Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars Reviews
Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars is one of two recently released smaller scale games dropped by Square Enix last October with minimal promotion. More experienced gamers might bemoan the straightforward gameplay or lack of difficulty, but those who are interested in the charm and humour only need bring their cards to the table
Despite its enticing visual style and standout soundtrack, Voice of Cards doesn’t rival Yoko Taro’s past works and is unlikely to charm RPG veterans.
Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars is a great little gem to come out of this year. Where NieR is a good series though not quite for me, this absolutely is. The team have created a true sleeper hit that is well worth seeking out for NieR or fantasy adventure fans alike. The music and wondrous exploration on offer are engaging throughout. While other limitations in roleplaying are noticeable, they’re never enough to rob you of your enjoyment. What’s here is some clever and wonderful writing, a charming cast of characters and another weird world worth delving into. Yoko Taro and the team have done it again.
In concept, Voice of Cards is exciting: a small game from a major designer (Yoko Taro is the game's creative director), released with little fanfare. It offers a lean framework for other RPGs and narrative games to come. Ultimately, though, it's far less effective at its core goals than the games it draws from. Voice of Cards positions itself as a more intelligent, if leaner, classic JRPG. In practice, it is a hollow echo of what came before.
Voice of Cards is a neat little RPG that, thanks to its excellent presentation, makes for a fun experience despite a tedious encounter rate and boring dungeon design.
Square Enix's attempt at a card-based game has come up all Aces! The spoken story and card mechanics are relaxing and entertaining. The JRPG-like artwork is beautiful and fits the presentation well. Everything about the game retains that Square Enix RPG charm we've come to expect! The game compels you to leave no card unturned and when all is said and done Voice Of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars is a welcome break from the hectic and frantic pace of other game types!
Voice of Cards mixed JRPG's and board games' elements to offer a fun pretty unique experience. It is improvable in and far from perfect, but its originality and world deserve appreciation.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars is a quaint game that doesn't bring anything exceptionally new to the genre, but is undeniably charming.
Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars may be simple, but it does a fantastic job of delivering a card game RPG hybrid that’s an absolute delight to play. Its aesthetic is second-to-none, its storytelling is excellent (largely due to Haberkorn’s fantastic narration), and its gameplay is deeply satisfying thanks to character development, rewarding exploration and engaging battles. If you’d like an RPG experience that differs from the norm, Square Enix has nailed it once again.
Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars is another good game by Yoko Taro, with well-executed concepts worthy of the director's other works, although it doesn't reach the level established by bigger games due to its limitations.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
So, while Voice of Cards could be refined as a game, the vision is impeccable, and while the game's not as outrageous or subversive as NieR and its sequel, it still represents Yoko Taro's unique qualities as a game designer and narrative writer: he is forever experimenting and pushing boundaries. Voice of Cards is almost subtle in this, but the way that it aims to work collaboratively with players to share a story, rather than tell it, is a delightful departure from the norm for the JRPG. I don't think anyone expected him to follow up NieR with a "card game," but Yoko Taro has hit onto something very special here.
There’s the basis for a really solid storytelling platform here — it just remains to be seen if that is part of the long-term plan for the game, or if it was always intended to be completely self-contained. Still, in the meantime we have a satisfying, enjoyable, beautifully presented, enormously atmospheric and delightfully unconventional RPG to enjoy — so if you like the idea of virtual tabletop fun, Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars should absolutely be part of your collection.
There aren't many places to explore, random card events in dungeons and the overworld are repeated frequently, and everything comes to a close too soon. Without question, Voice of Cards represents a great entry point for RPG newcomers that employs a compelling and unique aesthetic. If you've shuffled your way through most of the RPGs on Switch, however, you might find this Isle Dragon more of a whimper.
Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars is the sort of game that you'll play when you want a slow-paced and relaxing adventure; for that, it's an excellent experience. However, it can sometimes be bogged down by its gameplay's own indulgent vapidness.
But those who take a chance on Voice of Cards might be surprised. Its tabletop style is endearing and a testament to the idea that gripping adventure transcends the need for cinematic cutscenes. Voice of Cards puts the "game" back in "role-playing game" in fun, compelling, and thoughtful ways that will delight players throughout their time with it.
A traditional JRPG by some of the key team members behind the Nier series. Presented in a tabletop game aesthetic, Voice of Cards delivers a fantastic story.
Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars is like an 8-bit RPG if the bits were made out of several cards themselves. It is very much a throwback to older classic RPG genres like Dragon Quest. The story presented is one that is not new but with the inclusion of a narrator reading pretty much anything that is written on cards, it gives the player a storybook feeling that gives a sense of immersion. It is a neat idea with plenty of well-drawn characters and places to explore. It is not a full-priced game so know it may not be as long as other games, but any classic RPG fan should give it a try.
Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars is an entertaining and creative diversion while it lasts. It certainly sets itself apart with relative ease but it does suffer a bit from diminishing returns.
A fantastic tabletop RPG in video game format, with incredibly polished gameplay + Immersive world brought to life by the game master & cards gimmicks + Interesting characters that do not conform to genre tropes & cliches - Too short at 10-15 hours & slightly too easy with no difficulty setting
The way Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars presents itself is by far one of the strongest points of the game. A video game that pretends to be a table top game is a nice change and occasionally stimulates the imagination. For that reason alone, the game is worth playing.
Review in Dutch | Read full review