App Army Assemble: Tacape – “How does the latest roguelite card battler compare to its contemporaries?”

Tacape is a roguelite card battler that follows the story of two children, Lorena and Lucas. Lorena sets off to look for her brother while he tries to fight his way back to her. You play from both characters’ perspectives and will need to battle against various mystical beasties along the way. Our App Army members are well-versed in the roguelite realm, so we handed the game over to them to get their thoughts.

Here’s what they said:

Jason Rosner

Tacape is a roguelite card game. The App Store nowadays has a pretty big selection in just about every category, so I always like to see what makes a new entry unique. Tacape benefits from being a really good-looking game. The graphics have a nice hand-drawn storybook look to them, while the music and sounds complement the feel of this Brazilian folk story. There’s also a vast amount of cards that can be bought and upgraded. The main campaign is split into two different characters, a sister and her brother.

Lorena battles to find her little brother when he goes missing, while Lucas is trying to find a way back to his big sister. I liked this setup a lot as I felt it gave me some choice, and this familial story gave me a reason to keep playing to find out what happens in the end. This all comes together to make Tacape a rather fresh take on the genre. Gameplay like most card builders can get rather challenging, so an option for those seeking a more relaxed difficulty setting would be something I’d like to see implemented in future updates. I enjoyed my time with Tacape and it’s free to start so you can get a taste and see if it’s right for you.

Mark Abukoff

This is a good-looking rogue lite card battler with an interesting Brazilian folk story told from two sides. It has very appealing art and music and sounds. This reminded me a great deal of Slay the Spire, but I would have liked to have seen a map of some kind to feel like I’m making some progress on my journey. Missing that is not a deal breaker but it would make the game more appealing.

I did however enjoy the fact that the enemy cards are in rows and columns and some cards will only target particular rows or columns. Plus the fact that the enemies will sometimes shift position, and you sometimes have the ability to pull or anchor an enemy so that they can’t move. That adds nicely to the tactical experience. This isn’t a game-changing app, but in a crowded field, it’s a good one with lots of heart. I definitely recommend trying the demo and considering buying the full version.