$19.99As We Descend Cards, squads and a dying city
A dark, tactical roguelike deckbuilder set in humanity's last city. Lead squads of recruited units on expeditions against titanic foes, play the feudal politics of the Vault-City, and carve a path through three biomes to the core. Every run reshapes your decks, your allies and your odds.
Is As We Descend worth it?
As We Descend is worth it if…
- you want a deckbuilder where the city between fights matters as much as the cards in them
- you enjoy slow, tactical turn-based combat where positioning decides who survives
- you like adapting your strategy to the units a run hands you instead of forcing one build
- you have patience for a difficult game that punishes sloppy play and rewards careful planning
- you want a grim, tense world where humanity's survival rests on your decisions
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Two decks, one fight for survival
Most deckbuilders give you one deck. As We Descend gives you two lives to keep alive: your squads out in the wasteland, and the city itself. Each squad is its own archetype with a deck you add to, trim and upgrade between fights, so the deck you bring to an expedition is as much a decision as the cards you play in it. Deploy the right mix of units for each encounter, because a composition that shredded the last fight can fall apart against the next. Out in the field you scavenge what you need to defend and upgrade, and every descent through the three biomes plays out differently. Fail, and you come back with new knowledge and tools to push deeper.
Titans, tactics and the two-zone front line
The big enemies will not fall to a pile of attack cards. Combat is turn-based and reads like a small war: you watch enemy intents, then reposition your forces between the Guard Zone at the front and the Support Zone behind, dodging incoming attacks and setting up a defensive line before the blow lands. Front-line units hold and strike on their own; back-line units do the damage. Where each unit stands decides who eats the hit, and against foes the size of buildings, a bad formation is a short formation. The combat is the standout part of the game, and it rewards thinking a move or two ahead rather than playing the biggest number.
Politics in the last city on earth
Between expeditions you come home to the Vault-City, the final bastion of humanity and your base of operations. Its feudal politics are a game of their own: get to know the denizens, win allies, and roll the dice to compel the powerful to your cause, with outcomes riding on attributes like strength, wit and charm. Your time and resources are limited, so every visit is a choice: spend on the walls, on new recruits, or on a favor that pays off three fights from now. Hailing from one of the city's three great factions, you hold the key to its fate, and its deepest secrets sit under the stone waiting to be dug out.
What should you know before starting?
How long does a run take?
A successful run takes roughly three hours, which is longer than most games in the genre. The run itself is built from short sessions of expeditions and city turns, so you can put it down between descents and pick the next one up fresh. Unlocks and new secrets carry over, so even a failed run moves you forward.
How hard is it?
Difficult, and honestly so: the game is tagged Difficult and it earns the tag. Enemies hit hard, resources are tight, and a run can slip away from you if you overextend. The flip side is that every descent teaches you something, and the game hands you new tools and knowledge to delve deeper next time.
Do your choices actually matter?
Yes, on two levels. In combat, where you place each unit between the Guard and Support Zones changes who takes the hits and how a fight unfolds. Outside of it, whom you befriend in the city, which faction you hail from and how you spend your limited time and resources all shape what you can do on your next expedition.
Can you play it solo?
It is a singleplayer game through and through. You are the one holding the line for the last city of humanity, and the whole structure, from squad recruitment to city politics to the descent through the biomes, is built around one player making every call.
