Duelyst

 PC
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 61 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 47 out of 61
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 61
  3. Negative: 10 out of 61

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  1. Flantor
    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 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    This 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    … Expand
  2. darkmaterial
    May 8, 2016
    9
    Been my go to quick game for several weeks. The match making usually seems pretty fair and is always fast. The economy is generous to the point that I wounder how many folk will actually give them any cash. While some deck are obviously stronger than others, good and bad play certainly matters.
  3. hTristan
    May 4, 2016
    9
    Easy to learn and hard to master, Duelyst clearly riffs on Hearthstone's gameplay, but transposes it from cards to pieces on a board. Players have considerable control over how their game plays out thanks to the opportunity to replace one unwanted unit in their hand each turn.

    Duelyst features excellent art and a surprising level of polish for an indie studio. The game gets regular    Easy to learn and hard to master, Duelyst clearly riffs on Hearthstone's gameplay, but transposes it from cards to pieces on a board. Players have considerable control over how their game plays out thanks to the opportunity to replace one unwanted unit in their hand each turn.

    Duelyst features excellent art and a surprising level of polish for an indie studio. The game gets regular balance passes to help ensure a diverse set of competitive squads. Games tend to be quick bouts of 5-10 minutes in length, and the free-to-play rate of card acquisition is very generous.

    If Duelyst lacks something, it's the kind of tell-your-friends matches that make Hearthstone and Magic captivating to so many people. With more consistent gameplay, matches in Duelyst are more often won by incremental gains than by blowout, high impact events.

    If you like Hearthstone or other collectible games, but are looking for a little less RNG and a little more tactical complexity, I would not hesitate to recommend Duelyst.    … Expand
  4. Skemes
    Sep 8, 2016
    9
    This game is in an incredibly polished, well-presented state with highly tactical, stimulating gameplay. If you're a fan of table top games (a la Warhammer) and want a slightly shorter version, I would highly suggest this game. It's decidedly more interesting than Hearthstone, both in terms of artistic direction, animations, and novel gameplay mechanics.
  5. evansgreen
    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)
    * 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    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.    … Expand
  6. DeusXCom
    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 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 - willSurprisingly 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
  7. Zedentin
    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, 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    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!    … Expand
  8. FelixGaptor
    Sep 1, 2016
    9
    Хорошая тактическая игра. Некая смесь МТГ, Хартстоуна и Берсерка.

    Что понравилось: Классная пиксельная графика, красивая анимация юнитов, дневные задания, пазлы, возможность без вложений получить любую карту, много людей онлайн. Ну и главное отличие от Хартстоунов всяких - возможность тактически перемещать юнитов, что очень здорово и чего очень мне не хватает, как любителю шахмат и    Хорошая тактическая игра. Некая смесь МТГ, Хартстоуна и Берсерка.

    Что понравилось:
    Классная пиксельная графика, красивая анимация юнитов, дневные задания, пазлы, возможность без вложений получить любую карту, много людей онлайн. Ну и главное отличие от Хартстоунов всяких - возможность тактически перемещать юнитов, что очень здорово и чего очень мне не хватает, как любителю шахмат и Берсерка (старого, не новых "Берсерк Герои", а именно старого ККИ Берсерк, ну или браузерки Берсерк Возрождение).

    Что не понравилось:
    Ограничение по времени на ход. Иногда просто не успеваешь доходить свой ход, не говоря уже о том, чтобы распланировать что-то. Большая зависимость от приходов. Конечно, тут немного лучше? чем в МТГ, раз в ход можно заменить карту, нет земель, которые в МТГ могут сильно испортить игру, но все же, от стартовой руки и приходов слишком много зависит, особенно в деках с всего 1-2 ключевыми картами. Опять же, сравнивая с Берсерком, слишком простые абилки у юнитов и мало комбятся друг с другом, хотелось бы более сложных взаимодействий.

    В целом, игра очень понравилась. Для меня, если бы убрать из игры случайную "стартовую руку", и сделать подбор отряда полностью контролируемым игроком, то это была бы, наверное, почти идеальная игра для меня. Если вы любитель тактических игр, карточных игр и красивого пиксель-арта, то вам однозначно стоит поиграть в Дуэлист.    … Expand
  9. Nebukarr
    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 + 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    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...    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

53
#53 Best PC Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Gaming Age
    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.
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  2. GamingTrend
    Jul 13, 2016
    75
    Duelyst felt more like a board game than a computer game with plenty of options and strategy.
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  3. COGconnected
    Jul 12, 2016
    85
    All-in-all, Duelyst is a high quality, collectible strategy card game.
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