Culdcept Revolt

Genre: Board Game / Collectable Card Game

Players: 1-4 Competitive (Local Wireless)

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Review:

Culdcept is a series that has been around for a while, but its games have only occasionally been released in the West, and those releases haven’t exactly made it a massive phenomenon. It’s kinda’ easy to see why – this game’s combination of a Magic the Gathering-style Collectable Card Game and a Monopoly-style Board Game isn’t the sort of thing that’s likely to have much mass appeal. However, if either of those elements interests you, there’s a lot to love here.

Culdcept Revolt, released on Nintendo 3DS in 2017, features its own campaign with a story, but the main attraction here will be the gameplay. Players draw from their deck of cards as they roll dice and move across a board, and much like Monopoly, they can claim spaces on the board as their own by spending a resource (magic points here). However, unlike Monopoly, they must also use a card to place down a creature to guard that space, and opposing players can take that space if they can defeat the creature stationed there. Both sides of the battle can use cards to enhance their creatures, to influence dice rolls, or to get an infusion of magic points, among other things. In addition, once they “pass Go” by making a circuit of the board, they can start to power-up any creatures that previously placed on the board, much as one would upgrade emplacements in a Tower Defense game.

It takes a bit of time learning the ins and outs of the rules, but once you have a feel for it, this is a game that’s a lot more strategic and compelling than Monopoly, and far more simple and easy to get into than Magic: The Gathering. This unique blend of elements makes for some fun and unique gameplay that’s greater than the sum of its parts.

In terms of presentation, Culdcept is presented in a manner similar to a JRPG, with 2D characters lining a simple 3D isometric game board. However, battles transition over to a 3D space indicative of the type of terrain that space represents, and battles have the cards visibly attacking one another, with sword swipes, claw strikes, and other attacks blasting, dissecting, and otherwise damaging the cards themselves in a way that’s visibly satisfying. All of this is backed by a JRPG-style soundtrack that’s decent, but nothing especially memorable, as well as occasional voice clips from an announcer declaring the names of cards in an overly-serious tone that’s kinda’ endearing.

This game is ideally set up for multiplayer play, but… well, you have to play through a fair amount of the campaign to unlock multiplayer, and by this point, don’t expect many opponents online. It’s a shame too, because there’s a lot of potential for fun gameplay here.

Overall, Culdcept Revolt is a fun and engaging game, but one whose niche appeal means it won’t be a game for everyone. If you’re the sort who enjoys Board Games and Collectable Card Games, you should absolutely give it a try – the gameplay here is excellent, with a solid presentation. However, players who have an aversion to either of those genres may find this not to be to their liking.

tl;dr – Culdcept Revolt is a game that combines a Magic: The Gathering-style Collectable Card Game with a Monopoly-style Board Game, and the result is a wonderful game with deep and enjoyable gameplay. However, it is a fairly niche game, so it may not be for everyone.

Grade: B

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