Solitairica (2016)

At its core, this game is super fun. It's a roguelite card game, with the play style of being able to move in both directions sequentially (if there's a name for this, I don't know it, but for example if it starts with a 7, you could play a 6 or an 8). Cards are of four different resources—attack, defense, agility, and willpower—and you can use accumulated points from each resource to use skills that you get more access to through the shop as the game progresses. Enemies are roughly the same in each playthrough but in different orders and with different modifiers on them that can make or break a run.

The only reason it doesn't get immensely boring is the RNG aspect of it. Each run is different, plus you can play as one of several classes, which specialize in different skills and which generally provide automatic points into one resource as you draw cards. You can also buy items in the shop that give various buffs or bonuses, and with the more difficult classes there is some strategy (as well as luck with the RNG) involved in making sure you have what you need for each enemy.

It has some moderately challenging achievements, at least on Steam, but I finally cleared them all; the one for beating the final enemy with each deck was the worst of them all for me (I utilized this guide), though there's one for going from 1 health to full using a particular skill that relies almost entirely on RNG and is the real troublemaker for a lot of players.

So yeah, very very fun, a good time-sink if you're like me and tend to play something like this alongside Youtube or other videos. They did recently make some changes that, among other things, did away with the option for a vertically-oriented window, which was a real bummer as that's the one I used so I didn't have to pop out my videos to be able to see both things completely, but I adapted. And I originally played this on EGS but didn't really have a reason to pursue things like beating it with every deck, with no achievements involved, so I actually bought it on Steam so I could do that. The only reason I don't give it five stars is because the RNG can be frustrating at times.

Solitairica takes a spin on Soliataire introducing rogue-like and rpg mechanics.

You have skills to eliminate pesky cards and enemies that will change the cards and reduce your health to defeat you. The graphics are great, the style is very charming and is funny! It's very noticeable that the devs had a lot of fun making this one, which is always heart-warming to see.

My two problems with this game however, are one: The skills don't feel balance, or should I say, they feel too balanced, even when they're expensive and found much later on. Skills have to be picked paying attention taking in mind the probabilities. Therefore, some skills of the same tier are way less helpful than others, although they look comparable. For example, skills that create more possibilities for streaks are much more helpful than skills that just remove cards from the pile, because with the prior you can keep going and the second you don't change much.

My second issue is that the journey to the final boss is so loooonggggg. You can save between the runs, which is a must, but it would be really better if it was shorter. After the half point, it feels very tiresome. I wish the standard was like an expert mode and the default had more or less half of the bosses. Now that I beat the final boss, I don't wish to play it again.

In sum, Solitairica is a good game. It took a classic and modernized it. But the mechanics are not well-adjusted and a run to the finish takes too long, so I can't really recommend it for casual players, which is a huge bummer. If you do like Solitaire though, this is an awesome take that you should look.

Intro

In this game you play a game of Solitaire 'against' an enemy. Every time you can't make a match and have to draw a new card from your deck the enemy gets to hurt you in some way. They can deal damage, change your cards, or disable/drain your abilities (or refill them in case of weak enemies).

Every card belongs to one of four types. Every time you match a card of a type you get that colour mana/energy, which you can use on up to 6 abilities. Each of the ten classes has unique abilities and you can buy new ones between rounds. You can also buy artifacts that give you some bonus. When you lose you get 'unlock points' based on your performance. These are used to unlock classes and bonuses for them.

Review

Solitairica is a fun twist on a pretty crappy game (Freecell4life homies!). There's a different kind of threat and you get a bunch of tools to help you clear the board. Unfortunately, it quickly gets really repetitive.

Instead of letting you pick an opponent, you play successive matches against almost the exact same enemies every time. Instead of letting you pick a class, you have to grind to unlock them. It takes about 5 games to unlock a class (40 points), depending on your luck. And then you have to unlock the bonuses. These 220 points in total.

You have to unlock 9 classes, which takes about 45 games. It probably takes over 200 games to unlock everything. And you always play against the same enemies. With mostly the same tools too, because there's a very limited selection of spells and items at the start, and you have to be pretty lucky to get far enough to see new ones.

After 90 minutes i had unlocked one new class and one +1 item ability (20 points). Unlocking even just the classes takes hours and hours. And despite the fun twist it's still just Solitaire, which isn't a particularly good game in the first place.

Solitairica is more fun and has more strategy then you'd think for a solitaire game. The art and humor is entertaining, and it's actually really difficult to beat the game. It's "roguelike" in that you are trying to defeat a run of randomized villains, and each time you die, you get the points you earned so you can unlock buffs for your deck to try again.

This is a very well-done little game. Good for some light, casual fun, or for getting far too invested as you almost make it to the final boss and you only have enough points for one reviving hourglass and you're so close.