$19.99Dandy Ace A magician built from playing cards
Fight and loot your way through a shapeshifting palace, combining magical cards into your own arsenal of spells.
Is Dandy Ace worth it?
Dandy Ace is worth it if…
- you enjoy action roguelites where every run plays out differently
- you like building a kit from scratch each run and swapping it mid-fight
- you want fast, tense combat that punishes careless play
- you have a soft spot for hand-drawn, colorful worlds with a sense of humour
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Cards that become whatever you need
There is no sword here. Everything Dandy Ace does, from his attacks to his dash, is a playing card, and you hold four of them at a time. The trick goes further. Every card also has a second effect when you attach it to another card instead of playing it, so a spray of playing cards bolted onto a big explosive burst makes that burst fling homing cards at everything it hits. You can swap cards freely, even mid-fight, so a build is never locked in. With more than a thousand combinations, finding one that feels like it was made for you is the game's real magic trick.
A palace built to beat you
Lele, the Green-Eyed Illusionist, has locked Ace inside a cursed mirror, and his palace rearranges itself to keep you out. Each run takes you along branching paths through lavish, extravagant rooms full of bizarre creatures and outrageous bosses, and no two runs play out the same. After each room you can equip a trinket for a passive boost, and you gather shards and gold to unlock more cards and permanent upgrades, so even a failed run leaves you stronger than the last. Fair warning: the combat is challenging but fair, and it rewards playing like a caster. Stay at the edge of a fight, needle in with ranged spells and status effects, and keep enemies too debilitated to answer back. Ramming straight in gets you killed.
What should you know before starting?
Is it hard?
Yes, and the first hours are the hardest. Early runs are short: you start with a slim set of cards and no real healing, and the game expects you to die and come back. Permanent upgrades earned between runs steadily widen your options, and once a good chunk of the card pool is unlocked, the game opens up and nearly every build becomes viable. If you bounce off the first few runs, push through: that is the intended curve, not a wall.
Can you play it solo?
It is a singleplayer game through and through. The whole loop, fighting through the palace, collecting cards, dying and returning stronger, is built around one player, and the story of Ace versus Lele unfolds as you get closer to your captor.
Does it look and sound as good as it plays?
The whole game is hand-drawn, with vivid colors, lavish palace interiors and expressive character designs, and it is fully voiced. The characters have real personalities in their delivery, which suits a story about a vain magician and the smug illusionist who trapped him. The look is bright and theatrical rather than gritty, and it stays charming even when the fights get brutal.
How long does a run take?
Runs are built for short sessions: you fight through branching rooms, and a death sends you back to the start with your upgrades intact. That makes it easy to fit in one more attempt, and the randomized palace and card combinations give each attempt a different shape. Expect to return many times before you reach Lele, and longer if you chase the harder difficulties.
