'Roguebook' Is a Literary Dungeon Crawl GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO Opinion News > Gaming
'Roguebook' Is a Literary Dungeon Crawl
And it's only slightly frustrating
By Thomas Hindmarch Thomas Hindmarch Writer Northwest Missouri State University Thomas Hindmarch is an expert games writer with nearly two decades' experience. His work has appeared in the UK's Official Xbox Magazine, NGamer, GeekWire.com, and more. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on June 15, 2021 04:51PM EDT Fact checked by Rich Scherr Fact checked by Rich Scherr University of Maryland Baltimore County Rich Scherr is a seasoned technology and financial journalist who spent nearly two decades as the editor of Potomac and Bay Area Tech Wire. lifewire's fact checking process Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Gaming Mobile Phones Internet & Security Computers & Tablets Smart Life Home Theater & Entertainment Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming Key Takeaways
Roguebook is a randomized dungeon crawl where you have to build a winning strategy out of whatever random cards and abilities you find.The game's made for multiple short runs, so it's very bite-sized and schedule-friendly.It's hard not to draw a straight line between Roguebook and 2018's Slay the Spire. Nacon If you like card games, dark fantasy, tactical experiences, and being repeatedly murdered, Roguebook is a confluence of your particular interests. New on Steam this week, Roguebook is a "deckbuilding roguelike" from Richard Garfield, the creator of Magic: The Gathering, and the indie Belgian studio Abrakam, best known for its 2017 card game Faeria. I always end up putting hundreds of hours into games like these, specifically because they’re easy to pick up and play for short periods, but they also reward cleverness, strategy, and thinking on your feet. Roguebook is fast-paced, deep, and addictive, but when compared to other recent deckbuilders like Slay the Spire, it has one major mechanical issue that’ll take some explanation. One wrong move can have severe consequences for the rest of your current run, and it's easy to go through a whole map without collecting anything useful. Take a Look in a Book
The titular Roguebook is a magical prison, which has trapped several adventurers and a helpful merchant inside the pages of a blank book. As a team of two unique characters, initially Sharra the Dragonslayer and Sorocco the half-ogre, you head out into a map that's mostly blank in search of an escape route that only theoretically exists. Again, if you’ve put as much time into Slay the Spire or similar deckbuilders as I have, Roguebook will be instantly familiar to you. You collect resources by winning fights, and those resources—specifically magical inks and brushes—let you open up more of the map, which reveals more resources and potential encounters. When you're out of ways to expand the map, it's time to see if you've got the firepower to successfully confront the map's boss. Your combat arsenal in Roguebook consists of cards. Initially, you’ve only got a handful of very basic attacks and blocks, but the more of them you find, the more intricate your strategies can become. The skill-based part of Roguebook, and the part that makes it so addictive for me, is in doing what you can with what you get. You’re meant to take the random cards, treasures, buffs, and other resources that you can find, then figure out how to assemble them on the fly into a useful, game-winning strategy. It’s 52-card pick-up… to the death. If you're a perfectionist, like I am, this can be maddening. One wrong move can have severe consequences for the rest of your current run, and it's easy to go through a whole map without collecting anything useful. Fortunately, you do get a few useful bonuses for even a failed run. Follow the Leader
An additional complication in Roguebook is that in a fight, your characters stand in line. The leader is subject to attack on the enemy's turn, while your secondary character is protected in the back. You can switch their positions by playing certain cards, and many abilities change, sometimes dramatically, depending on a character's position. As long-time collectible-card game players know, part of building a deck is the luck of the draw. You can have the strongest cards in the world, but if you don't draw them when you need them, they’re useless. In Slay the Spire, the answer to that is in slimming down your deck to make it harder to get a bad opening hand. In Roguebook, however, there’s a mechanic where you gain new and useful passive abilities as your deck grows. You’re supposed to grab as many new cards as you can, then rely on draw/discard mechanics to make up the difference. For Sharra and Sorocco, this is maddening. I only ever found one strategy with the two of them that seemed to consistently work, and they force you to effectively build two decks at once. It’s much less of a problem for the two unlockable characters. Aurora the turtle lady, in particular, has a very attainable basic strategy—when in doubt, summon more frogs—along with a lot of draw mechanics. It’s like Sharra and Sorocco are rough drafts, while Aurora was actually built for Roguebook as a final product. It's a frustrating quirk to an interesting game. Roguebook is a solid and addictive entry into the deckbuilder genre that's gotten popular in the last few years. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire The 17 Best Minecraft Seeds in 2022 The 13 Best Android Strategy Games of 2022 9 Best Websites for Playing Free Online Games What Is a Steam Deck? How to Use the Garmin Connect Course Creator Tool The 15 Best Free Games For Android in 2022 The Best Games on the Epic Games Store The 8 Best Music Production Software of 2022 The Best Collectible Card Games for the iPad Lords of Waterdeep Tips and Strategies Let’s Go, Pikachu! Review: A Reinvented Classic The 10 Best Free Coding Games of 2022 The 19 Best RPGs for the iPad 22 Best iPhone Games of All Time 7 Days to Die Review: Giving Zombies a fun facelift, 7 days and one sandbox platform at a time Gaming With the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies