So where to begin with this one? Honestly this game can be summed up in one word… Unremarkable. This game is simply a “want to be” Slay The Spire that completely fails to understand what make “Slay the Spire” great. The fundamentals of “Neoverse” are much the same as the far superior “Slay the Spire.” You choose one of three heroes. Each hero has both uniques starting cards and unique obtainable cards in their playthrough. Typically there are 2-3 primary build strategies for each hero allowing for variance in playthroughs even when you use the same hero.
After selecting your hero you are thrown into a turn based battle where each of your attacks is determined by the cards you play. You can play defensive cards to increase your shield and reduce the damage of the enemy attacks, much the same as “Slay the Spire.” However, “Neoverse” starts to differentiate itself by allowing your shield to carry over between turns. This is the first of many mechanical mistakes which make the game far to easy.
“Neoverse” also differentiates itself by adding a “combo” mechanic. The player is given a order of card types to play. If the player plays cards in the appropriate order than the next attack does double damage. An example of a combo would be something like “Defense, attack, defense.” The combo order is reset and randomized each time a combo is broken or completed. Ultimately, this mechanic just becomes yet another tool in the players tool set that makes the game far to easy.
Between battles the player must choose whom there next opponent will be. The player is told if the opponent is “elite” or “normal” and the type of reward earned for completing a simple task in the battle. The tasks tend to be something like “play 3 defense cards.” Ultimately the decision just comes down to what type of reward the player wants because the battles all tend to be easy. The player is never left with a tough decision of balancing risk vs. reward like they would in more polished rogue lite. Oh yeah guess I failed to mention this was a rogue lite at the start of this article but I am sure you could have guessed that by now with all the “Slay the Spire” references.
After fighting 15 battles, including three boss battles (battles 5, 10, and 15), the player is left victorious and without the satisfaction of using their brain… In summation “Neoverse” is a rogue like deck building game that completely misses the point of the genre. That point being having to make hard decisions and changing strategies on the fly.
Oh before we wrap this up, I should also mention that the game soft locked on me after the very first battle. Soooo yeah… This turkey definitely could of used some more time in the oven before being served to the public.
So where does “Neoverse” go on the small but mighty rogue list? At the bottom of course, making “Neoverse” the new #4 just below “Vambrace: Cold Steel.”
Platform: Xbox One. Time to Beat: 01 hour 49 minutes and 46 seconds.
Where to Play?
“Neoverse” is currently available to play on Xbox Game Pass. Which is frankly the only way you should consider playing this game as it is certainly not worth spending money on it.
Gaming Conquest 