As a seasoned gamer with over three decades of experience under my belt, I’ve seen countless games that promise innovative gameplay mechanics but fall short when it comes to delivering a cohesive and immersive experience. Card-en-Ciel, unfortunately, seems to be another addition to this list.
While demos can offer a powerful initial glimpse into a game, they can’t compare to experiencing the entire game yourself; this is particularly true for Card-en-Ciel, a game that seems to embody this idea more than many others I’ve recently reviewed. Although Card-en-Ciel’s gameplay is compelling enough to warrant trying it out, the overall experience still falls short in many aspects.
The main aspects of the gameplay are similar to what we showcased during Anime Expo. Essentially, the game revolves around using cards for both actions and movement. In combat situations, enemies countdown to their next attack. Your objective is to inflict as much damage as possible or lower their defenses before your turn ends, avoiding any incoming attacks. The challenge lies in the varying costs of each card and the directions they allow you to move when discarded intentionally. Your goal is to find a way to bypass the enemy’s defense for maximum damage in one turn. However, the strategy to achieve this will depend on the unique strengths and weaknesses of each deck you use.
In each round, you’ll only have a restricted amount of energy to play cards; some strategic deck arrangements can make it seem like you can use any card at will with proper preparation, but ultimately, success depends on careful planning of your next moves and utilizing the resources provided by the deck you’re using for a specific mission. Each stage, themed around popular games from Inti-Creates or created exclusively for this game’s storyline, usually provides cards that help teach you how to effectively use a particular style of deck. To put it simply, these stages function as disguised tutorials because your deck resets with each stage, except for one Muse card given at the start of the stage for experimentation.
In Card-en-Ciel’s game, muses act as the binding force, shaping the entire gaming experience. To use a muse, there are particular conditions to meet first. Once activated, they can swiftly boost your cards according to the playstyle of the corresponding muse. Additionally, activating a muse grants you a charge to activate one of your cards’ special abilities. This could be a card with significantly enhanced stats, the capacity to duplicate itself multiple times, or other unique effects. By the game’s end, you’ll encounter various playstyles, making each deck feel distinct from the last due to features like Convert, Break Points, Forging cards, and more. However, it’s evident that these stages function more as guided lessons than independent levels.
This game doesn’t have any issues, but it lacks distinctness between levels. Each stage primarily focuses on teaching you how to use a specific deck, and beyond that, they don’t offer much variation. Despite being presented as different game worlds, the dungeons and enemies look remarkably similar, with only stronger units providing a minor visual change. In reality, these missions lack a substantial storyline. They merely provide a brief introduction at the start and a short conversation with the game characters at the end of each stage. The repetition becomes tedious rather quickly, especially when the story between levels doesn’t make a strong initial impact.
Between his missions, the narrative centers on Neon, a detective in VR games and worlds known as the “Gamer Chair Detective.” He works alongside Ancie, an assistant who contacts him to help tackle the issue of MODs – data from various games unintentionally seeping into other game worlds, eventually affecting reality itself. However, the narrative lacks depth and substance, making it difficult for readers to connect emotionally with either Neon or Ancie. It appears that Ancie is intended to be a significant element in the story, but without adequate character development, their relationship feels shallow and underdeveloped. This could potentially cater to fans looking for such a focus, yet I must admit my dissatisfaction at what seems like insufficient attention paid to the broader plotline.
In my experience, I didn’t manage to try out the multiplayer aspect of the game, which seems to be a significant part of its design, more than I initially anticipated. However, the single-player mode offers interesting features. You’ll accumulate resources that allow you to enhance Neon’s HP permanently and increase the chances of encountering rare cards and modifiers during levels. Additionally, after several stages, you’ll unlock Grand Battle dungeons to progress through the story. These dungeons are similar to regular stages, but your deck includes every card you’ve ever acquired, including muses, and your HP is determined by the number of cards in your inventory. Although these dungeons add a unique twist, they can become frustrating due to the potential activation of multiple muses, causing a chain reaction that can make the gameplay unmanageable. While enjoyable initially, it can quickly become repetitive; and you’ll face tough enemies with high stats, requiring careful HP management and strategic Breaks to their Balance in order to effectively use your cards.
In Card-en-Ciel, each deck provides an enjoyable and immersive experience as you familiarize yourself with playing them. However, Grand Battle dungeons seem to highlight the game’s own fundamental issues. Inti-Creates had a brilliant concept for their gameplay system, and it’s endearing to see them utilize their own intellectual properties to fill these systems – however, it seems they struggled to create a comprehensive game around the system they envisioned. Card-en-Ciel isn’t a poor game by any stretch, but the limitations of what the team could deliver are evident; while the gameplay might be sufficient to make it worth your time, it’s challenging to wholeheartedly endorse the experience as it often feels disjointed and thin.
6
Additionally, Card-en-Ciel can be played on the following platforms besides PC: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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2024-10-21 19:26