Card Shark Reviews
Aside from some tricks being a bit too hard to remember, Card Shark's mechanics are often tense and lead to some promising circumstances.
Card Shark is neither a card game nor does it play like any other game that has ever been released, which is a commendable feat in itself. Despite a few gameplay hiccups, Devolver has once again championed a unique and beautifully crafted experience that deserves the attention of both the gaming community, aspiring cheats, and the robust Venn diagram that includes both.
It reminds me of a story about Ricky Jay, the great and much-missed close-up magician and historian of magic. After a particularly dazzling piece of card control performed for a New Yorker writer, he was asked if there was anyone left in the world who would still play cards with him.
It’s easy to imagine another version of Card Shark where every trick becomes far more involved on the input side of things to try creating a more one-to-one imitation of the movements, thereby making every step a more delicate process. And that version might be good too, but that they can feel satisfying to pull off with such simple inputs while still seeming complex is a definite achievement; not only for the way it makes them more easily accessible but the ways it still feels like you’re shuffling the deck or pulling sleight of hand maneuvers.