$15.99Decktamer Tame the monsters, build the deck
A turn-based roguelike where your deck is made of monsters, and you have to tame them first. Dive into a colorful, unsettling abyss, steal abilities from one creature and graft them onto another, and try not to lose a card you can never replace. Deckbuilding meets monster catching, with teeth.
Is Decktamer worth it?
Decktamer is worth it if…
- you like your creature collecting with a side of dread, cute monsters included
- you enjoy turn-based fights where every card gets one move and the order matters
- you want deckbuilding where you capture and mutate your cards instead of drafting them
- you do not mind a steep learning curve and a game that punishes careless play
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Tame the thing that was trying to kill you
Most deckbuilders hand you cards. Decktamer makes you earn them: the monsters you fight in the abyss are the ones you recruit, if you can weaken one without killing it and bring it to your side. Every enemy is a potential teammate, which changes how you look at a fight. That snarling thing across the board is not just an obstacle, it is the card your deck is missing. The catch is permanence. When one of your creatures dies, its card is gone for good, so every battle asks the same quiet question: kill them, or tame them?
Build one monster out of many
The abyss is full of mutant creatures with abilities they should not have, and you can take those abilities and transfer them from one creature to another. A skill that boosts damage for every speed buff, a move that raises speed each time it is used: put them on the same body and the snowball starts rolling. These combinations are rare, so part of every run is keeping an eye out for pieces that fit together. The same monster can show up later with different moves, so even a familiar face is worth a second look.
A deckbuilder where the deck fights back
If you like roguelike deckbuilders, this one bends the formula in a useful way. You still grow your deck run by run, but instead of drafting cards you capture them, and instead of picking upgrades you graft abilities between creatures to build something the game never hands you. Every card gets one move per turn, so each round is a small plan: who acts, in what order, and what you are willing to risk. Runs are short, every one plays out differently, and losing a beloved creature stings in a way a discarded card never does.
What should you know before playing?
Can you play it solo?
Yes, it is a singleplayer game through and through, with a controller option if you prefer the couch. A run is a compact affair, so it fits short sessions, and the randomized runs and unlocks keep pulling you back for one more attempt at the depths.
What is the abyss like?
A giant crater that rumor says holds great fortune at the bottom, filled with creatures that have adapted to it in strange ways. The look is hand-drawn, colorful and almost cute, while the tone leans dark and Lovecraftian: the deeper you go, the more bizarre and dangerous the creatures become. There is also a bestiary with lore and behavior notes for the monsters you tame, well worth reading between runs.
What happens if one of your monsters dies?
The card is gone forever, which is the decision the whole game hangs on. You can play carefully and keep your favorites alive, or spend creatures as tools, extracting their abilities and letting them screen for the team. Lower difficulties include an undo feature that softens mistakes while you learn.
