I have always enjoyed what games INTI CREATES comes out with. They have a knack for giving something modern that retro charm. So I was surprised when they announced they were bringing a new game to PAX East with them this year. I was even more surprised when it was revealed to be a game going in a different direction than when INTI CREATES is used to doing. Let’s get right into Card-en-Ciel, the card battler taking place in a virtual world.
Card-en-Ciel is just what it sounds like, a card game deck builder roguelite RPG. You got all that, there’s going to be a test at the end of the class. Anyway, while playing the demo, I was getting major Mega Man Battle Network vibes in terms of how the game looked as well as the battle system.
The battle system is a grid set up where your character is on one side and the enemies are on the other. You build your deck with cards that can be used for offense or defense. I was also getting Digimon on the Game Boy Advance vibes while playing it as well because of how you traverse the over world map. You can avoid fights because you can see them on the over world map.
The battle grid is a six by six grid like setup where you can attack your enemies. You will also have to dodge attacks as well. It’s an interesting situation because you have to use a card to dodge an attack. It’s like your discarding a card to dodge. The enemy has a gage to notify you when they’re going to attack. When that gage hits zero, be prepared to move. You’ll also be able to recruit new allies after every win. You’ll be able to build your deck to cater to your play style.
Since it’s a roguelite, your play style could change each time you play. Another interesting gameplay mechanic is that you can find different playable characters on the map and use them in your deck. These will be from video games that are known in-game so it will be fun to see what type of games Card-en-Ciel will poke fun at.
Cards have different values and each value determines how many you can use during a turn. For example, if the card has a zero card value, you can use it for free and so on. You might be able to find different cards that have abilities that you can use during a fight. Using three zero value cards will let you take advantage of the card with that ability. Those special cards are called Muses. You can think of those as similar to special attack cards. It will be interesting to see what kind of special attack/Muse cards you’ll be able to find and which ones are over powered.
You will have to think quickly because you can combine cards to make better moves in battle. Combine that with having to dodge enemy attacks and Card-en-Ciel will really have you thinking. I have learned to not doubt INTI CREATES with their games so if they want to make a deck building roguelite RPG similar to Mega Ma Battle Network, then who am I to think it won’t work out.