Deck of Souls is an early-access deck-building roguelite. It’s a tried and tested formula, and while Deck of Souls doesn’t do anything particularly innovative, it does what it does well. The art style is simple but consistent, the sound effects and music are excellent and unobtrusive, and the gameplay has enough variety and replayability to immerse you. Let’s get into it!

What’s the skinny? How does Deck of Souls work?

In a series of turn-based combats, you draw and play cards against a variety of well-drawn enemies. You get to play one card per enemy, so combats feel pretty fair and balanced. Like many games in the genre, success in Deck of Souls relies on building a repertoire of cards that synergise with one another.

For example, on one of my more successful runs, I managed to make a build that relied on piling on armour and block to take enemies down. Of course, it’s all luck of the draw – but isn’t that what makes roguelites fun?

Combats and encounters are linked together on an FTL-style map. You can see what flavour of encounter is ahead – be that a fight, a random encounter, a chance to level up etc. – and choose your optimal path.

Defeating enemies grants you souls of various flavours, which you can use to level up your character’s stats or equipment. Bit grim. But we love it.

Story & Art

I’m a big fan of the art style in Deck of Souls. It’s pixelated, but more than detailed enough to know what you’re looking at. It’s colourful without being overwhelming and super consistent.

My one qualm with the art, however, is the UI. It feels a bit programmer-art, a bit placeholder. I can’t be sure if that’s a stylistic choice or if it’s due to be revisited, though. For now, it’s a bit lacking.

The music is great, really helps to set the grim fantasy vibe.

The story is hidden in dialogue with NPCs you encounter and beat the crap out of. There’s a tale of divinity, rebelling agents of higher powers, and redemption. The joy for me in Deck of Souls was discovering the story as I went and figuring out my own character’s motivations, so I won’t be spoiling it here. Suffice it to say, I really like the writing in this game!

Final verdict: Is it worth a go?

I would say if any of the above appeals to you at all, give Deck of Souls a chance. In places, it still feels a bit unpolished, but overall, it has promise. If roguelites or deck builders are in your wheelhouse, this will be a good entry. It fills a Slay the Spire-shaped hole. At less than a tenner, the price is great too.

As the developers move through early access, they have a roadmap of features that, refreshingly for an early-access game, seem realistic and achievable. I’ll certainly be sticking with the development of this one and returning for future updates.

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Hell Architect is one of those games I wish I could enjoy. On paper, it sounds great – you play as a demon, tasked with designing one of the circles of Hell. Your job is to torture sinners and extract as much suffering from them as humanly (demonically?) possible. By carefully examining each sinner for their weaknesses and vices, you are expected to cunningly orchestrate the ultimate torture for them.

I came into it expected something along the lines of Dungeon Keeper or Evil Genius. Unfortunately, what I got fell far short of either of those.

Torturing, 9 to 5

Hell Architect asks: what if the afterlife was run like an office? What if the demons wore ties, carried clipboards, and had overbearing, annoying supervisors? What if Lilith, Primordial She-Demon, was the fussy head of Hell’s HR department?

There’s nothing wrong with any of that. Nothing, of course, except that the idea has been done to death. The premise is so overdone that TV Tropes has not one, but two entries for it. At this point, depictions of the afterlife that aren’t run like a beige-carpeted tech consultancy firm are refreshing. Plenty of video games have grappled with the idea – from Grim Fandango to 1996’s Afterlife to the rogue-like Hades. What does Hell Architect do better than any of those entries?

The sad answer to that is – very little if anything.

The Sights & Sounds of Hell Architect

Neither the art nor sound design of Hell Architect is anything to write home about. The overwhelming colour scheme is a drab brown – unsurprising, considering the game is set deep underground. The 2D sprites are cartoonish but largely forgettable. The human sinners are pretty much indistinguishable from one another, while the other demons are all the same stereotypical red-skinned, horned variety. Albeit with reading glasses and clip-on ties.

Similarly, the sound design is fairly forgettable. The music is unremarkable. The sound effects, individually, are okay – but later on in the game, when upwards of 30 of them may be playing at once, the nuance is lost. Each torture device, every piece of processing equipment, has its own sound effect – a sound effect that plays every time the item is activated – so once you’re up and running, the noise is chaotic, irritating, and never-ending. Maybe Woodland Games is, from a sense of twisted irony, trying to torture their players? Regardless, I couldn’t stand it for too long – after a few hours, I simply had to turn the sound off.

On a related note, the voice acting is simply woeful. Each new character, as they’re introduced, gives the impression that they’re trying to outdo the last when it comes to nasal, irritating voices.

Iron Maidens, White-Hot Furnaces and… Coffee carts?

The core gameplay loop of Hell Architect couldn’t be simpler. The main currency of the game is Suffering. You get Suffering from torturing sinners – a little bit more if the method of torture lines up with their fears. Suffering is spent on upgrading buildings – crucial for making your setup more efficient. Essence is another currency – you get it from executing the sinners. Yes, you can kill them (again?). No, they’re not gone forever; you can get them back later. Essence, along with Suffering, is needed for more advanced buildings and upgrades. Everything you do in Hell Architect is geared towards getting more Suffering and Essence. That’s about it.

Weirdly, your sinners all have needs (like Sims. Sim Sinners? Simmers?) that must be met. These include Hunger & Thirst, Rest, and the need to use the toilet. If a sinner goes without one of them for too long, they die. That is to say, they disappear from your circle of Hell and go to Limbo. As before, you can get them all back with the Limbo Gong, and advanced building.

I have to say, the whole premise of meeting the physical needs of souls is a bit bewildering to me. Like, why does dearly departed Steve need to eat and pee? Moreover, why does the game encourage me to provide luxury for the sinners I’m supposed to be torturing? Late-game buildings allow you to provide things like steak dinners and fresh-brewed coffee. Mechanically, you absolutely want to do this – it’s much more efficient than early-game slop & recycled excrement (yes, ew, I know). But thematically, it makes no sense. To me, the whole system smacks of Woodland Games running a little short on creativity. Every other game of the genre has upgrades, and the upgrades mean more luxury – so this does too.

Torture & Torment Have Never Been So… Easy

My final, and probably most damning criticism of Hell Architect is this; it’s too easy. Once you get the basics set up, it’s just a matter of keeping it scaled to the number of sinners you have. That’s… About it. There are 7 scenarios to complete, each a little harder than the last, but not noticeably so. The driving narrative behind the scenarios isn’t terribly interesting, either. All this combines for a game which, frankly, isn’t terribly entertaining to play. I wouldn’t go so far as to say Hell Architect is boring, but it’s not far off. Once I got through the scenarios, I had very little motivation to try the game’s Sandbox mode.

All in all, Hell Architect feels uninspired. The premise isn’t terribly original, the story and characters are forgettable (as are the art & sound design), and the gameplay is lacklustre. Even if, like me, you’re a fan of simulation/management games, there’s not enough here to keep you engaged. The price tag (€22.99 at the time of this review) is well above what the game is worth.

My recommendation – get it on sale, or not at all. I don’t see it improving much – all of these problems are fundamental to the game’s design, not anything I see being remediated by patches in the future.

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The author and designer of a wide range of World of Darkness games, rulebooks, and supplemental material over the last 23 years, Justin rejoins the World of Darkness team as the brand continues to expand in 2020 and beyond. Martyna “Outstar” Zych, a popular YouTuber, Twitch Streamer, and Vampire: The Masquerade enthusiast, has also recently joined as Brand Community Developer and now broadcasts a weekly livestream show “WoD News.”

To stay connected on all things World of Darkness with “WoD News”, as well catch the latest season of the pioneering Vampire: The Masquerade tabletop roleplay show “LA By Night” please visit the official World of Darkness Twitch channel.

“I’ve loved the World of Darkness since my then-girlfriend convinced me to get into it back in the 1990s. It led me into a career in games, and at every studio where I’ve worked I’ve met people who have themselves been long-time players,” said Justin Achilli. “I’m very excited to help deliver the future of WoD, as Paradox has the ability to realize games and other media that we simply didn’t have the means to accomplish in years prior. More than anything else, I’m looking forward to bringing this dark, mysterious world I love to an entirely new generation, and saying hello again to fellow Methuselahs who have been with us since ancient times.”

Achilli is an acclaimed game designer with credits on more than 100 gaming productions, ranging from video and tabletop games to board and card games. From 1997 to 2011, he prolifically conceptualized, designed, and authored countless World of Darkness products and materials across a wide range of supernatural horror franchises, including Vampire: The Masquerade, Dark Ages: Vampire, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and more.

In recent years, Achilli has held various roles at Funcom and Red Storm Entertainment, where he worked on Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, Star Trek: Bridge Crew, and Werewolves Within. With his unparalleled breadth of World of Darkness knowledge and experience, Achilli will lead creative development for World of Darkness, supporting product development both internally and with licensed partners.

“My love for the World of Darkness started with my brother gifting me Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines when I was fourteen. It wasn’t exactly meant for my age, but it was an educational experience that led to me eventually entering the games industry. Through the cryptic note on the protagonist’s inbox I found the game’s concept artist, whose work inspired me to start creating digital art, pursue my Master’s degree, and land my first industry job at CD Projekt RED,” said Martyna Zych. “The World of Darkness fan community is one of the most creative, passionate and inclusive tabletop and video game groups I’ve ever known. I will always be one of the fans, but the opportunity to work behind the scenes on this amazing brand is a dream come true.”

Zych, known as Outstar on YouTube and Twitch, is a game developer who has worked as an animator on The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt and as a concept artist on the Eventide franchise. Zych is also a Vampire: The Masquerade enthusiast who has for years been a leading figure in the franchise’s online community. In anticipation of Bloodlines 2, she won the 2019 Vampire Jam with her own Vampire: The Masquerade game: Santa Monica By Night. In her role as Brand Community Developer, Zych is now responsible for both managing the incredible World of Darkness community of fans and players, as well as growing this community as the brand expands with new products in new mediums. She has launched a weekly livestream show on all things World of Darkness and manages all official World of Darkness social media channels.

“The hiring of Justin and Martyna is shows the direction that World of Darkness is headed,” said Sean Greaney, Brand Manager for World of Darkness. “In his creative role, Justin will ensure that we preserve the tone that this story universe has always been known for, while merging it with modern, contemporary creative design. Martyna has been an active member of the World of Darkness community for years and will play a vital role in helping us connect with our wide range of audiences. With these hires, we’re building a world-class team to manage and extend this brand, and both of these talented individuals are instrumental to moving the World of Darkness forward.”

World of Darkness fans can look forward to a number of exciting new products across video games, tabletop, card games, comics, and audiobooks in 2020 and beyond. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, the successor to the iconic Bloodlines video game from 2004, is currently in development. Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood, the Werewolf brand’s first video game entry, will launch later in 2020. Vampire: The Masquerade: Walk Among Us, a trio of audiobooks, were published by HarperCollins earlier this month. Releases in the next year include four new Vampire: The Masquerade board games, a Vampire: The Masquerade comic series from Vault Comics, and more.

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