Runespell: Overture

Why don't they make more games like this?! Simple card playing mechanic that's fun and addicting. Then you have a vaguely interesting storyline that your character has to make his way through. If you like Puzzle Quest (1st one), you'll love this game! Seriously, they need more games like this!

I got this as part of a bundle and really tried to make it work for me, but it was hard to escape the 'solitare with animations' feeling I got from the game. I'm sure a greater enthusiast for card games will find something they like in here, but I could not recommend it to a general audience.

The core concept of this game is essentially solitare poker againt the AI. Matching varying combinations of cards will inflict damage against the AI (and AI to you). The damage will increase the better the combiation, from two of a kind to a royal flush. The game mixes things up by adding in spell cards which can be used to inflict status effects, heal, do elemental damage, etc. The additions of the spell cards keeps the battle fresh as certain enemies require specific cards to counter their abilities. Overall, this game is average to above-average. I recommend a purchase of this game during a sale.

If you like casual games and you like an RPG style twist, then this little game was executed very well. The concept of using a standard card game as a fighting system works very well actually. Solid little game, I like it quite well!

I kept shelving and retrying this game over like 5 years, always forgetting why I stopped playing it before digging it out of the rubble of my steam library a year later and then getting frustrated, deinstalling it and repeating the cycle. Now, I am leaving a review so I can actually lay this game to rest properly and remember just why I stopped playing it. Long story short: the RNG is unbearable and the AI is too unforgiving. This game essentially has you play a mix of solitaire and poker against an AI and, to spice things up a bit, you can use power cards as well to turn the tide. The problem is that the AI simply never ever lets you play any move that may be advantageous for you, as it constantly steals useful cards the moment it sees them. The reason this happens is that every "player" gets 3 moves in one turn, and thus the AI constantly ruins your plans the moment they seem to come to fruition. That combined with the card appearance RNG just makes the game very frustrating. You ...

The core combat of making poker hands to fight enemies is pretty fun. The game is very shallow and has a very lackluster story with choices that impact absolutely nothing. Get it on a sale or from a bundle.

One of the best card based game I have ever played. And now it's a real bargain, you cannot have good enough reason to not buy it. ;-)

Make sure you like the core poker-styled game mechanic before you buy because that (and the nice presentation) carry the game. If you like the gameplay, this would be a good game for you. If you're unsure or not especially enthused, there are other games that might suit you better. Took me a couple of tries to finish the game; I stopped playing and restarted a couple times because I got bored with the game mechanic or early grinding for silver. Not a very long game once you learn how to properly win games. The story is really like a prelude to the 'real story' which is never revealed. The ending is pretty lackluster. As far as I can tell, there is no reason to Continue+ (for achievements, it's better to just not do the last stage so don't have to unlock all the map again). Almost all allies are either impractical or unnecessary. Hrodbrokk is a pretty good source of damage for the RP/AP it takes; Brin is usually a waste of a turn because you should be better off moving cards around f...

Fun card dueling game. Uses traditional poker cards / hands, along with special abilities. There's not a whole lot to it, but the gameplay is mildly entertaining. The story isn't very good, but I'll still recommend it if you can find it on sale.

Runespell is a combination of RPG, Solitaire and Poker, similar in nature to Puzzle Quest. You stack cards like in solitaire to form 5 card poker combos to attack your foes and cast spells. It's fairly simple to play an so is the presentation. The story is based on Norse Mythology and while it's somewhat thin it does has its twists and turns. I found the gameplay enjoyable for the most part and the game doesn't overstay its welcome. Unfortunately, as the Overture in the title says it feels like a first part of something bigger, a second game that may never come out. That didn't upset me but can frustrate some people who got more invested in the story.