I just watched the trailer for the newest Wixross, Dissonance Diva, and it got me curious about yet another card game. The set releases on April 19th, with pre-release events running April 12, 13, and 14. Check with your LGS for more details. The set will introduce a new setting, new forms, and a new story. The rarity breakdown is as follows:
The game isn’t going to be for everyone because it is a little waifu-centric, but the gameplay is solid and the art is great if you like anime. I’ll have to add it to the list of games I need to try because what I’ve seen so far has me interested. I’ll be back with a card list as soon as it becomes available, but here’s what we know so far:
Special Illustration Full Art
Box Toppers
New Dissonance LRIGs
DISSONA Saga
I always appreciate good lore in a game, and Wixoss has a lot of it. The game has an established anime, manga, and comics that I am trying to make time for. If you’re already caught up, here’s the preview for what is to come!
Conclusion
I’ll be following this game for a bit. I love the horror aesthetic of the game, and the mechanics seem fun. It’s definitely on my list of TCGs I need to try.
Dissonance Diva hits stores on April 19th, so make sure you put in your preorders. Always support your LGS, but you can always get Wixosson TCG player if they don’t carry it. DISSONANCE Diva is listed, but there isn’t anything up for sale yet. I would check after launch.
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I was sent a free copy of BROK the Investigator to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review of the game. If you enjoy my reviews, please leave a like, comment, and share this with your friends. Don’t forget to follow the socials:
BROK is a struggling cartoon alligator detective with a troubled past. He lives day to day off the few cases he can find and does his best to forge a relationship with his dead wife’s son. All seems to be falling into a stale routine until his latest case has him stumbling onto a strange trail of conspiracies. What secrets will BROK unravel? Will his fists be enough?
Gameplay
BROK the InvestiGATOR successfully blends the point-and-click puzzle game with a classic side-scroller beat ’em up in this amazing interactive narrative. Players will move through this fun cyberpunk world, collecting clues, asking questions, and fighting enemies.
The main gameplay loop is clicking through this interactive 80’s cop narrative. You’ll often have to solve puzzles and find clues to progress through the story. Some clues and solutions won’t be intuitive, so make sure you explore the maps thoroughly and click on everything. Occasionally you will have to fight in this classic arcade beat ’em up style combat. Combat feels good and smooth. If you’re a fan of classic arcade side-scrollers, BROK does it right.
Impressions
I loved everything about BROK the InvestiGATOR. It had a cute and fun art style, the story was engaging, and the gameplay was fun. I love the cartoon aesthetic and it gave this old man some unintended nostalgia. The gameplay loop was relaxing, but it offered enough of a challenge to keep me on my toes. The puzzles were hard enough without distracting from the overall narrative, and the combat was a welcome change of pace.
What I loved most about the game was its story. The voice acting is phenomenal, and I recommend you check it the title to appreciate the performances. The story is great! It has a dark but fun tone and a great protagonist. I’ve seen enough movies to figure out some of the major story beats, but it didn’t matter because I was having fun.
If you’re looking for a new game that is fun with solid appeal, pick up your copy of BROK the InvestiGATOR. The game is short, well made, and you can play it on everything! Get your copy today for Xbox ($19.99), Switch ($24.99), PlayStation ($24.99), Android ($7.99), IOS ($7.99), Steam ($19.99), Epic Games ($19.99), GOG ($19.99), and ITCH.io ($19.99).
The results are in and it looks like Merlin and Lorraine were the stars of this weekend’s Oceania Nationals 2024. It’s always cool to see how the meta shifts between regions. I’ve gathered the list of the top three decks, but you can see the tournament’s full results on Omnidex. I can start collecting to the top three if there is ineterest.
If you want to build any of these decks, I left links to for the singles. I stuck with the cheapest copy of each card, but don’t be afraid to bling out your deck. Make sure you support your LGS, but you can always get your Grand Archive product, like the latest Alchemical Revolution set, get it over at TCG Player using my affiliate links. If you need accessories for your cards like decks, dice, or bags, get them over at Gem Tech. Use discount code churapereviews10 at checkout for 10% off your order.
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Material Deck 1 Spirit of Water 1 Scepter of Lumina 1 Lorraine, Wandering Warrior 1 Lorraine, Blademaster 1 Lorraine, Spirit Ruler 1 Life Essence Amulet 1 Grand Crusader’s Ring 1 Fire Resonance Bauble 1 Wind Resonance Bauble 1 Water Resonance Bauble 1 Sword of Seeking 1 Bulwark Sword
Main Deck 4 Song of Frost 4 Fracturize 3 Frostbind 3 Freezing Hail 3 Savage Slash 3 Deflecting Edge 3 Spirit Blade: Dispersion 1 Ghosts of Pendragon 4 Imperial Recruit 4 Dungeon Guide 4 Esteemed Knight 4 Lurking Assailant 4 Snow Fairy 4 Gildas, Chronicler of Aesa 4 Corhazi Trapper 4 Frostsworn Paladin 4 Trained Sharpshooter
I was sent Son of the Dragon King for free to review for my blog. while I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review. If you enjoy my reviews, please leave a like, comment, and share this with your friends. Don’t forget to follow the socials!
Son of the Dragon King is a 3D sidecroller beat ’em up coming to PC and console. Fight your way through a fantasy feudal Japan realm as you attempt to rescue it from an impending doom. You’ll craft weapons and items to help you through your journey, use the environment to gain an advantage over your enemies and leave a trail of dead bodies. Will your skills be enough to save the realms?
Gameplay
Players will enjoy a classic sidescroller feel with a modern 3D aesthetic. Son of the Dragon King has 29 distinct and dynamic levels that players fight through. The combat system is simple. Players can jump, punch, and block their way through a sea of enemies until they complete the level. There are weapons and items scattered throughout the level to help players gain an advantage, and a unique crafting mechanic that adds a bit of depth to the gameplay. The most unique feature of the game is the trinket system that gives characters a noticeable buff in combat.
Thoughts
It’s a little tricky to review this game because it isn’t out yet, and it doesn’t feel done. The game looks good with a fantastic art style, but the gameplay feels clunky and rough. The AI gets stuck on some levels and can become invulnerable if standing too close to walls or crates making it difficult to progress through the levels. When the game works properly, it’s a neat little beat-em-up with a crafting mechanic. I also appreciate that they allow for couch co-op, but I didn’t get to try it.
What ruins this game for me is that I’ve played better games in the genre. Once you get the game’s graphics and aesthetics, the gameplay feels lacking. It is a little tricky to dismiss the game because it clearly isn’t finished yet, but it is hard to recommend in its current state. If you like the genre and can look past the clunky gameplay, it might be worth adding it to your wishlist, but I recommend you try the demo first. I would need the game to perform better before I can give it my full support because the story alone isn’t enough. I might return to reevaluate the game at release, but there isn’t enough to this game to excite me enough for that.
Head over to Steam to play the demo and add Son of the Dragon King to your wishlist.
I was sent Unlife for free to review for my Blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review. If you enjoy my reviews, please leave a like, comment, and share this with your friends. Don’t forget to follow the socials!
A nearly endless nuclear war has brought humanity to the brink of extinction. The sky darkens with thick black smoke, the glaciers have melted and flooded the world, and the surface has become inhospitable. The planet’s few survivors are pushed into man-made structures, but the damage has been made. Plagues, poison, and hunger rattle at the fleeting population left behind.
As the last remaining survivor on your platform, you must make your way through an unforgiving darkness to find salvation or die alone. Hunger, disease, and monsters chase you through the darkness, and hope is fleeting. Can you make it out?
Gameplay
Players control their character through a dark and twisted maze as they search for supplies and avoid monsters and other hazards. You can craft, hide, and do what you need to survive. It uses a twin-stick system for controls, which I found a bit clunky, but not unplayable. This is a game where you die a lot by design, but it gets easier as you memorize the levels. It is a very repetitive loop, but one can feel rewarding if you can ignore the clunky control scheme.
Impressions
I am a fan of the artwork and flavor of Unlife, but I have mixed feelings about the gameplay. While I do appreciate how unforgiving and difficult the game is, the control scheme makes it a bit annoying. I am not sure how it runs on PC, but on Xbox, it feels clunky. I wouldn’t have minded the controls as much if they didn’t lead to some premature deaths. The game is by no means unplayable, but it is something to keep in mind.
The game is reparative by design, but I enjoy the repetition. I liked memorizing the levels as I made my way through the labyrinth and getting a little bit farther each time. It’s not a bad game, but it isn’t going to be for everyone. If you enjoy difficult survival games and don’t mind some roughness, Unlife is a solid title for $12. If you’re on the fence or have never played anything in the genre, I would wait for a sale. It’s fun, but nothing you should be rushing to purchase.
Chronicles of Arcanejust had their first set drop and it is beautiful. I love the art and flavor, and the gameplay seems interesting. There is still product available on the official site, so make sure you pick up some before it is gone!
I’ve gone ahead and separated all the cards from the first set and separated them by faction. This is a cool-looking game, and I bet the physical cards look even better. If you want to know more about the game, or just want to find some people to play with, join the official Chronicles of Arcane discord.
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I was asked to cover the Northwind Steam demo on my blog. The game isn’t finished yet, so I’ll try not to review it too harshly.
Northwind is just another roguelike deck builder coming to PC this year. The demo doesn’t really do much to divert from the traditional gameplay loop. Players start with a basic deck that they improve throughout a run with new cards and abilities. The player restarts the run after losing, and the grind continues.
The game may feature a fantastic art style and a solid soundtrack, but the gameplay in this demo is lacking. It does very little to inspire any further curiosity. It’s hard to recommend the demo because it doesn’t feel finished, especially when there are better games in the genre you could be playing instead. Unless you like the flavor and style, I would wait for a couple more updates. I might come back for an update because I love the art work, but there wasn’t enough to the demo to have me rushing back.
Last night I held session zero for The One Ring campaign I am running for my table. I am running the prewritten campaign from the Starter Set, and while the initial plan was for my buddies to run the included pre-generated characters, we spent the time creating custom characters instead. I had a lot of fun hanging out and learning the system with my friends, and it was cool to see how engaged and interested they were in the new system. I know the adventure was designed with four hobbits in mind, but I don’t have it in me to squash anyone’s fun.
What is The One Ring RPG?
The One Ring is a narrative-heavy TTRPG based on Tolkien’s classic fantasy series, The Lord of the Rings. Events of this game occur between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings series and are meant to be stories that exist within the universe. While The One Ring is not meant to be canon, it does expand on the lore and gives fans the unique opportunity to create their own narrative within the universe.
The best part of this system is that you don’t need to be a fan of The Lord of the Rings series to enjoy it. I have never read the books, and the closest my table has gotten to the lore is watching a movie or two in passing. Despite not being true fans of the series, we found ourselves lost in the flavor and lore that comes with it. We had so much fun making characters and learning about the different races and places, and it was cool to see my players building characters that were true to the lore of the system. If you’re a fan of Fantasy, even if you’re not familiar with Tolkien’s work, you should look into The One Ring.
Narrative Heavy RPG
The One Ring is a narrative-focused RPG. Its mechanics are designed to create collaborative cinematic scenes, specifically how the game handles combat and travel.
Combat in The One Ring doesn’t have initiative or movement. The system offers players the opportunity to be tactical through the use of stealth and stances, but the focus of combat seems to be creating an epic tale of battle. Players get to choose their order and be creative with their actions. Eliminating things like initiative and battle maps takes away features that tend to bog down a session, but it also means players need to be comfortable with being descriptive.
I am most excited about travel in this game. Players have to map out their adventures on the beautifully drawn maps included in the book, and the book has tables to determine what happens along the way. My biggest challenge as a DM is figuring out how to handle travel, but this has everything laid out so neatly. Players pick a role (guide, hunter, lookout, scout) and roll against the relative skill to determine what they encounter on their journey. The book offers a table with vague outcomes, and it is up to the GM and Players to make it exciting.
What I love about this system is how it impacts the rest of the adventure. This can lead to some incredibly silly and epic moments, and I can’t wait to see what we come up with.
Impressions
We haven’t touched the adventure yet, so I can’t give an in-depth review. So far, I think The One Ring is an interesting shift from what we’re used to, and we are excited to get started. Even though we aren’t true fans of the series, we love the lore and flavor of the game. I have a player in my group who is new to RPGs and was ecstatic about starting the campaign. He read the book and his first character. He typically uses pre-generated characters, but he found the inspiration to create a character that fits the flavor of the world. We all had fun setting up for the game, and I plan on running a session zero every time now. We typically pick up and go, but I liked the experience of hanging out and learning the system together.
If you’re a fan of fantasy, this RPG has an amazing amount of lore and flavor. The system has enough resources to get people acclimated to the expansive lore, but you don’t have to be a fan of the series to enjoy the game. Keep in mind that this is a narrative-heavy system, and you and you’re table need to be ready to create this epic collective tale of adventure and intrigue. I am impressed with The One Ring so far, but I’ll be back with a deeper dive. Stay tuned for that.
If you want to pick up the Core Rules, the Starter set, or any of the accessories, pick them up on Amazon using my affiliate links. If you enjoy my content, please leave a like, comment, and share this with your friends. Don’t forget to share the socials!
The March of the Mortals Sorcery: Contested Realm tournament was this weekend. I went ahead and collected the top three decks from the event, and I’ll leave links to the singles for those who need them. I tried to choose the cheapest singles, so I am sticking with beta. This is a beautiful game, and even if you’re not trying to get into the competitive scene, you should at least admire the art that went into it.
Make sure you check with your LGS for a local scene and product, but you can always pick up Sorcery: Contested Realm off TCG Player using my affiliate links. If you enjoy these updates, please leave a like, comment, and share this with your friends. Don’t forget to follow the socials!
