Crawly Games has announced that their deckbuilder horror game, Draft of Darkness, is leaving Steam Early Access and going full version on August 23, 2023.
If you’ve never heard of Draft of Darkness, just look at it. It’s like if Pit-Fighter had a personality beyond just “oiled beef.” It has grainy, digitized actors fighting with grainy, unspeakable horrors in rusty lo-fi locales. It has just the right mixture of goofy and sleaze that makes it seem like a lost PS1 game from the creators of Chiller. Ugh, I suddenly have the urge to play Loaded.
Draft of Darkness was actually billed to me as Slay the Spire meets Resident Evil. It’s an ammo-focused turn-based deckbuilder where you recruit survivors and battle monsters and government robots. It uses a roguelite system. Maps are procedurally generated, and you keep advancing until you’re overwhelmed by the darkness. You gain credits that can buy booster packs after each run, allowing you to build up your arsenal over time.
It also has a “meta-story progression system.” They say, “Every decision can alter the story’s outcome and allow for new ways to progress. Different choices are available in each run, but be careful; some will have serious consequences.”
I’ve recently had some success when it comes to clicking with deckbuilders recently, and this looks right up my alley. I mean, 90% of that statement comes from just looking at the visuals. It’s like pixelated poetry to me.
Draft of Darkness is available right now for PC on Steam Early Access. The full version 1.0 will hit on August 23, 2023.