MARVEL SNAP

Developer: Second Dinner
Publisher: Nuverse
Release: 2022
Platform: Android (played), iOS, PC
Genre: TCG

You know the most successful aspect of a game is PR when professional reviews are unanimous in pointing out “it’s too generous a F2P” even if it blatantly throws the player through a tunnel of tempting seasonal rewards that can only be snagged through some ol’ real money dropping–as casual players pass them by just to watch their locks refuse to rattle–every 3 weeks or so. But market stuff aside, yes: MARVEL SNAP breathes some (welcome) fresh air into the genre without simply resting on the strength of the tied-in IP.

The trimmed down main setup–12-card decks, only six turns before a full match is over–works surprisingly well not only for its by-design casual appeal; the twist of randomizing available playfields/locations (and the way such are progressively revealed as a match unfolds) adds up a good deal of variety (as an extra pinch of luck) to the mix while allowing the devs to keep a healthy, expansive framework without necessarily having to spend tons of resources on creating/balancing new cards again and again.

As for climbing the prizes ladder and getting extra cards, the way to go is… expanding the very collection itself. This “Collection Level” system is meant to “auto-cap” the amount of new cards a player can add to their ranks, once again elegantly avoiding constant “manual tweaking” by the devs when it comes to regulating the game’s economics. It’s such a Swiss Army knife of a feedback method that it can’t help itself being both good-natured and noxious to the player at the same time: e.g., as it randomly digs prizes from an invisible “tier pool” it relegates casual players to their “rookie” level for a long time before handling them a “chance to have a chance” of getting real game-changer cards; when synergy starts coming into play this gets even worse, since the odds of pulling more cards that are both a) good and b) work well together are slim. On the other hand, allowing a player to increase their Collection Level by spending resources on cosmetic upgrades to cards they already own lends them a decent deal of agency on how to do it in satisfying personal fashion.

The infamously tempting ladder.

Talking about cosmetics, there’s no cohesion to be seen among the collectible cards’ art pieces: they’re all over the place both aesthetically and quality-wise. A sad (but perhaps unavoidable) departure from how solid a “historic” curation approach–like the one previously available in Marvel Puzzle Quest, for instance–would have been with such a decades old IP-focused project; regardless, results tend to be good enough to keep it afloat, given the fact that the current audience’s nostalgia only trace back to, roughly, MCU’s beginnings or so. Credit where credit's due though, the game does pretty well in other presentation areas–especially VFX and sound design/music.

Issues aside, MARVEL SNAP is very well positioned to grow bigger by the day and become a F2P juggernaut–and an ever healthier one while at it. That’s only possible because the development team made the clever decision to plant its structural foundations far beyond some shallowly obvious Baby Groot fan service would.

The Nightmare Cooperative

Developer: Lucky Frame
Publisher: Blazing Griffin
Release: 2014
Platform: PC
Genre: Roguelike

The Nightmare Cooperative is one of the rare cases of a modern game that could be labelled “retro-hard” for the right reason: it’s tough for longevity’s sake, just like old times. Rather than being a compliment that just speaks volumes about the (apparently) deliberate imbalance of the odds against the player, especially in a genre in which making the most of every run tends to be vital: enemies usually take more than one hit to die, don’t drop loot or lend XP and ultimately defeat the purpose of reaching for treasure chests altogether--opening one with 2 coins will bring an equivalent number of enemies to the playfield, and such meagre rewards are rarely worth the trouble. Even growing the party by enlisting soldiers along the way makes it harder, since manoeuvring a bunch of heroes sharing the same inputs within such a crowded 9x9 grid is a recipe for frustration.

Art direction overall ups the game a couple notches.

So, fittingly enough, the fact that it’s on the short side plays in favour of the game since it never reaches the point of overstaying its welcome. The clean, polished art style makes it for awakening the completionist in the player and raises the “one more play” factor--even if it’s just for unlocking yet another new character (with a particular playstyle and neat flavour description of their own) before calling it a day. The controls and scene flows are just as slick as the art and doesn’t hurt the experience a bit either.

The Nightmare Cooperative may not be the best “value” proposition for such a potential buyer--even if the Steam Trading Cards can mitigate that a good bit--but it’s a solid product, the result of an interesting enough premise that’s well-executed enough to be worth being checked out.

Dig Dog

Developer: Rusty Moyher, Matt Grimm
Publisher: Wild Rooster
Release: 2016
Platform: PC, Switch
Genre: Roguelike

True to the modern “I-understood-that-reference-pun-premise” trope, Dig Dog is still fun and competent while at it.

Just like with most rogue-lites out there it has its share of balancing issues, making descents raggier than desired: the 2-hit-death base stats coupled with meager invincibility frames rendering good runs prone to be smashed into pieces under some fickle RNG-god’s (dog’s?) paws, for instance; or getting a favorable “supply x demand” seed (meaning a) finding shops with b) good items while c) having enough money to afford ‘em) being rarer than digging random gold down the way; or procedural level design being cruelly nasty at times; and so on.

None of those are game breaking though; but one structural design decision hurts the experience on a… deeper level. Unfortunately mapping all main actions (jumping, digging, dashing) to the same button makes the controls feel clumsy instead of elegant as intended, and may pile a couple extra frustrating deaths to the ever-growing counter.

Digging all night along.

Despite all that, a player will most likely jump back right away without batting an eye--a testament to the game’s compelling and accessible “one more try” factor.