Across the Obelisk is an RPG deckbuilding roguelike, released initially in April 2021, and has received many updates since its initial release.
Deckbuilding games have become a new welcomed staple within the gaming industry, often they contain deep tactical combat scenarios, where strategy is essential. Games like ‘Hearthstone’ and ‘Slay the Spire’ have shown a rising demand for more card-based combat games as time has gone on. They provide all the fun of ‘Pokémon’ and ‘Yu-Gi-Oh!’ collecting and card combat, whilst saving a hole burning through your bank account.
I’ll be honest when I say I was very sceptical of trying Across the Obelisk, card games have never held my attention further than a few rounds, but it came as a recommendation from one of my close friends to play on our weekly group game night, and I am glad he did.
The best way I could describe this game to any newcomer to this genre would be to mix the classic ‘Faster-Than-Light (FTL)’ dungeon crawler and Hearthstone. If you even remotely like any of these titles mentioned, then this game is worth a go.
The combat system is straightforward and uncomplicated, allowing players of all skill levels the chance to pick it up and enjoy it with ease. Enemies have weaknesses and immunities, which can be easily seen by hovering your mouse over them, and card abilities are explained brilliantly simply.
The game gradually ramps up its difficulty, allowing you to get a rough grasp of how to play, before hitting you with your first boss.
This is a roguelike at heart, so you will die a lot, however like many other games in this genre, death grants you time to upgrade ‘Base’ abilities and level up hero stats to make each run-through a bit easier.
Upgrades in this game consist of upgrading the starting town, facilities in this town let you Discard/Upgrade/Buy new cards, while also letting you buy new equipment for each of your heroes.
Levelling your heroes will provide you with slight buffs, and become quite noticeable once you reach some higher levels. Additional characters can also be unlocked and levelled, through fun but very challenging map events which require you to complete character quests, each character additionally has a slightly different play style such as favouring burn ability cards over bleed cards.
The best part of this game, which I have saved until last, is the fact that it has a 4-player co-op, which dramatically increases the gameplay and replay value of this game. This game is insanely fun to play as a group, with four players you take control of one character each and focus on your builds, this demands great teamwork and group problem-solving. Your team can recommend cards for you to play, and there is an inbuilt chat box if you want to play with others.
I can understand that this game isn’t for everyone, but if you like roguelikes RPGs, card games, or are just looking for that new game to play with some friends, then why not give Across the Obelisk a try, I guarantee you won’t regret it.