Whether you're a Regency Solitaire pro or only just now hearing about it, don't let Shadowhand slip. This is an addictive little card game with a ton of content, all kinds of stuff to buy, a compelling story and a bunch of intense one-on-one fights with a wide assortment of colorful characters. Description Steam Store Description (from Ad Blurbs) PLEASE NOTE: This game will not be discounted during the Steam Winter Sale (due to Valve rules) so please get it during launch week at 10% off, thanks! Shadowhand is a strategic RPG card game. Duel powerful enemies in 18th Century England with unique solitaire-style turn-based combat. Equip your character strategically to sneak, slice and blast through foes! Ottawa mega-chillers Shadowhand have released a new track called 'Passing Through' which we are excited to premiere through Showbox. Shadowhand is the project of musician Jameson Mackay, and features the talents of Matt Corbiere, Brandon Walsh, and Sean Tansey.
Tactical card games and RPG’s have a lot in common. Both involve careful planning, careful execution, and a lot of reflection on what went right and, all too often, what went wrong. Stats and numbers feature prominently in both as do themes and builds. Yet, we see so few examples of them overlapping. Shadowhand is an upcoming game from Grey Alien Games that is looking to add depth to the strategy card game by making it a full fledged RPG complete with stats, inventory, abilities, and equipment you can use to improve and enhance your success in tense duels against AI enemies. Building off of the success of their last game Regency Solitaire, indie team Grey Alien Games is looking to take their solitaire-style turn based combat formula a step further with deckbuilding and character building.
Genre: Strategy Card RPG
Developed by: Grey Alien Games
Published by: Positech Games
Release date: May 2017
Platforms: PC
Website: http://www.positech.co.uk/shadowhand/index.html
Developed by: Grey Alien Games
Published by: Positech Games
Release date: May 2017
Platforms: PC
Website: http://www.positech.co.uk/shadowhand/index.html
Shadowhand Features
- Duel powerful enemies with unique solitaire-style turn-based combat.
- We follow the story of Lady Cornelia Darkmoor, a beguiling young aristocrat who masquerades as the notorious highwaywoman, Shadowhand.
- Combining an historical visual novel narrative with a card-driven RPG, Shadowhand’s story spans 20 chapters of atmospheric locations including stormy coastlines, mysterious woods and gloomy manors.
Story and Setting
In Shadowhand we follow the story of Lady Cornelia Darkmoor, a well to do aristocrat by day and the outlaw highway-woman Shadowhand by night. The victim of a heist, she is forced to flee a crime scene and operate in the shadows in order to find her close female companion who vanishes during the heist. This isn’t a tale of a hero looking for romance or glory but instead is a tale of corruption, smuggling and blackmail and she is prepared to do whatever is needed, including dueling to the death to get to the truth.
Shadowhand Game
A common theme of the game is the concept of disguises, playing off the popularity of masquerade balls during that time period. Using these conventions for her own convenience, she will be making use of a variety of costume upgrades that both hide her identity and upgrade her abilities in battle as she takes on the dark underworld of smugglers, thieves and other undesirables.
Although the game unfolds over a playmat style of cards you typically see in card games like Magic or Solitaire, the cutscenes and duel background settings all reinforce the historical narrative. There are a variety of locations to play across, includy moody coastlines and woods and the proverbial dark manors and the story unfolds across 20 chapters and 180 levels of action. The design of the cards reflects a similar sense of elegance and these period piece sensibilities.
Gameplay
The game combines the historic visual novel format with a card based RPG and puts you into some tense 1v1 duels via a novel turn-based combat flow. Successfully clearing encounters will gain you experience that you can spend to improve your character. Along the way you’ll also be gathering new weapons, outfits and loot that you can equip to improve your effectiveness during the heat of combat.
The fundamental backbone of the game is the solitaire-style mechanic. Although Solitaire sounds like the penultimate forever alone game, Shadowhand is anything but dull. The cards are numbered and choosing one higher or lower by 1 than the one from the draw pile is how you get going. Once you do, the game becomes about strategy and a number of dueling tactics emerge from the turn based mechanic.
Rather than roll a die or under the hood RNG to determine the outcomes as is common in RPGs, your goal is to get a good card draw, as you would in Magic. Every card you play increases the charge on your weapons which you can use when fully charged. If you get a long run of cards going, you can increase your attack bonus and have it result in a critical hit. As you progress through the game, you will be looting and buying a large variety of weapons and clothing items, which you can then equip strategically via the game’s full inventory system.
Deck building works within the inventory system and lets you choose from a variety of ability cards that compliment your preferred playstyle. They can allow you to do things like see into the future to see what cards are coming up, or other more chaotic functions. You’ll collect power up cards that slot into active and passive abilities as you play that will aid you as you play. They will do things like turning more cards up for you at the beginning of a turn or wiping out one of your enemy’s cards in the heat of combat.
Shadowhand
In Shadowhand, weapons and outfits affect what happens in combat. So to get the game to operate as an RPG, there are 6 stats to your character which affect card play, which gives the game it’s RPG backbone while also making it stand apart from conventional RPG structure. Improving the stats of your character confers benefits like finding better loot with Luck, or using your improved Finesse to encourage a better card to come to the top of your deck. You can allocate up to ten points to each of the stats and some outfits let you go above that allocation. The game will give you 40 points to allocate, which allows for customization and specialization, as well as a reason to try different builds since you won’t be able to max each stat.
The weapons are all period specific and have different properties that can help you depending on the foe you’re taking on. They can perform a variety of things like pierce, stun, bleed, poison and more. Mixing and matching the different weapons and their special abilities are key to maximizing your charge when you’re going on a long card-play run.
Your outfits that you equip work on the converse and behave as armor would in a traditional RPG. They protect you from incoming damage but also work differently in the combat stances. Changing what you wear has a significant bearing on gameplay. Overall there are over 13 million unique permutations of clothing that you can slot in. Before a duel starts you are able to mouse over your load out and that of your foe and can change up what you’re wearing depending on what the enemy is bringing to battle. Jewelry and accessories round this out by conferring more gameplay and tactical benefits. There’s a lot you’ll be able to mix and match here, all in the name of fine tuning your card play.
The more I researched this game, the more I really became intrigued. There are a lot of interacting mechanics and adding and RPG stat spread and inventory/equipment option that not only affect the card play but have their own central focus is a great way to take an approachable concept like Solitaire and up the stakes and strategy to it. This feels like the kind of game you boot up to play for 15 minutes and find that 3 hours have gone by. It would be interesting to see it be expanded to a PvP setting at some point in the future, maybe as a DLC. Regardless this is one for the radar next month.
![Shadowhand Shadowhand](https://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/square_small/0/2164/1092955-naruto_shippuden__ultimate_ninja_5_ps2screenshots249662.jpg)
Welcome to the next entry in a monthly Fextralife series highlighting the Top 5 RPGs for the next month. In this edition, we’re going to take a look at what we think are the best RPGs releasing in the month of May, and talk a little about each and why we think so highly of them. Hop in and discover some new games you haven’t heard of or learn a little more about ones you do know. Watch the video above and read on for the text!
5. Shadowhand
Release Date: May 2017
Platform: PC
Developer: Grey Alien Games
Publisher: Positech Games
Platform: PC
Developer: Grey Alien Games
Publisher: Positech Games
Shadowhand is a strategy RPG card game developed by Grey Alien Games. In this unique merging of genres you will duel powerful enemies with unique solitaire-style turn-based combat. To battle, you will build mini-decks and equip your character strategically to sneak, slice and shoot your foes. Set in 18th century England, you play as a young aristocrat, Lady Cornelia Darkmoor, who moonlights as a masked robber, called Shadowhand. The gameplay combines a historical visual novel narrative with a card-driven RPG, and its story spans 20 chapters of atmospheric locations including stormy coastlines, mysterious woods and gloomy manors. It features 180 levels where players must dodge the law and do battle in turn-based combat, gaining experience to customize their character and collect new weapons, gear and loot.
4. Akiba’s Beat
Release Date: May 16th
Platform: PS4, PS Vita
Developer: Acquire
Publisher: XSeed Games
Platform: PS4, PS Vita
Developer: Acquire
Publisher: XSeed Games
Akiba’s Beat is a JRPG developed by Japanese studio Aquire that combines RPG, beat’em up and visual novel features. The second installment of the series once takes place in the famous Akihabara district of Tokyo. The citizens of the district are caught in a time loop in which they are endlessly repeating one day. The player assumes the role of young man named Asahi Tachibana. He will team up with a cast of characters to solve the mystery and will engage in encounters to defeat the Delusions that appear. The battles are very action based and dynamic and each character has a unique style, equipment and even music as well as various headsets which strengthen the attacks of the characters and give access to new combinations of attacks. It’s a vibrant colorful, and musical journey that goes well with the spring weather. Check out our Akiba’s Beat Preview.
3. Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs
Isoftphone pro 4 2 4 x 6. Release Date: May 18th
Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Developer: Pixelated Milk
Publisher: Kabalt
Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Developer: Pixelated Milk
Publisher: Kabalt
Regalia is a turn-based RPG that focuses on tactical gameplay and is created by Polish developer Pixelated Milk. The player is taken to a peaceful fantasy world and assumes the role of Kay Loren – a young nobleman whose father reveals on his deathbed the existence of a distant land belonging to their family. Once the protagonist arrives in the he discovers that the entire land is ruined and the family is responsible for a massive debt. You will have to restore the ruined city to its glory by constructing buildings, gathering resources, developing technologies and managing the land so it can generate enough income. You’ll be engaging in extensive exploration, completing quests given by NPCs and taking on turn-based combat on an isometric grid. The protagonist can be accompanied by four other characters with unique abilities, which can be developed alongside progression. Further rounding out the mechanics are extensive social links you can develop with people and factions which can all help you improve your kingdom. Regalia represents a merging of the JRPG with western lore and should be very approachable to fans of the genre. Check out our Regalia Preview.
2. Prey
Release Date: May 5th
Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Developer: Arkane Studios
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Developer: Arkane Studios
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Prey is a hybrid RPG/Shooter that dips into the survival and dystopic suspense of games like Bioshock and Dead Space, created by Arkane Studios, the creators of Dishonored. The project is a re-imagining of the original that was released in 2006. The new game shares little in common with its progenitor and instead tells its own story. The player assumes the role of Morgan Yu, who awakens on the Talos I space station where mysterious experiments are being performed on humans in an attempt to improve humanity by splicing elements of a shadowy alien race. The player will have to navigate the halls of the space station, making use of the equipment they find to defeat the aliens who have overrun the station. As you progress you will unlock new abilities that will allow you to develop your more human traits or you can choose to explore abilities that harness the mysterious alien’s powers. With a focus on choice, the game will have several branching paths and multiple endings, all determined by the decisions you will make along the way. Check out our Prey Preview.
1. The Surge
Release Date: May 16th
Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Developer: Deck 13
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive Marked 2 2 5 10.
Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Developer: Deck 13
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive Marked 2 2 5 10.
The Surge is an action RPG set in a dark science-fiction world, developed by Lords of the Fallen co-creator Deck13. The game depicts a dystopian vision of the future, where in response to growing climate change, an technological error in our response plunged the world into chaos. You play as Warren, a worker in the industrial CREO facility who has come to in a world far different than what he remembered. You will have to use the exoskeleton technology to survive this now chaotic facility. The gameplay takes inspiration from Dark Souls and Bloodborne and will be a challenging combat focused journey. Adding its own unique spin, is the game’s target, loot equip feature where you identify parts of opponents, sever them and then equip them on your own exo suit to improve your abilities. Visceral, gratifying and visually impressive, The Surge may launch developer Deck13 into AAA status. Check out more on The Surge.
Looking Ahead
This month is a mix of big name releases and indie, niche titles. Thoughts on the list? Any other RPGs you’re looking forward to in May? Let us know what you think! Happy roleplaying!
Check out past Top 5 RPGs of the month
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