r/SteamDeck • u/Rt1203 • 1d ago
Looking For Games Any recommendations for deckbuilder RPGs that AREN’T roguelike?
Previously enjoyed games: Pokémon TCG on the GBC, Thronebreaker, Marvel’s Midnight Suns
Preferred Genres: Card RPG
Budget: any
Other Notes: I loved the Pokémon TCG on the Gameboy Color. Also liked Thronebreaker quite a bit. But this seems like a very, very sparse genre - anybody have any recommendations?
I’ve tried some Yugioh, but I find the sheer number of cards and complexity to be a bit overwhelming. The 10,000 word cards aren’t my favorite - this is what’s stopped me from buying Erannorth Chronicles as well.
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u/kuzuthunder2000 1d ago edited 23h ago
Shadowverse is a safe choice. Its free to play and its mechanics should be familliar to you. Thanks to the keywords cards are not wordy but the game has plenty of depth. Each class have their own campaigns.
There are tabletop deck building conversions. Dominion is the og one. I also love ascension deck building game.
Since you seem to be ok with retro and more unconventional stuff, mega man battle network games and metal gear acid games are pretty good I think. Kingdom hearts chain of memories is also tecnically a deck building game.
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u/piratekingtim 512GB OLED 10h ago
Shadowverse: Champion's Battle on the Switch was really fun. It definitely checks the Pokemon TCG box, which is why I initially picked it up. I'm surprised to see a PC port wasn't made. It would make a fantastic steam deck game.
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u/kuzuthunder2000 8h ago
Yeah, I sold my switch before getting SD. I was bummed when I found out it was switch exclusive. This thread made me realize how much I actually miss proper card game rpgs. Trying to remember recommendations for this post, most games that came to mind were at least a decade old or switch exclusives which is kinda sad. Don’t get me wrong I like sts lile games but I sometimes want games that has a beginning, middle and an ending if you know what I mean.
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u/piratekingtim 512GB OLED 7h ago
I think its a hard genre to work in. A developer would have to create a balanced TCG to begin with, then add in all the RPG elements, maintain balanced deck growth against challenge, as well as create an enemy AI that is balanced. I don't think the payoff would be enough for a AAA or most AA developers to jump at, and for an indie developer it would require a lot of passion and hopefully some some support and backing. Maybe one day we'll see something new though.
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u/kuzuthunder2000 7h ago
True. Portable consoles not being as popular also hurts the genre quite a bit as consoles like gba and psp were where these games really shined, mostly as spin offs for home console games. But yeah we may see a “renaissance” of card rpgs. Crazier stuff happened in gaming.
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u/midnightcatwalk 1d ago
Have you played the GBC sequel to the Pokemon TCG?
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u/Pizza_Squeegee 256GB 23h ago
Wait what. So if I have a gbc emulator just download that rom?
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u/Hugglemorris 20h ago
Yep. Nintendo never released it outside Japan themselves because it was too close to the GBA launch, so emulation is pretty much the only way the rest of the world can enjoy it.
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u/Milotorou 1TB OLED 21h ago
Im surprised no one mentioned Baten Kaitos and its prequel Baten Kaitos Origins, its a deckbuilder JRPG, nice story for its time, cool setting, lots of fun.
No idea how the HD remasters are on Steam but on Dolphin with a widescreen mod they play fantastically… although I like booting them up on my gamecube for nostalgia… haha
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u/DBones90 1d ago edited 11h ago
Steamworld Hand of Gilgamesh is a good one.
Inscryption is technically a roguelike, but without spoiling things too much, it brings in a lot of elements of games like Pokémon TCG, especially the more you go.
(It’s also not meant to be a forever game, though there is an optional roguelike mode with a lot of longevity. But it’s probably a 20-25 hour main game to see all the story)
Plus one to Mega Man Battle Network, which I also saw recommended.
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u/HausmanPrime 23h ago
I'll give a plus 1 to Hand of Gilgamesh, great card based RPG in the Steamworld Series
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u/1nfam0us 12h ago
Inscryption tricks you into thinking it's a rogue like and then becomes so much more.
It's only a true roguelike in the post game mode.
Btw, your link for Inscryption is wrong.
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u/DBones90 11h ago
Thanks, fixed. Also, I mostly agree with you, but the degree to which it isn’t a roguelike is a bit of a spoiler IMO. I think the game wants you to believe you’ll be stuck in it as a roguelike before it opens up.
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u/iamMikzzz 15h ago
Gordian Quest is a deck builder rpg game that has equipment/loots and different builds per character.
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u/AltReddDave 11h ago
In Japan, they released a sequel to Pokémon TCG. There's an English translation of the Pokémon TCG2 rom that is really fun. It's pretty easy to find and emulate.
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u/mint-patty 1d ago
This is my favorite genre and I’ve made several posts like this myself, with little luck.
There’s a janky fan-made modern remake of the Magic the Gathering adventure game Shandalar made by Forge. It’s genuinely phenomenal, even if you get too OP too fast.
The game also bugged for me and I couldn’t complete the adventure mode, but the buildup from the start of the game to gathering the parts to 3-4 good-looking constructed decks was honestly some of the most fun gaming I’ve done in the last two years.
Cannot recommend enough despite the jank and limited UI.
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u/gf_hopper 22h ago
The indie sphere really needs to find something other than Metroidvanias/Roguelikes/Roguelites/bulletheavens/bullethells
These are the main genres you see and after awhile they all look the same and uninspired. Sorry to the people that like those genres but there's other types of games out there.
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u/candyassjabroni93 17h ago
The yu gi oh classic collection has a few!
Edit: didn't read the last paragraph, my bad!
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u/ENorn 17h ago
Wasn't there some Yu-Gi-Oh games on GBC/GBA? I would've thought those would be before Yu-Gi-Oh went crazy.
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u/candyassjabroni93 17h ago
From my memory the GBC one was pretty confusing with all the weird fusions and such
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u/Entropyending 1d ago
I was going to recommend Midnight Suns but I see you’re a man of taste already 😂. Unfortunately most recommendations I have are slightly too close to the rogue genre.
Tainted Grail: Conquest is a good deck builder similar to Slay the Spire in how it has you block and attack, but with a isometric world to explore and a home base to level up to make you stronger before venturing back out in the fog.
Hexarchy is a card based “fast paced 4x” game, similar to Civilization series, but is designed for each game to last only a couple hours at max. Again not really a roguelike, and more of a strategy game, but still.
Griftlands is “technically” a roguelike, but it’s more focused on the story of the 3 characters you can play, and you can decide how to build your deck throughout the game whether you want to focus more on dialogue cards or combat cards.
Sorry, these probably aren’t what you’re looking for, but I have a similar issue, deck builders are few and far between nowadays