Card Shark Reviews
Card Shark succeeds at establishing wild stakes within its wonderfully weird take on 18th century France. It serves up a memorable cast, a story that rewrites history in a fantastical way, all the while arming the player with tricks of the trade that'd make Penn and Teller blush. For a game that's more about playing your opponent than your cards, Card Shark is a memorable adventure.
Card Shark is occasionally ace, flush with good ideas, and has plenty of heart. It won’t always deal you the best hand, but if such a unique concept suit(e)s your needs, you may be able to turn a blind eye to the moments where it flops, and go all-in, rather than letting it get lost in the shuffle.
Card Shark features an attractive art style, subtle writing, and a promising premise. But I couldn’t get past my dislike of the core gameplay encounters and the endless teaching segments. I applaud the effort to pull together a unique concept, but the accompanying frustrations mean I have to discourage a sit-down at this particular table.
Card Shark is not a conventional cards or casino game - in fact, it's not even a game that fits with the conventions of that world, Card Shark is rather a story of deceit and intrigue in 18th century France as the player moves through gambling halls using a variety of card tricks against an assortment of adversaries. Featuring a fantastic art style that's reminiscent of bandes dessinées, a captivating plot and characters and a series of tricks to learn, Card Shark would be even better if it was longer and featured more card tricks.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Card Shark’s story, art design, and soundtrack alone make the game a worthwhile experience. What begins as a classic rags-to-riches story quickly evolves into something far more interesting, full of intrigue and betrayal. Progressing the story by cheating the pants off a bunch of pre-revolutionary French dandies in cards is a truly unique and satisfying premise, and it’s largely pulled off well apart from a few imprecise controls. Otherwise, the gameplay might be a little too one-note to hold your engagement for the entire runtime of the game.
A lack of a compelling story hurt the time I spent with the game's cast, even though I adore the game's art and how much every scene leaves me wanting more. More time with the mechanics and a greater emphasis on the place and people of 1700s France could've helped Card Shark a great deal in my eyes, but I still admire it for what it is. I just think that much like the game's countless tricks, the best possible execution of its ideas needed a bit more confidence.
Card Shark is a fun little game with plenty of shortcomings and some ways teach you several neat card tricks for loud parties.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Card Shark has a few things going for it, not the least of which is unique gameplay. I've never played anything like this. The watercolor style looks great. But the story feels like an afterthought; it never felt important or drove the actual game anywhere. The card playing part of Card Shark is nonexistent, instead focusing on the tricks you are trying to pull. While the tricking is fun, there is a lot to remember, and some of the tricks feel silly to perform. This might not be Devolver Digital's biggest game to date, but it does have that feel that most Devolver Digital games give off - a unique game with a unique look and feel. Card Shark doesn't fit into a genre, which is something to admire.
Cheating in Card Shark is fun. It's a pity that the traditional control is too complicated and that does not go beyond being a collection of increasingly difficult mini-games.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Despite some pacing issues and uneven difficulty, Card Shark offers some very original card manipulation gameplay in a charming historical setting.
Card Shark offers a very novel gaming experience even for those tired of regular card games.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Solid card trick gameplay and some great quasi-historical presentation helps alleviate Card Shark's occasionally obtuse level design.
Bless the indie developers who are determined to take ideas that may sound a bit crazy in concept and run with them, revealing potential new avenues of play to enjoy!
Card Shark is a game like no other, brilliantly blending compelling narrative and gameplay based on captivating, fun-to-learn minigames and small puzzles. It is also a title that is always a pleasure to behold and listen to, although it is regrettable to be so plagued by technical problems and bugs that disrupt the experience. If these problems were not so pressing, we could be facing a game that is highly recommendable to almost everyone, but it is still a title with many tricks up its sleeve that will please many players.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
With its unique hook, surprisingly in-depth gameplay, and fascinating mystery, Card Shark is an absolute delight.
Card Shark is absolutely the most thrilling card game out there, made even more impressive by the fact that you don’t actually do much by way of playing cards. This scintillating sleight of hand title has inadvertently taught me a lot about card tricks, all set to gorgeous Baroque music and stunningly illustrated scenes. The mechanics may feel a little difficult at times due to an onslaught of varied controls, but once you master them, you’ll feel like a card comte(ss) yourself. If you want something enthralling with high production value and even higher stakes, Card Shark can deal you in.
Card Shark is a game that made me feel daring, and I was glued to my Switch trying to outsmart my opponents. Yes, every once in a while I’d come across a con I didn’t enjoy as much as the others. But considering the assortment of tricks you learn and the way the challenge grows, it still can feel very satisfying.
Card Shark has an impressive orchestral soundtrack throughout. It is an original score created by Andrea Boccadoro, and it is a great addition to the world of Card Shark, really hitting the 18th-century theme perfectly. The controls for Card Shark are easy to pick up and each mini-game will have different inputs to be performed. When you are learning a new cheating skill, you’ll have to successfully complete it several times before it will let you move on, but input prompts will always be displayed during games so no need for a picture-perfect memory.
More than anything, Card Shark is an experience. It’s not an exceptionally long game, coming in at eight hours, but it very much suits its length. I wasn’t left unsatisfied, nor did it feel padded. The emphasis on the tricks themselves was oddly compelling as well. By the end of the game I had learned the theory behind a good number of techniques, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted to practice some of these for real.