Players build decks for each character consisting of skills and equipment, managing a growing roster of both with the limited space provided to each character's repertoire. Voice of Cards is ultimately a card-battler, though more in the vein of Gwent than something like Magic: The Gathering. The aesthetic of the game's cards and tabletop presentation is masterfully put together, and as an experience, Voice of Cards replicates the feeling of a night of tabletop gaming in a way that few other titles have managed. The game consists of a singular narrator who tells the tale as a game master would, complete with the occasional mid-combat or mid-encounter interjection to either shed some light on choices or make an off-hand remark about the circumstances. Related: Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Review: An Exciting But Clunky AdventureĪll of the action of Voice of Cards occurs on a tabletop with a pseudo-gameboard consisting of tiles that shifts and changes based on where the player has arrived. Somehow, despite cards barely shifting in art and not changing expression, each character's passions and plights comes through clear thanks to some stellar writing and scenario building. This feat is especially impressive given that the story is told almost entirely through cards, with brief cutscenes - still featuring card art - the only interruptions during the tabletop experience.

As the party expands, it becomes much more compelling to follow, with each additional character injecting some personality into a story that begins fairly dry before picking up a few hours in. The protagonist is a self-centered mercenary who is purely in it for the gold, but as the journey progresses so too does his character, often with input from the player as they choose options and alter outcomes in specific situations. Voice of Cards follows a group of adventurers in pursuit of the titular Dragon, rumored to be the source of the world's ills and a threat that the ruling Ivory Order deems necessary to kill. Not all of the pieces fit perfectly together, but the latest game with NieR creator Yoko Taro involved delivers the same twists, turns, and meta design that has come to be expected from projects with his name associated to them. Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars is a project developed by Alim and published by Square Enix that successfully blends elements of Dungeons & Dragons, tabletop deck-building, traditional JRPG exploration, and subversive fantasy writing.

Skyrim interesting npcs no voice