Neurodeck

Neurodeck is a solid and fun deck-building roguelike game, but it doesn't do enough to stand out in an increasingly saturated genre.

While the fact that we’ve been inundated with roguelike deckbuilders over roughly the last two years can make new entries easy to be frustrated with, when they come to the table with a novel approach it can still be exciting...

The good definitely outweighs the bad. There’s something strangely wonderful about facing down phobias with cards like Comfort Food and Grumpy Frown. And with the promise of more improvements to come, Neurodeck can only get better from here.

Neurodeck is an interesting game in everything related to the subject; fighting our phobias is something that has not been explored in many games. However, the playable section can be improved, and in many cases it is not really fun.

In the end, Neurodeck is not a bad game. Those who would occasionnaly start a new session might enjoy their time, as it relies on a refreshing concept and fine visuals. In the long run though, the gameplay mechanics really lack of depth and the difficult topics of the game, such as toxic masculinity or post-partum depression, reveal to be approched in a too vague way.

The game does not have the breath or innovation of the best of its class. But the focus on phobia, mental health, and stress make it an interesting experiment. Neurodeck shows how you can create a video game that offers information about the real world without looking preachy while also offering good core mechanics.

Neurodeck offers up an interesting premise and beautiful visuals. Story-wise and gameplay-wise, however, the whole experience feels like an Early Access release; many areas of gameplay are repetitive, and it’s easy to encounter the same enemies multiple times in a single run. I’m convinced this could be a stunning game if given a bit more love by the developers, but it doesn’t match up to the giants currently dominating the card-game genre. If you’re looking for a deck-building challenge, it’s best to keep looking a little longer.

Neurodeck plays on its ideas well but doesn't leave enough in the shadows to really intrigue like it should. It pushes those fears in the open and doesn't give enough depth to terrify

The phobias themselves have a fantastic aesthetic design and animation too. The rigid and puzzlelike nature gives the game a unique playstyle that’s a lot of fun to solve. The lack of polish is very apparent, however. Between the bugs, strange design choices, and lack of cohesion the game feels like it needed more time in the oven, and maybe some focused direction.

Each successful playthrough unlocks a higher “resilience” level that hobbles you in some way, and by the time you reach the maximum resilience level of 5, it’s possible for some starting characters to lose the very first battle due to RNG. There’s also a lot of repetition; phobias always use the same attacks in the same order and are tiered to create a difficulty ramp, so you’ll fight a lot of the same fights over and over again while trying to build a deck that complements your character.