I’ve played a lot of digital card battlers in my time. From Hearthstone to Magic the Gathering to lesser-known titles like Hex: Shards of Fate, I’m always willing to give them a try. I think that’s partly because I feel that they need the support, as any game that relies entirely on PvP is always at increased risk of being shut down completely. If there are no players on the servers, those servers likely won’t stay online for very long. It’s a vicious cycle too, as the player base shrinks, the meta begins to stagnate, and new potential players are turned off. This magnifies further if it’s a game they have to pay for before they can get their feet wet. No one wants to sink time and effort into a game that might not be around in a couple of months.
So, yes, I’ve had to say my share of tearful goodbyes. Sometimes the player base would just be too small for the game to be interesting, and sometimes the servers would be shut down entirely regardless. Usually, I would move on fairly swiftly, but one game in particular always stood out to me as the one that got away, which is why the announcement of a fan-made sequel, built on the original source code, has me so excited.
Just in case you haven’t heard yet, I’m talking about Duelyst, a CCG/strategy hybrid that was shut down on the 27th of February 2020, a day I remember all too well. It’s never nice to see a game go under, but the loss of Duelyst felt like a real tragedy. It was innovative, polished, and generally a lot of fun to play. It really was one of those wonderful “what if?” moments where an established formula is given a new spin, and the resulting game is far better than it has any right to be.
Second chances are a rare thing, especially in gaming. That’s why I have a lot of respect for the original developers, Counterplay Games, for handing over the license to Dream Sloth Games. It’s a classy move that shows a genuine passion for gaming and getting games into players’ hands. I can only hope that Duelyst II manages to recapture the magic of the original. From what I’ve played so far, things seem promising, but it’s a little early to say just yet how they’ll pan out. There is always a lot of balancing to do for a game like this.
But what made the original game so special? Good question. Counterintuitively, Duelyst never actually brought much innovation to the table, but what little it did bring turned the genre on its head. If you’ve played games like Hearthstone, a lot of the concepts will be immediately familiar. Each player has a hero or “General” that the other player must destroy utilizing a variety of minions and spells, each with their own unique stats and abilities. The big difference is that unlike in traditional CCGs, which take place on a static playing field, Duelyst plays out on a 5×9 board. Your general and your minions can move freely about, which adds a whole new layer of strategic depth.
This puts a new spin on familiar mechanics that require a whole new way of thinking. A minion with “rush” or “charge” in Hearthstone is free to attack anything it sees fit (for the most part) as soon as it hits the board, positioning simply isn’t an issue. In Duelyst on the other hand, when playing a rush minion, you have an important decision to make. Where do you put it down so that it has the most impact? There might be a likely target on the far side of the board, but chasing it down immediately might leave your general exposed to a counter-attack, or perhaps the enemy’s most valuable minion has a number of other pieces backing it up, while going after a less valuable, but exposed piece won’t result in a good trade.
Simply having the strongest minions in play is also less of an advantage if you don’t know how to use them. If you get your vanguard bogged down engaging your opponent head-on, who’s to say his flying minions won’t hop over your front line and take out your general with a precision strike? The addition of the board is such a genius move I’m surprised no one else has given it a go. It really does blow things wide open as far as strategy is concerned.
Duelyst also manages to offer enough variety for players to experiment with and discover a strategy that works for them. There are 6 unique factions, each with a distinct playstyle. The Abyssians focus on summoning hordes of weaker creatures, and lean heavily on deathwatch (on death) effects, while Songhai generals have the ability to teleport their minions across the battlefield, opening up opportunities for the perfect backstab.
There is one other small but hugely important innovation Duelyst has up its sleeve – the ability to swap one of the cards in your hand for a random one in your deck. Knowing your deck inside out, and what you need to draw to win at any given point in a match is a key CCG player skill, and this allows you to swing the odds in your favor perfectly. Knowing which cards to sacrifice, and when, can mean the difference between victory and defeat.
The return of Duelyst is a great positive step for not only the genre, but preservation in an industry with so many classic games left unplayable. Hundreds of games have disappeared, never to be heard from again, and in the case of a game as good as this, that would be a tragedy. It looks like the game is in capable hands though, so I’m quietly optimistic about its chances. It’s rare to get a second chance, but I think Duelyst has what it takes to make the most of it.
