the most rewarding to master.

    4) Less RNG compared to other card games. You can REPLACE a card in your hand every single turn, for free. Don't like that super high cost minion on turn 2? Replace it and get something you can actually use. The replace mechanic adds a huge amount of CONSISTENCY and SKILL to the game. The best players know what to replace, and when. A novice or even an intermediate player will often replace away exactly what they needed one or two turns in the future.

    5) Fantastic lore. If you listen to the first chapter of the fully narrated story of the world of Mythron, you will likely fall in and never return the same. The world is tangible, and deals with themes such as: Evolution of life on a hostile planet, the slow dawn of the first conscious civilizations, an epic journey by early explorers to the farthest reaches of the planet, formation and separation of nation-states, corrupt politicians and leaders, and much more. There is a fully-realized world map that accompanies the game. They are releasing more lore with every major patch, so the story is on-going.

    6) 4 New cards released every month, and you earn them for free if you finish the month ranked Silver or better. Gold rank ensures you get the monthly legendary. These cards often shake up the game, so the meta is never the same from month to month.

    7) Fun. I've played for 3 seasons and loved every match. Suffered some heart-breaking defeats along the way, but it just makes the wins even sweeter.

    If you like card games even a little bit, give this game a try. I couldn't stand Hearthstone, but I love this game. Duelyst is honestly better than Hearthstone in every way, as it is more fun, has a higher skill cap, less RNG, easier gold generation, and more.

    Cons:
    1) A few archtypes dominate the meta at the high ranks. This is to be expected as players figure out what works the best. Counterplay is good at balancing when necessary, so nothing is too far out of balance for long.

    2) Cosmetics are overpriced, especially the emotes, but not buying them has no effect on gameplay, so just ignore them and you're good!

    Give it a try, I think you'll be surprised by how much is packed into this little game.

    Add me in-game if you want any tips or want to play a friendly match:
    -Flantor
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  4. May 17, 2017
    8
    I'm absolutely not into trading card games, but Duelyst made me an addict.
    Pros:
    + chess-like moving of minions + regular legendary drops
    I'm absolutely not into trading card games, but Duelyst made me an addict.
    Pros:
    + chess-like moving of minions
    + regular legendary drops
    + matchmaking system for evenly matched opponents
    + endless strategic possibilities
    + regular new cards and discounts

    Cons:
    + gauntlet is very hard
    + frustration level can rise high (if you're disposed to)
    + shrinking community :(

    I had a lot of fun playing it. But as I played further, I challenged opponents with very strong decks, so that I got frustrated and stopped playing. But if you're interested in TCG, I would strongly suggest to give it a try. It seems much fairer and challenging than Hearthstone...
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  5. Jun 10, 2016
    8
    Surprisingly good. It's basically Hearthstone where beautiful hi-res pictures are replaced by cute pixel art and with more depth by addingSurprisingly good. It's basically Hearthstone where beautiful hi-res pictures are replaced by cute pixel art and with more depth by adding another strategic element of placement of your minions on battlefield. While it borrows from Hearthstone very heavily in some of it's mechanics, it can be actually a good thing, because it makes it easier for you to get into it. The question is - will it have the same lasting appeal and will the game still be enjoyable after months and years of gameplay the same way Hearthstone is, only time will tell, but so far I'm having a good time. 8/10 Expand
  6. Oct 2, 2016
    6
    Yknow that board game Han Solo and Chewbakka have on the Millenium Falcon? It's basically that.

    Two players start with their generals (the
    Yknow that board game Han Solo and Chewbakka have on the Millenium Falcon? It's basically that.

    Two players start with their generals (the prime peice, like the king in chess) already spawned on the board, as well as 2 or 3 mana in a power bar of 9 total. Summoning Minions and Casting Spells costs mana.

    You pretty much play as your general: each one has a different primary spell (A 'Bloodborn Spell') and can cast other spell cards plus equipt items (artifacts) to make them more powerful or cast an effect. As you play you'll notice when you play a card to do anything, your general does a little move to represent it.

    As a general, you also spawn 'Minions' which are basically the pawns of the game. They cost mana to summon, usually have 'exhaustion' (meaning they can't move or attack on the same turn as being summoned), and can have various effects which are activated various ways, E.G. :
    -Minions with sheilds have 'Provoke' which stops other peices from moving past them until they're destroyed.
    -Minions with 'Opening Gambits' cast various effects when you summon them from your hand
    -Minions with 'Rush' can move and attack on the same turn as being summoned
    -etc

    Pros:
    -Tutorial

    -AI Matches

    -Simple and intriguing board gameplay

    -Variety of strategy styles, like ranged, tanky, spell stacking, etc. The game has Six factions, each with multiple generals. Each faction has also unique spells, artifacts and minions specific to their play style. Decks are all faction specific, meaning you cannot mix faction cards. However, there are a large amount of "faction nuetral" cards.

    Cons:
    -Cash shop items:
    'Orbs' are how players expand their library of cards. They can be bought with igc (gold) OR good ol' USD. This alone puts the cash shop in the 'con' section, because if it was purely cosmetic it would be a +.

    -Daily Challenges:
    Daily challenges play differently from PVP or Botmatches:

    >The goal is to kill the other general in one move
    >Each is a Custom Scenario, your general is chosen for you, you have 9/9 mana and a handful of cards (spells, items and/or minions)
    >Both sides have minions already on the board

    Basically this turns the game into a puzzle game. You need to figure out how to use everything you're given to defeat the enemy general in one turn. Daily Challenges can be completed for a measly 5 gold. It's not the only way to aquire gold, but it feels a lot like they aren't worth the reward, even if the community has an effort going to tell everyone how to solve them daily.

    -Faction Balance:
    The biggest aspect and driving mechanic of this game is dealing proxy damage to the enemy general without taking damage to your own

    In the game, units next to each other can attack with melee, however the attacked unit also counter attacks. This means that if two generals just slugged it out, they would both die on the same attack and the match would draw.

    So, both sides use spells and minions to prevent damage to themselves. However:

    SomeFactions natrually excel at this while others just do not

    This could easily avoid being a con by rating the factions by playstyle difficulty, however at this point they aren't

    This means you'll see less variety in who you battle in PVP, faction wise.

    -Cautionary Developers
    Apparently, The dev/publisher of this game also has their reputation riding on the line because they made changes to the game that went unannounced:

    https://www.reddit.com/r/duelyst/comments/50paxs/an_open_letter_to_counterplay_games/ https://forums.duelyst.com/t/an-open-letter-to-counterplay-games-ardent-dawns-post/3113 From what I understand: An expansion came out that introduced a second type of orb. Players could pre-order the orbs for a discount (as pre-orders tend to go). Then players learned that the drop rates of different rarities of cards were nerfed compared to normal orbs, and are displeased that the different rate wasn't outlined in patch notes. CounterPlay (The Developers) had the opportunity to tell the players about it in a stream but chose to 'leave it discoverable', further displeasing the players. They really have a chance to make amends as of this writing, they could JUST SIMPLY apologize to the players and never repeat what they did, but only time will tell how their reputation goes. As someone who doesn't play other 'card games' I gave it a 6/10 on metacritic for it's flaws[/I]
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  7. Feb 2, 2020
    0
    This game is free to play on steam, however it is yet another pay to win collectable card game.
    I am not sure you can even play this dumpster
    This game is free to play on steam, however it is yet another pay to win collectable card game.
    I am not sure you can even play this dumpster fire of a game without shelling out your cash
    from the moment you start to play online.

    This game is extremely unbalanced to the point that is is unplayable. You do not even need any
    strategic skills to beat your opponent all you need to do is go to the shop and buy the best cards.

    Pros:
    > The Art Style is Great
    > The game has a different concept style.

    Cons:
    > Pay 2 Win.
    > Extremely Unbalanced.
    > The developers have abandoned the game.

    If you are not willing to pay for good cards, then there is no point in even wasting your time
    trying to play this game.
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See all 14 User Reviews

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