EDIT: Docking two points from 10 to 8 because of save corruption bugs present in the game. The game is great, but there are bugs that causeEDIT: Docking two points from 10 to 8 because of save corruption bugs present in the game. The game is great, but there are bugs that cause you to lose progress on exiting the game. Losing unlocks etc. and editing your "Stats" page.
This is the best deckbuilder on PS4 not named Slay the Spire. Even when compared to StS, it has it's own differences and merits to where I could feasibly see someone liking it more than StS.
Unique aspects:
- There is a party management element that feels a lot like The Banner Saga
- The "permadeath" on cards, first slightly abrasive - you can come to understand is paramount to how the game works. It forces you to vary your strategies and also introduces an element of risk and reward (you can "cure" a card of wounds by finishing opponents with it as the last hit.... but if a wounded card dies... that's it it's gone... so there is reason to put your wounded cards at risk that can have a big payoff)
- There is a card collection management aspect like... I don't know... the Yugioh card games/MtG arena, but within the context of a single run? Through your run (a run is between 90 min an 2 hrs about) you actually accrue a COLLECTION of cards and you can build a deck using SOME BUT NOT ALL of those cards. You might have as many as 50 or 60 different cards by the end of a run. You build your deck based on what you find is the best combination of that rather large collection - this is very different than Slay the Spire, where you do not have a collection of cards you can choose to add or remove at will. If you really need to, you can even sort of change up your deck for specific encounters with the info the game gives you. For example, if that game says "this encounter, opponents have Deathtouch", you may want to get all your cards that produce tokens so then your tokens can trade with deathtouchers as opposed to your tried-and-true units (because permadeath)
- Each run you run a starter deck of cards (called a convoy) as well as a hero who also comes with their own deck (of spells, basically). There are 12 of each. 12x12 different combinations. Some of the combinations make little sense together (aggro leader w/ control units, etc.) - but still. That's actually a LOT of content. All unlockable in game.
A word on the difficulty:
There are three difficulty settings. The default the game puts you on is Easy and this is what most reviewers are playing on. Point blank - it is not hard if you have any card game experience. You may have read some reviews bashing it for being unfair or too hard - I really, really disagree. I have ~400 hrs of Slay the Spire and ~250 in Monster Train. Nowhere Prophet is not any harder than either of those games, at all. Even on it's hardest difficulty, NP is not harder than even Ascension 15 (much less A20) Spire, for example. Keep in mind the combat of NP is more like Hearthstone than Slay the Spire - you need to always measure when to "tend to the board" and when to tend to "face" - so in that way it is different than Slay the Spire - the combat in NP is more complex. Further, the deckbuilding is more complex since you build your deck out of actually a huge collection of cards you accrue over a run. So one could definitely say the game has more a learning curve than even StS... but harder? No... no way. If you are a experienced card game player, honestly I could understand criticism that the game is too easy, not too hard. I am wondering if the reviewers hating on the game have played these other card games, and if so, my guess would be it is all on the default difficulty setting (which is really just the beginning when it comes to these kind of games, so their comments might not apply to you, and CERTAINLY do not come from a place of authority on balancing of these kind of games).
Lastly, every card the enemy plays you can also accrue and collect during your run and play it. The AI also has the exact same hand size and energy constraints as you do. So then.... yeah - it's not unfair.
Final Verdict
Just buy the game if you like roguelike deckbuilers or are tired of StS and want to give a go to something else.
If you aren't experienced with card games - the difficulty of the game is not insurmountable - with some practice you can get there, so long as you are willing to learn the game's mechanics instead of complain about what you do not understand or know.
If you are experienced with card games - difficulty is not an issue and the game is ready for you to dig in - it is just great. It's the best deckbuilder behind StS on PS4, and even StS it gives a run for it's money.… Expand
