Card Shark

Genre: Graphic Adventure / Misc.

Players: 1

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Review:

Card Shark, released on PC and Nintendo Switch in 2022, is a difficult game to categorize. Probably the genre that best describes it is Graphic Adventure, but even this falls far short of an adequate description. The game has elements of Card Games, specifically Poker, but it isn’t really about playing cards. There’s also a lot of minigames that are closer to an Arcade-style game, but… you know, maybe I should start this again from the top.

Card Shark takes place in 18th Century France, and puts players in the role of an unnamed mute tavern servant whose life changes forever when he waits at the table of a man who goes by Comte de Saint-Germain. The Comte urges the mute to assist him in cheating at cards, and when the other fellow gets upset about this, the resulting scuffle ends up with the tavern owner shot dead, and the player’s character soon to be blamed for the killing. Having no other choice, the player escapes with the Comte to join the man in a life of swindling unsuspecting rubes out of their money.

I should note that the writing in this game is impeccable, with all of this game’s characters written with exceptional wit and character. The highlight here is the Comte himself, portrayed as amiable, exceedingly patient and understanding, while clearly scheming toward his own benefit.

The rest of the presentation in this game is lovely, using a combination of hand-drawn and hand-painted 2D visuals to render its characters and backgrounds, with this 2D artwork occasionally manipulated with some 3D, such as to lend depth to the dealing of cards. These visuals are backed by Classical-style instrumental music befitting this game’s historical setting.

The gameplay has players interacting with various characters, though being mute your dialogue choices are limited to smiles, frowns, blank stares, and the like. Invariably, this will lead to the player engaging with others in card games of various sorts, mainly Poker. However, in Card Shark players do not engage in Poker as you might in a normal card game. The mechanics of drawing, betting, and bluffing are not really what this game is interested in. Rather, Card Shark is largely interested on the various methods for cheating.

As the game progresses, players will learn about an increasing number of ways to cheat at cards, with each of these handled in game using different mechanics, usually dictated by the direction of the left analog stick and the press of a button. On occasion there will be a call for timed button presses, but the main challenge of this game is not one of dexterity, but one of remembering the mechanics behind the dozens of card tricks you will accumulate as the game progresses. How do you mark a card rather than shuffling it, how do you signal to your partner in crime, how do you collect cards at the end of a hand in a way that ensures you’re squirreling away the best ones for your partner… that sort of thing.

In a clever twist, the way time plays the biggest role in this game is that the longer you take to do your cheating, the more your mark suspects foul play, as indicated by a bar on the bottom that gradually fills up. This works to keep the pacing fast and frenzied, and makes quickly going through all the necessary steps of forcing a card or faking a shuffle into an interesting challenge.

I suspect the fast-paced and nerve-wracking nature of the gameplay may not be for everyone, nor will the need to remember so many different gameplay elements, but Card Shark is nevertheless unique and original. The combination of Graphic Adventure, Card Game, and Arcade elements is inspired, and the presentation is superb, particularly the excellent writing. If what I’ve written here sounds interesting to you, you should definitely give the game a try.

tl;dr – Card Shark is a game that combines a Graphic Adventure game with elements of Card Games and Arcade-style games in a pretty unique way, having you less concerned with playing cards and more with various ways of cheating as you progress through 18th Century France with the charming rogue, Comte de Saint-Germain. This game won’t be for everyone, but it’s charming and unique enough to be worth a look.

Grade: B

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2022 Game Awards:

Winner:

Best Card Game – While I didn’t play too many card games in 2022, Card Shark nevertheless stands out within the genre because it’s mostly a poker game that’s… not really about playing poker. This game’s approach to its topic material, and the way players are progressively made to try and remember numerous methods for cheating, all make for a truly unique experience.

Best Misc. Game – While this game won Best Card Game just a moment ago, describing it as just “a Card Game” is really doing it a disservice. It’s a fast-paced Arcade-style game, it’s a character-driven Graphic Adventure and Visual Novel. It’s full of charm and wit and great writing and fun game mechanics, and the result overall is a truly unique experience.

Runner-Up: Best Graphic Adventure / Visual Novel, Best New Character (Comte de Saint-Germain), Most Original

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