Card-en-Ciel Reviews
While individually Card-en-Ciel's decks offer a fun and engaging time as you learn to play around them, if anything Grand Battle dungeons seem emblematic of the game's own worst flaws. Inti-Creates had a great idea for a gameplay system, and it's charming to see them use their own IPs as fodder for the cards to populate these systems - but at the end of the day, it feels like they simply didn't know how to design a full game around the system they'd envisioned. Card-en-Ciel isn't a bad game by any means, but you can very much feel the limits of what the team could deliver; maybe the gameplay will be enough to make it worth your while, but it's hard to give a strong recommendation when so much of the experience feels disjointed and threadbare.
Card-en-Ciel spoofs so hard, it spoofs itself, and doesn’t have much left to give after that. There’s plenty of entertainment to be found in the game, but it comes at the cost of not having much to offer as a game experience. While hints of cleverness pop up here and there, they’re scant cover for the emptiness in Card-en-Ciel‘s soul.
Card-en-Ciel is a fun dungeon-crawling deck-building roguelite that will provide hours of addictive gameplay that is easy to pick up and learn. While the system seems in-depth and daunting, its thoughtful design appeals to gamers or any skill level.
For a new IP, Card-en-Ciel shows potential. The premise is intriguing, the core rules and mechanics provide a strong foundation for tactical decision-making, and the replay value is absurdly high. Regrettably, the campaign that houses everything is a slight letdown, due to clichéd storytelling, forgettable characters, and generic, tedious dungeons.
Card-en-Ciel's gameplay is incredibly fun, which makes it an easy recommendation for anyone who has liked games like Slay the Spire or Monster Train but wants an anime twist to it. However, if you're looking for a more developed story or characters that go beyond just providing window dressing for the core of the gameplay, I'd advise caution. I really enjoyed my time with Card-en-Ciel, especially for someone who loves that kind of card-based roguelite, but I just wish Inti Creates would give us more from the story and presentation.
Card-en-Ciel can be considered a great option for fans of deck-building roguelites and also JRPGs. The impressive variety of cards and the various mechanics involved mean that the game never becomes repetitive.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
I love how Card-en-Ciel combines characters from Inti Creates' games into one strategic campaign that's impressively tough to put down. 🎴
Card-en-Ciel is an excellent representative of deckbuilders with roguelite elements, though it could have offered more diverse areas and has an entry barrier in the [poor] explanation of some mechanics. The result is addicting, with various synergy choices that are well conceived and interesting to explore.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
My initial impression of Card-en-Ciel was a little negative: the campaign started without much of a context and the matches showed some visuals with poor polish. As I explored more of the deckbuilder, I could learn more about its universe, and also experiment more with the game mechanics. In that aspect, the game does a great job, having a good amount of cards, with many effects and various illustrations along with resources to overcome the challenges with your deck. The game's issue comes from the presentation, which could have more polish during the combat, and outside of it is very simplistic. Overall, we have a great recommendation for fans of card games and anime games; for other players, it may be worth to test the demo version out before thinking about getting it.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
If it weren’t clear by this point, I did not care for Card-en-Ciel as an aggregate. Not because it’s a bad game, because the core game parts are actually pretty good… but every single part around that game makes me not want to bother engaging with it any further. I like the ideas on display but I also do not want to play this game. The annoying stuff makes it feel actively hostile and unappealing. It’s easier to just not.
Card-en-Ciel strikes a perfect balance between challenge and enjoyment. Even with its roguelike elements, starting over doesn’t feel punitive. The music is pleasant, and the characters are visually appealing. The storyline offers an immersive visual novel-style experience. For those new to the deck-building genre, this game provides an excellent introduction without overwhelming players with its technical aspects, complemented by charming anime visuals and catchy music from collected Muse cards.
Card-en-Ciel is a fantastic card battling title. I didn’t think I’d find myself so enamoured in playing a card game like this, but the plays at hand along with how the overworld plays into the battle system along with daily and weekly battles makes this game a extremely replayable title. ∎
I enjoyed Inti Creates’ approach to gameplay in Card-en-Ciel and appreciate how it built on the tactical deck-building found in the Mega Man Battle Network series. While it looks similar, it feels like its own thing. That’s great! Unfortunately, the actual story surrounding Neon and Ancie’s adventure is pretty weak and not handled well, and there’s no personality to any of the dungeons we explore.
While a card-battling, roguelite RPG in the style of Mega Man Battle Network is not a wholly original idea, this game’s spin on the concept brings more than enough originality in its mechanics to stand on its own.
Card-en-Ciel is a game made better by how much it revels in its own excess. “How much is too much?” is a question that it proudly eschews in favor of throwing everything in the kitchen sink at participants. My primary issue with the game is that it’s clear it’s stretching itself thin in some areas as a result of this, mostly in rather repetitive visuals and a lack of non-vocal music. On occasion it can also grow a little long-winded, but these moments didn’t happen too often. As a card game and especially as a celebration of all things Inti Creates, it’s fantastic.