Shuffle Tactics

Shuffle Tactics takes the structure of Slay the Spire and layers in interesting tactical combat in the best way imaginable.

Shuffle Tactics is a solid strategy game, despite its shortcomings. The wide variety of cards and amulets provides engaging gameplay options that can entertain for several hours. However, the title lacks a truly distinctive feature that would allow it to stand out within the genre. Its core mechanics evolve very little throughout the campaign, and the experience tends to become repetitive due to slow progression and unbalanced difficulty.

Shuffle Tactics looks incredible, but the nuance of its game design falls a bit short with an uneven difficulty curve, bugs, and less-than-meaningful progression. While still worth giving a try if you find the game interesting, it feels as though it could have really benefited from a playtesting period and may be more worth your time after some post-launch support from the devs.

Shuffle Tactics is a good tactical roguelike that offers plenty of reasons to think ahead to combat The Glimmer. It needs refinement in places, but updates have done a lot to improve the game since its initial release.

The isometric grid muddies the waters instead of providing meaningful depth, the companion and charm systems feel several iterations short of being finished, and the core deck mechanics lack the consistency and design work that make its inspirations so enduring. Shuffle Tactics is brimming with things to unlock but starved for meaningful ways to enjoy them, leaving it less a cohesive “greatest hits album” of roguelite elements and more of a confused compilation of good ideas played out of tune.

Shuffle Tactics is a promising game with a cool style, strong combat, and plenty of room to shape your own playstyle. However, it currently feels unfinished, with non-functioning buttons and poor controller support making it feel more like an early test build than a full release. There’s fun to be had for those who can look past the rough edges, but if you’re after a polished experience, it might be best to wait a bit longer.

You’ve probably ascertained as much from this point, but I didn’t care for Shuffle Tactics. I don’t think it’s an utterly terrible misfire; I can tell what the designers were going for, I admire the attempt, but it just doesn’t land. It was a few years back when I reviewed another tactical-RPG-meets-roguelike title, Tyrant’s Blessing, and this game basically manages to have more failures despite having a stronger starting gun. I don’t think the game is truly atrocious, and I think if you’re in need of another roguelike game and you have played all of the offerings out there, this will… perform as advertised. But I can’t really recommend it to others.