My copy was provided by the developer*

One important thing I would note, the game is much larger than it looks at first, after you complete the first path (2 bosses), the next run it will add another fork along the path toward a new boss, and I believe it repeats that way 4 times, so beating the game once is just scratching the surface, you are expected to do so several times to access all of the content. After you beat the "normal mode" by completing every path, it also adds a "hard mode" which has some new enemies and a few new boss fights.

That being said, you might beat the easiest path in like 60 minutes to 3 hours depending on the skill. But the actual content of the game is roughly 12 hours, and I still have some things to discover, so the game is not completely linear, even though it may seem that way at first. It is a rouge-lite but it will save the progress of the run, you can continue playing later if you run out of time. Overall I thought the mechanics and risk vs reward choices were very good, you constantly offered various optimization and deck building events, as well as choosing forks on the map that are better or worse for your build.

It's nice to see a card game that is actually balanced for people that play card games, it's like super nerdy with tactics, I genuinely think getting legend in Hearthstone requires less brain power (and I speak from experience), it encourages heavy optimization, planning ahead, and taking risks while balancing out the RNG. And even if you ignore all of the gameplay, it also just has a great sense of humor, if a bootleg S.Seagal fighting Onryo does not make you laugh, I don't know what will.. Even the easiest path on the map can be challenging as early as 15 minutes into the game, I thought I had some good builds going, but no, the game wiped its *** with it, and I am all for it personally, for me a good card game is one that forces me to adapt and overcome.

I will say the cards might feel a little stale at first, your hand starts with a lot of generic cards that do flat numbers, however there are hundreds of cards to be unlocked for circulation, it will eventually have those crazy and hilarious combos, just takes a few hours to get that going. From a technical point of view, more specifically the feel of the synergies and tactics, I think the game is designed extremely well, if not potentially the best card game I ever played, like the mechanics are so fun and interactive.


(+) Every time you complete a path you will get a new fork on the map (although not shown from the distance), adding new bosses and new locations. I think I had to complete the game 5 times for normal mode. Then it adds "hard mode" that actually changes the look of the enemies and modifies some of their abilities. You probably will get at least 10-12 hours out of it just for exploring the map

(+) The cards might feel a bit generic at first, but there are a ton of automatic unlocks that will be added into circulation, there is a lot of depth to the deck building, as well as a lot of good synergies and interesting builds. The rogue-lite "decision making" and "risk vs reward" on the map exploration were pretty fun, both visually and in terms of strategy

(+) Both art and music choices are stellar, I thought the game had a really good sense of humor, love all the bootleg characters. I assume music is not game specific? But I still really liked the vibes, some of the choices you made for specific fights made me laugh, the troll vibes are so good.

(+) One very specific thing I liked about this game, is that even the cards/builds with negative effects feel like you can use them as resources, there are so many ways to manipulate your hand, even the cards with negative effects often feel like a useful tool if you can take advantage of it


Playable Characters - I like that Steven has more expensive cards because it changes how you play him, but then you have a lot of characters that are basically the same thing. You don't necessarily have to make unique cards for every character, but I think at least giving them 3 unique cards for attacks would be a lot better than just having 1 or 2 specific cards. Even if you are using cards that are already in the game, I still think you need to push them stronger into a niche builds, like there is a character that is meant to be a status applier, but he has like 1 bleed, 1 burn, and 1 double hit (seems like a mess honestly). Even a class like warrior, like you can't start him with a good damage card like baseball or something, why are these starting hands are so similar. You can do a little better with the starting choices at least, don't give most of them the generic 4 punch, that should be 1 character.

Upgrades - I felt like 90% of the time I just never had the combos and even when I did, they felt a bit whatever, and in some cases actually worse than the original like combining 2 blocks into 1 which is not a good thing in some situations. I know like 2+2 is meant for a buffing build, but if you not playing it, you get another 4 damage card, so I think making it like +3+3 would be a lot better. It's not really going to break the game, you can make those upgrades a bit more generous I think. Perhaps there needs to be another mechanic in the game to obtain upgrades cards because you almost never seem them. Maybe if there is a card that can combine with anything as a text? Just a thought.

Friends - most of them have their niche, but I think there are some that feel a bit too specific, and you just feel bad having them in the first selection, like the friends that combo off sacrifices. Perhaps there needs to be something else they can offer so you not just skipping them in the early game.

I had a random freeze in the first room, it never happened again though.

Overall Thoughts: 9/10

When I finished my first run I was like, okay that was kinda fun, but honestly, the more I played this game, the more I enjoyed it, just so many great references, great art direction, amazing music choices, and solid game mechanics overall. Was laughing for good 10 hours straight, I really liked the game's sense of humor, some of the synergy builds like intoxicating were hilarious, giving you cards based on how drunk you were. For the most part I thought the game was a great experience, I don't really have any major issues with it, if only you could make those characters a bit more unique.

This is something special.

Unfortunately any new Roguelike Deckbuilder these days with attack and defense cards is going to be branded a 'Slay the Spire clone' and it's usually for good reason, this is different.

Skogdal is Skogdal.

You'll immediately be drawn in by the pencil drawn aesthetics, some games would rely on a strong aesthetic to excuse a lack of polish/ creativity within the gameplay.

This isn't true here, Skogdal is creative on the surface and under the hood.

It's a true labour of love, here's a list of some of the specific reasons this game shines:

1. Card Variety:

I've done 3 runs so far and the amount of new cards I've seen each time is beyond impressive, there's so much opportunity here for creating broken/ meaningful builds that make you feel like a badass, also the art for all the cards is top notch and the humour is spot on.

2. Music:

The music stands out as completely unique in the genre, it's big punky guitar riffs with snarly Norwegian vocals for the most part, maybe divisive depending on your tastes but it's cool as heck and fits the vibe of the game perfectly.

3 Overworld:

I feel more than anything the game should be applauded for having an innovative world map, it's like an interactive comic book, there's nobody else doing this element as good as these guys are doing it, so many deckbuilders squander the opportunity to create an interesting setting for the players between battles, Skogdal feels more lived in than any other game in the genre for me.

4. Unique Mechanics:

Skogdal has some really innovative systems, I don't want to spoil any of them in this review because the discovery of them is the fun part, suffice to say in my current short playtime there's been a number of moments I've stopped to to think *why hasn't someone done this before?*

5. Quality Of Life:

This feels like a premium product, the price reflects that and is deserving of it, the cards feel good to play, the world flows well, the sound design is 10/10, there's mid run saves (bafflingly this isn't something some devs even consider these days)

6. A lot of game:

There is a lot more game here than meets the eye, there's multiple characters to unlock, branching paths, a narrative that reveals itself slowly run to run, mini games, tons of cards to unlock, people to interact with, companions to meet, visual gags, varied soundtrack, the list goes on.

The game is fantastic, in a crowded genre I sincerely hope it'll find the love it deserves, either way it's found a lifelong fan in me.

Long live Skogdal.

This game is a banger (pun intentional). Not only does it have competent card play, but also an unraveling story against the backdrop of a unique theme. It also has a ton of cards and even some funny moments, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

First, let's talk about the card play. It's clear that the devs are card game fans, and it shows. Cards feel balanced, interesting and open to synergies. There is a fair amount of them and I keep unlocking new cards faster than I can use them.

Skogdal does a fair bit of things right:

• You don't discard your hand at the end of the turn, meaning it's actively encouraging you to make grand combos and plan ahead.
  
• There is a mechanic that lets you "fuse cards together" creating completely new and different cards. It's pretty exciting not only getting these cards but discovering new fusion outcomes.
  
  
• The game wants you to succeed giving you control over your deck with plenty of opportunities to get new cards or remove them. Both large and thin decks can work just fine.
  
  
• The enemy design is also great - they feel different from each other, while not countering any deck strategy. I have yet to encounter an enemy that feels frustrating even when they are no pushovers.
  
  
• A fair amount of recent card games feel stingy with unlocks as it happens at a slow pace. Not Skogdal. You can even unlock cards DURING a run. There is quite a lot to unlock too, almost guaranteeing that each run will have new cards.
  
  
• I particularly loved that the game has a story, instead of the usual storyless roguelike setup

The only "issue" I had with the game is that I personally was not a fan of music with lyrics in the background (feel too distracting), and that runs are slightly too long (~1,5h).

Overall, a very competent deckbuilder that checks all the right boxes while offering new twists to the established RLDB genre.


+ Satisfying card play and deckbuiling

+ Story that opens up new locations and enemies.

+ Large card pool

+ Good pacing for unlocks

+ Funny moments that will likely surprise you


* Personally was not a fan of soundtracks with lyrics as they can get distracting, but most of the other tracks are excellent.

* Slightly longer runs


- Nothing of note.


Unique theme powered by satisfying deckbulding, card play and enemy design. You don't discard all cards at the end of the turn which encourages bombastic turns. Recommended.