GWENT: Rogue Mage

 PC
User Score
5.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 27 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 27
  3. Negative: 11 out of 27

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  1. Ashgarn
    Jul 10, 2022
    9
    A fun alternative to the multiplayer at a reasonable price with a staple high quality art direction.
  2. dubesor
    Jul 9, 2022
    5
    I only played 2½ hours (2 runs) and was already bored within the first run. They tried to cheaply copy the system of Slay the Spire but the pacing just doesn't feel right in the Gwent engine. The fact that you always play 1 full round vs any enemy means that there is far less strategy than with multiple rounds.

    Also, I used to play Gwent a few years ago and I recognized about 90% of the    I only played 2½ hours (2 runs) and was already bored within the first run. They tried to cheaply copy the system of Slay the Spire but the pacing just doesn't feel right in the Gwent engine. The fact that you always play 1 full round vs any enemy means that there is far less strategy than with multiple rounds.

    Also, I used to play Gwent a few years ago and I recognized about 90% of the cards and UI from Gwent. So engine, and the majority of assets are simply copy-pasted. Since gameplay and pacing fell completely flat for me I was hoping that the game would make up for it in the story department, we are talking Witcher lore after all. However, there isn't really any story whatsoever, you got 2 mages with voice snippets reading out a generic line every now and then but nothing even remotely comparable to the Witcher or even Thronebreaker.

    If you played Gwent before, this will be too repetitive. If you have played Slay the Spire before, this will feel inferior, if you played Thronebreaker before, this will feel empty.
    If you have never played any of the other titles or any competing products, then by all means, give it a shot. It's not a terrible game. It's mediocre all things considered, but I expected far better.    … Expand
  3. CliffOrion
    Jul 9, 2022
    9
    A very pleasant surprise since I was completelty unaware of a Gwent solo game in preparation. As a big fan of Gwent in TW3, Thronebreaker (hidden gem), as well as roguelite deckbuilding games such as Tainted Grail or Slay the Spire, Rogue Mage is a perfect game for whom is seeking a challenging yet charming experience in the Witcher Universe.

    Thronebreaker was so overlooked it is no    A very pleasant surprise since I was completelty unaware of a Gwent solo game in preparation. As a big fan of Gwent in TW3, Thronebreaker (hidden gem), as well as roguelite deckbuilding games such as Tainted Grail or Slay the Spire, Rogue Mage is a perfect game for whom is seeking a challenging yet charming experience in the Witcher Universe.

    Thronebreaker was so overlooked it is no surprise to me that Rogue Mage has the same lack of recognition.

    I just can't believe the poor reviews and lack of enthousiasm for this gem. Everything is great, starting with the absolutely gorgeous music, animations, and the general atmosphere.

    I don't give it a 10 though since the learning curve seems to be a bit harsh, even for seasoned deckbuilding roguelites afficionados. But CDPR is truely the GOAT for developping and publishing niche games as Rogue Mage, for 9,90 € nonetheleast. How players can complain ?    … Expand
  4. Atu
    Jul 12, 2022
    10
    A great addition to the Gwent franchise. As always, the art and music are amazing, while the gameplay offers a new approach to the way Gwent is played. Highly recommended.
  5. Nokturnalex
    Jul 19, 2022
    1
    Bruh, how do you mess up a single player rogue-lite Gwent game?

    I'll tell ya. 1, Make it more like hearthstone. 2. Remove deck building and force players to use pre-made decks, there's only 4 to choose from and they're all boring. Only way to deck build is during gameplay and it's all based on luck, want to remove a certain card? Nope, you only get 3 choices. Want to pick a certain    Bruh, how do you mess up a single player rogue-lite Gwent game?

    I'll tell ya.
    1, Make it more like hearthstone.
    2. Remove deck building and force players to use pre-made decks, there's only 4 to choose from and they're all boring. Only way to deck build is during gameplay and it's all based on luck, want to remove a certain card? Nope, you only get 3 choices. Want to pick a certain card? Nope, 3 random choices again. You can re-roll the choices but that costs mana... now about mana...
    3. Insert a Mana attrition mechanic that forces you to use spells to win fights, completely unbalancing the game. You're basically given incredibly overpowered spells to use (one early one for example basically lets you play a free card every turn) but not enough mana to use them every turn, so you're basically just picking and choosing when to use mana hoping you saved up enough for the boss fight at the end. It throws deckbuilding out the window and is all about mana management.
    4. It's not even Gwent anymore. The reason Gwent was fun to play in Witcher was collecting the cards, once you got all the cards it was boring, that could've been done well in a Rogue-lite game, but they threw any sort of deck building out the window.    … Expand
  6. tjohobbit
    Jul 10, 2022
    2
    Sadly they lost it. A very boring roguelite and only trying to make money on the brand.
    They managed to steal a whole game and then take all the fun out of it.
    Incredibly booooooring. Dont understand how you manage to do something as bad when you already stole almost the whole game. Its not even a gwentgame they only used the assets but they dont even make use of the only thing that i    Sadly they lost it. A very boring roguelite and only trying to make money on the brand.
    They managed to steal a whole game and then take all the fun out of it.
    Incredibly booooooring. Dont understand how you manage to do something as bad when you already stole almost the whole game.
    Its not even a gwentgame they only used the assets but they dont even make use of the only thing that i unique with Gwent.

    You want to try the gameplay?

    Role a 6 sided dice and beside you have a bag with dice where you have 1 6 sided and the rest d12 and then you pick one random and roll and see which is highest.

    You can choose one card that they call the keycard and they can for example every 2 turns put rain on a row thet do 1 dmg on 2 random enemies.
    Wow just how underwhelming you manage to do the game.

    Also of course there is ingame purchase which I dont care about if not the game is so bad.

    Cant understand why they want to drag their own IP down like this.
    Bought everything they ever made but it have at last come to an end and I am still one of the few that hade a ok experinece with cyberpunk but you clearly see that they are not the same anymore releasing something like this.    … Expand
  7. Kunray
    Jul 12, 2022
    1
    don't want and don't have time to write here. to be short - I'm very disappointed
    1/10
  8. DarkNeroN7
    Jul 13, 2022
    0
    Полная хрень. Это не игра, а халура. Она должна быть бесплатным дополнением для Гвинта, только в этом случае с ней можно ознакомиться. Покупать это - деньги на ветер.
  9. yohewa9979
    Jul 8, 2022
    4
    An apt reminder that the best part of The Witcher 3 was actually not that good.
  10. Rilke21
    Aug 11, 2022
    6
    Ehhh, this one is disappointing…

    The 6 rating is based on overall game quality, but I should point out this expansion is at least a 7 and maybe even an 8 if we’re only interested in value for the price point (which is high.) But the gripes are real. First off, if you purchase on GOG, you do NOT get access to mobile play for free—you need to purchase the app separately if you also    Ehhh, this one is disappointing…

    The 6 rating is based on overall game quality, but I should point out this expansion is at least a 7 and maybe even an 8 if we’re only interested in value for the price point (which is high.)

    But the gripes are real. First off, if you purchase on GOG, you do NOT get access to mobile play for free—you need to purchase the app separately if you also want to play on your phone. This is ****

    Second, the possibilities here are largely unrealized. I’m a fan of the general premise, but the gameplay becomes repetitive extremely quickly. There are very few enemies, the narration sounds like some Jim was pulled off the street and given free meteorite powder to be a voice actor for a day, and where I’ve come to expect plenty of subtle little interactions and intricacies from…well, from pre-Cyberpunk CDPR…there are few to be found here.

    Third, I own all of these cards and most of their “premium” versions in GWENT—WHY do I have to look at the ugly non-premium cards in a single player expansion, when the game could be exponentially nicer to look at? Perhaps I will be milked for extra money in a future “upgrade”…

    TLDR: Could have been a gem, falls flat, still good value for the price.    … Expand
  11. MetaKritiker90
    Aug 11, 2023
    10
    It's really fun and very cheap. It's a high quality game with great production values. Absolutely worth the price.
  12. Sepherim
    Dec 27, 2022
    4
    Me encanta Gwent, tanto en el Witcher 3, como juego independiente y en Thronebreaker. Por eso me compré Rogue Mage tan pronto salió pero, desde el principio, me temo que algo no ha estando haciendo click para mi con el juego. Las mecánicas del juego han sido modificadas en algunos puntos para ser un deckbuilder pero el juego en si no acaba de funcionar como debería en ese sentido. LasMe encanta Gwent, tanto en el Witcher 3, como juego independiente y en Thronebreaker. Por eso me compré Rogue Mage tan pronto salió pero, desde el principio, me temo que algo no ha estando haciendo click para mi con el juego. Las mecánicas del juego han sido modificadas en algunos puntos para ser un deckbuilder pero el juego en si no acaba de funcionar como debería en ese sentido. Las partidas se basan demasiado en el mazo inicial, de modo que se vuelven repetitivas, los sistemas de progresión entre partidas son demasiado simples y directos y, especialmente, las batallas pierden componente estratégico al volverse a una única ronda y otros cambios que tienen. Si añadimos a eso que, siendo lo buenos que son CD Projekt con tramas, este juego no se puede decir que tenga una más allá de lo más básico (una que, además, tiene incoherencias cronológicas como personajes que puedes jugar por cartas pero que no existen en la época), el resultado es flojo.

    Estéticamente está bastante bien porque, como juego de cartas, gwent siempre ha sido vistoso. La música muy bien aunque reciclan temas, y las pocas voces dobladas que hay también cumplen bien. Y, al menos en mi experiencia, no he encontrado bugs significativos.

    El resultado de todo ello es que, aunque es un juego que tenía todo para gustarme, lo he ido dejando y dejando y dejando hasta que ya va tocando reconocer que no lo voy a continuar. Un 4.    … Expand
  13. Don_karton
    Aug 31, 2022
    0
    I sincerely love all gwent games but this one just hurts me to play how badly done it is. It's like I'm back in the noughties strategy. The only thing that connects this game with the original is a copy-paste of cards from online gwent.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 10
  3. Negative: 1 out of 10
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 25, 2024
    40
    Rogue Mage is an enjoyable card game that I was happy to spend a few evenings with. However, it lacks the greater depth and addictiveness of classic rogue-like titles for prolonged play. As a result, this version of the cards isn't bad, but it's unfortunately the weakest of all on offer. [Issue#321]
  2. SECTOR.sk
    Aug 8, 2022
    65
    GWENT: Rogue Mage is an expansion suited for players who need new challenges, like to test their patience and improvise strategies. But because of a rather repetitive gameplay and disappointing story, it’s a game that casual fans of Gwent can easily skip.
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  3. CD-Action
    Jul 29, 2022
    70
    Rogue Mage lacks the scope and ambition of Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales, but despite that provides lots of fun thanks to its addictive, well-balanced gameplay. It’s also a great way to get acquainted with Gwent.
    Read full review
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