Recent reviews by Alexander331

For anyone experienced in classical roguelikes, this game is a must-buy. For those unexperienced though expect a decent learning curve. I suggest giving the tutorial a try and starting on any mode that isn't classic (unless you are looking for a challenge). Exploring the dreamlike sci-fi world is worth the price of admission alone.

Also comes with excellent Steam Deck and controller support which is rare for turn-based roguelikes!

Yes/No recommendations are pointless for this game when the gameplay itself is divisive. I personally recommend this game just for the experience of completing the game Imago difficulty, however this is an ask most will understandably not have the patience to complete.

Throughout Pathologic 2 I experienced a sense of either disquieting peacefulness or absolute agony while playing the game. This does not sound like fun and admittedly a good amount of the game wasn't an enjoyable experience, still it was an overall intriguing experience.

If you are looking to try a more artsy survival (torture) game with a fictional world as interesting as Disco Elysium, then at least try out the game. Bonus points if you like theater, as the characters speak as if they are giving a performance.

With over 1,500+ hours in Master Duel, it feels like the ideal time for me to give a semi-indepth review about the game because I can shill for my Campaign code (my code is 27b985cf). To preface, this game for me has the largest love-hate relationship out of any game I've played and you'll see why in the review.

For those completely new to Master Duel, this game is the Yugioh card game. Unlike other card games like Magic, Pokemon, and Hearthstone, there is no resource system like lands in Magic the Gathering. This has led Yugioh in gaining the reputation of being multiplayer solitaire card-game since as long as you have the proper summoning condition for a monster, you can special summon it to the field. It is not uncommon going against an opponent that spends 10+ minutes building an unbreakable board or winning on the first turn if you open zero hand interruptions (called hand-traps) or board breakers. To someone new this might not sound fun and you will be correct in that assumption. However there are ways to prevent this game-state from happening in the first place.

Now it would be best to briefly go over a typical Yugioh deck. In Master duel, there is a main deck and an extra deck. The main deck can have 40-60 cards and the extra deck 0-15 cards. For anyone new, I highly suggest starting with a deck that contain the minimum 40 main deck cards. There are reasons to play over 40 cards (to lower the chance of opening cards you do NOT want to see in hand), but those decks are not ideal for new players (looking at you Branded). Now in your 40 main deck cards you want a mix of non-engine (ideally 12-18) and engine. Non-engine are cards who's goal to prevent your opponent from building a board (hand traps), and cards that break your opponent's board (board breakers). What is considered the ideal non-engine depends on the meta, but there are stables that are almost always main deck worthy these being Maxx C, Ash Blossom, Infinite Impermanence, Crossout Designator, and Called by the Grave. Ash Blossom, Crossout, and Imperm are a must primarily because of a card called Maxx C which you'll come to hate very soon. Now engine cards are generally cards that enable you to build a board and progress the game state. They are a must for any deck that want to win the game. For a first-timer it will likely consist of a single archetype, but you'll find that it is possible to mix together multiple archetypes when they have synergy. Finally we have the Extra Deck consisting of 15 monster cards that can be summoned under specific conditions. For example, a ED-monster such as I:P Masquerena requires 2 non-Link monsters. So whenever you have two non-Link monsters, I:P can be Linked Summon from the ED. There are multiple ED monsters with Fusion needing a card that enables you to fusion summon, but every other Extra-deck summoning type 'generally' do not an additional card for that monster to be summon (there are many exceptions to this rule). Now let list some decks that are perfect for new players in-particular.

Swordsoul-Tenyi - This deck in my opinion is one of the best for new players. It is a synchro deck that often ends on the exact same board if it goes uninterrupted and the overall mechanic is simple. Also the deck is cheap thanks to the structure deck being available in the store.

Pure Zoodiac - Very easy XYZ deck that will teach you when to use hand traps. Not the best deck in the current meta, but it was the deck that taught me how to play this game.

Floowandereeze - An easy and hated deck ideal for new players. It has a unique normal summon and tribute summon mechanic. Also it almost never uses the extra deck.

Tenpai - The best of the easy decks. Tenpai at the time of this review is still a meta relevant deck. It is a battle-phase synchro deck that is capable of killing your opponent off of a single card. Thanks to how strong a single normal summon is in this deck. It is capable of playing up to 25+ non-engine to either stop your opponent from playing the game or breaking boards. I would not suggest building Tenpai right now though as it has the potential of being hit AND it is a expensive deck to build.

Kashtira - An XYZ deck that can summon powerful lvl-7 bodies onto the field. While it has been hit several times on the banlist in Master Duel it is still a capable deck because of how strong Ariseheart (the deck's boss monster) is at shutting down the vast majority of decks.

Now let's go over the F2P model. Master Duel in my opinion has one of the most generous F2P model out of any of the gacha-like game I've played. For a new-player, it should be possible to build a single meta-defining deck with just free currency. It may be difficult to build multiple decks, but I have a ton of meta-defining decks and have not paid a single cent in 2 and half years. This is the biggest positive overall if you are curious of just picking up the game as you should have zero issue picking-up a decent deck and then climb up to the Master Rank with enough effort and skill.

Finally let's go back to my initial statement on my love/hate for this game. As this is a card game, there are going to be moments even with tons of non-engine you open none of it and your opponent makes an unbreakable board. After playing for quite a bit, it becomes quite apparent when to surrender and just go to the next game, however this may take awhile if you are new to the game. Another big issue is the existence of a card named Maxx C. This card when discarded for effect allows the player to draw a card every time a monster is special summon to the field. Thanks to Yugioh having no resource a single draw is VERY strong. We have cards like Dark Hole and Raigeki that just say destroy all monsters on the field or Lightning Storm that says destroy all spell/trap cards on the field. These powerful cards can be played without paying any resource. So for most decks (as most decks special summon), this card is essentially a turn-skip when your opponent can potentially draw into these powerful cards. There are decks that are good into Maxx C (Voiceless Voice, Purrely, Flunder, etc) and cards that stop Maxx C (Called by the Grave, Ash, and Crossout) but you have to see those outs. This card alone sucks the enjoyment out of this game (along with floodgates [cards that prevent the player from essentially playing the game] but Komani has been doing a good job banning those cards). Still even with floodgates and Maxx C it is such a cathartic experience to win under Maxx C or have a close game where everyone of your cards count. So if you are looking for a new card game, I highly recommend giving this game a chance.