Mild to moderate recommendation. Enjoyable but not especially deep. Low difficulty, which could be a plus or a minus for you. Mahokenshi levels are shorter than competing games' roguelike runs, again a possible plus or minus for you. Game length is 8-10 hours, apparently 13 for me to 100% it, plus the mission maker and user-generated content.

"Mahokenshi" could be translated to "Mage Knight," and there are similarities to that game.

Deckbuilding is combined with movement across a hex board. This was uncomfortable at first when I was expecting the standard map movement from a Slay the Spire clone, but this is doing something somewhat different. The deckbuilding aspect is there, but so is positioning and movement.

If you are expecting something Slay the Spire-like, you are thinking of 30-fight runs across three maps in a roguelike structure. This is not that. Each mission is usually 20-30 *turns* not *fights*, much shorter. The roguelike aspect is smaller, mostly just that you pick your cards/talismans from a small pool each time. Shops play a bigger part, letting you turn gold into new cards, upgrades, or removed cards more than you may be used to.

I found Mahokenshi pretty easy. Some of the challenges took a bit of setup, sometimes more of arranging for rolls of the dice to come together. The game may not be as easy if you skip the side quests and challenges, which are what give you your upgrade points. You get a lot of upgrade points over the course of the game, so you can pick almost everything on all the talent trees by the end.

I had a good time. It is not action-packed or as absorbing as competing deckbuilders, but it was worthwhile to play. I don't know that I can recommend it at $25, again considering its competitors, but I got the game in a bundle and played through it quickly. The game is not padded and respects your time. Its handmade content will not provide the replayability of procedurally generated content, but nor will it have the poor balance that so many "roguelike" games have. The game is a humble success.

Mild to moderate recommendation. Enjoyable but not especially deep. Low difficulty, which could be a plus or a minus for you. Mahokenshi levels are shorter than competing games' roguelike runs, again a possible plus or minus for you. Game length is 8-10 hours, apparently 13 for me to 100% it, plus the mission maker and user-generated content. "Mahokenshi" could be translated to "Mage Knight," and there are similarities to that game. Deckbuilding is combined with movement across a hex board. This was uncomfortable at first when I was expecting the standard map movement from a Slay the Spire clone, but this is doing something somewhat different. The deckbuilding aspect is there, but so is positioning and movement. If you are expecting something Slay the Spire-like, you are thinking of 30-fight runs across three maps in a roguelike structure. This is not that. Each mission is usually 20-30 *turns* not *fights*, much shorter. The roguelike aspect is smaller, mostly just that you pick your cards/talismans from a small pool each time. Shops play a bigger part, letting you turn gold into new cards, upgrades, or removed cards more than you may be used to. I found Mahokenshi pretty easy. Some of the challenges took a bit of setup, sometimes more of arranging for rolls of the dice to come together. The game may not be as easy if you skip the side quests and challenges, which are what give you your upgrade points. You get a lot of upgrade points over the course of the game, so you can pick almost everything on all the talent trees by the end. I had a good time. It is not action-packed or as absorbing as competing deckbuilders, but it was worthwhile to play. I don't know that I can recommend it at $25, again considering its competitors, but I got the game in a bundle and played through it quickly. The game is not padded and respects your time. Its handmade content will not provide the replayability of procedurally generated content, but nor will it have the poor balance that so many "roguelike" games have. The game is a humble success.