Shuffle Tactics Has That Generic Charm That Keeps Me Coming Back For More - Next Fest Demo Preview

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Steam Next Fest is like gorging myself on a buffet of interesting games, and Shuffle Tactics is one of them. The game blends turn-based tactical gameplay with deck-building in a typical roguelike style. It feels like someone took Slay the Spire and Final Fantasy Tactics and slapped them together into a tasty sandwich, and I can't get enough of it.

The Kingdom of Asteria is threatened by the Glimmer Curse, a deadly pestilence created by the evil King Ogma. As the new king of Asteria, it falls on you to protect the realm, fighting his minions worldwide. It's a standard fantasy story set in a gloomy world, but cliches exist for a reason, and it fits the bill. The demo offers a vertical slice of what’s on offer in the game, leaving me excited.

I dig the visual design, especially in the combat sections. Battles occur on a 2.5D battle grid, and the environments are vibrant. I wasn’t expecting it to look as great as it does. After a brief tutorial to learn the ropes, the game throws you into the deep end, and this is a challenging game from the beginning! I discovered this in my first post-tutorial fight against a swathe of Ogma’s goons, and I nearly died.

Enemies are numerous, and they hit hard, but your characters are not slouchy either. One of the best ways a tactics game can draw me in is to provide me with powerful tools and opponents, and I find the combat a blast to play. On my first map, for instance, I had to move quickly to destroy a hive that spawned weak enemies every couple of turns, but I was nearly lost. I survived on just two hit points remaining, which bodes well for the future!

After combat, Shuffle Tactics moves to a Slay the Spire overland map typical of many deck-building games. Every fight gives you a choice of cards to add to your character deck and gold to hire more muscle to your army. Branching paths offer other opportunities, including buying new cards and items from vendors, mini-quests for additional recruits, and more difficult fights for greater rewards.

I am fond of enemy designs as well. Even though this is a demo, there are a wide range of enemy types have nasty abilities to contend with. Fights are brutal and complex, and the battlefield considers elevation and terrain for extra tactical options. There isn’t anything truly unique about Shuffle Tactics, but that is okay. So far, the depth of the tactical battles sets it apart from most deck builders, and I appreciate the dark fantasy setting despite it being generic.

I wanted to see how Shuffle Tactics played on the Steam Deck, but something odd happened here. Based on the controller support and relatively low system requirements, it should be a great Steam Deck title. I ran into a black screen when booting the game, no matter what I tried, including reinstalling on the internal drive and trying out different Proton versions.

It is probably a random bug, as I’ve been having a couple of issues with my Steam Deck, so I won’t hold that against Shuffle Tactics. We’re a few weeks away from launch, and I remain confident I will have better luck then. Otherwise, I encountered no bugs, and the performance seemed solid, even on my entry-level gaming laptop.

Shuffle Tactics shows real promise. Turn-based combat is a great way to make deck-builder games more refreshing, and it will be nice to see how the release in March plays out.

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