Nowhere Prophet

Genre: Turn-Based Card RPG / Roguelike

Players: 1

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Review:

Nowhere Prophet is a game that combines a Turn-Based Card RPG with a Roguelike, putting the player in the role of a leader of a post-apocalyptic Mad Max-style caravan following a vision to lead their tribe to… treasure? Paradise? It’s not entirely clear, but nevertheless you and your followers will trek across a dangerous landscape while maintaining your supply of resources and fending off attackers. This is a game that was originally released on PC in 2019 and came to consoles, including the Nintendo Switch, in 2020.

The visuals here are presented in a hand-painted style that’s pretty distinct and works really well to set this game apart, but what really won me over with this presentation is the amazing soundtrack – from its subtle atmospheric themes to more intense music during really tough battles, Nowhere Prophet is a joy to listen to, making really good use of what I think is an Arabian oud (someone please correct me if I’m wrong on that) to give this game a really distinct sound. In short, this is currently one of my favorite soundtracks of 2020 on the Nintendo Switch.

The gameplay here is equally distinct. I know that when I write “Turn-Based Card RPG” and “Roguelike” in the same sentence, the tendency is to picture something like Slay the Spire, but while this game does incorporate similar progression and deck-building elements to Slay the Spire, the actual gameplay here is closer to something like Hearthstone. Like Hearthstone, players and their computer-controlled opponents both have a progressively growing store of energy to use to summon attackers and defenders, as well as use cards that have an effect on the battlefield.

Nowhere Prophet takes an interesting approach to weeding out the weak cards from your deck, though. When your various minions get defeated in battle, they gain a “wound” that leaves them less powerful in subsequent battles (but also less expensive to summon). If a wounded unit gets defeated, they’re permanently killed and eliminated from your deck. On the other hand, if they manage to land the final blow on an opponent, they heal their damage and gain a “blessing” that makes them super-powerful.

This makes for some interesting risk/reward situations – do you take your favorite unit into battle even though he’s wounded, and risk losing him for good? Do you want to risk bringing him out a few turns from a battle’s end so he can land the final blow and gain that bonus? Do you fill your deck with wounded cannon fodder that, while weak, is cheap and expendable?

On top of this, you’ll be managing your resources as you go from town to town – your people need food and “hope” (replenished with luxury items that keep them happy), and you can “hire” more minions into your deck and get more supplies by trading in items like batteries. What’s more, you can outfit your own character with some items that give you special abilities in battle, sell them off, or take them apart to turn into more cards for your character deck. There is a lot of potential for different strategic options here, and someone looking to dig deep into a really strategic experience will find a lot to like here.

What’s more, this game absolutely shines on the Nintendo Switch, thanks to touchscreen controls that work brilliantly, as well as an interface that’s super-easy to use in docked mode. Given the “pick up and play” nature of this game, I’d go as far as to say that the Nintendo Switch version is the ideal place to play it, too.

One more thing I should mention before wrapping things up here. I see that others online have complained about game-breaking bugs in the Nintendo Switch version. I experienced none of that in my play-through, and from what I can find, it appears that the developer patched this game after launch, so hopefully those bugs are gone at this point. Rest assured, if I come to find otherwise, I’ll come back and edit this review to reflect it, but as far as I can tell, this game currently works fine on the Nintendo Switch.

Okay, so the big question… is Nowhere Prophet better than Slay the Spire? Welllll… no. That game is still the best of its kind and a bit easier to get into. In fact, I would warn players not to try to compare the two too much – Nowhere Prophet really does play quite differently, and what it does, it does exceptionally well. This is a marvelous Card RPG Roguelike with an outstanding soundtrack, and fans of the genre looking for something a bit different should absolutely give it a look.

tl;dr – Nowhere Prophet is a Turn-Based Card RPG and Roguelike that has players in the role of a leader of a convoy in a Mad Max-esque post-apocalypse. This game has progression somewhat like Slay the Spire and combat closer to Hearthstone, with some clever risk and reward mechanics and resource management elements. While this game isn’t quite as easy to get into as Slay the Spire, it is nevertheless an outstanding entry in the genre with a killer soundtrack, and fans of the genre should consider it a must-buy.

Grade: A-

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2020 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Strategy Game, Best Music

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