For while at the heart of the game lies a solid combat foundation, its structure seeks to undercut it at every turn. What could have been a taut, captivating experience instead feels like too few ideas stretched too thin.
Earthblood unfortunately never raises itself above average, ending up as a thoroughly competent beat-’em-up bogged down in less stellar stealth gameplay and rough RPG elements.
For its first foray into this style of game, Spiders falls into some bad habits that never quite allow for the game to rise to its ambitions, settling into a groove that is at times competent but often uninspiring.
Hyakki Castle promises an interesting premise but can deliver on little else besides some pretty loading screen concept art.
It's the kind of game that starts with its best foot forward before petering out over the course of ten hours.
The game begins with its best foot forward, an under-explained puzzle that’s fun to parse out. But once the puzzle pieces fall into place, the drive to see it to the end starts to fall away too.
Though the deck-builder is running the risk of being overexposed, Roguebook has enough interesting ideas at play to make it a worthwhile investment of time. It’s not likely to replace Slay the Spire or Monster Train for fans, but it carves out enough of its own niche that I can see it existing side-by-side.