Ancient Enemy

About

In "Ancient Enemy," embark on a journey through a dark, folkloric story with strategic, turn-based combat against a host of enemies. Gather powers from the landscape to enhance your magic and vanquish evil in this solitaire-style card game. With three difficulty settings, players can choose their level of challenge as they rebuild their powers and face their monstrous nemesis.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

90%

Audience ScoreBased on 654 reviews

story94 positive mentions

replayability6 negative mentions

The game features a unique blend of solitaire mechanics with RPG elements, providing engaging and strategic gameplay.
The art style is beautiful, with hand-drawn graphics and a captivating soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
The combat system allows for thoughtful planning and strategy, as players must consider enemy weaknesses and manage their resources effectively.

The story is weak and lacks depth, often feeling repetitive and uninspired throughout the gameplay.
The game can become boring and repetitive, with limited enemy variety and mechanics that may not evolve significantly over time.
Some players feel that the game is too easy, even on higher difficulty settings, leading to a lack of challenge and engagement.

story
320 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
63%
8%
The story in this game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it basic and lacking depth compared to previous titles like Shadowhand. While some appreciate the dark fantasy setting and the protagonist's introspective monologues, others criticize the linear narrative, repetitive character graphics, and minimal character development, leading to a feeling that the story is skippable or unengaging. Overall, the gameplay mechanics are praised, but the story is often seen as a weak point that detracts from the overall experience.
- “Once again they've taken a seemingly very simple core of traditional solitaire and made it quite involving and strategic feeling with added mechanics and variations and a story/narrative that ties things together and provides motivation while being restrained enough to allow focus to remain on playing the game rather than watching cutscenes and clicking through dialogue.”
- “The storyline of the brooding mage in his post-apocalyptic world seeking out his enemy is well told in quick snippets as you move from level to level.”
- “Easily the best game yet by Grey Alien Games, thoroughly enjoyable solitaire game that's snappy, thoughtful and varied gameplay mechanics with a compelling story and strategic combat, what more could you want, highly recommend.”
- “There is no plot at all.”
- “The story is all but nonexistent, and the art is pretty mediocre.”
- “The story segments have a lot less character to them than Shadowhand did.”
gameplay
256 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
51%
5%
The gameplay of "Ancient Enemy" is a blend of traditional solitaire mechanics enhanced with RPG elements, offering a mix of strategic depth and casual playability. While some players find the core mechanics engaging and addictive, others criticize the gameplay for being repetitive and luck-based, with limited variety in strategy and depth compared to previous titles like "Shadowhand." Overall, it appeals to fans of solitaire and casual card games, but may not satisfy those seeking a more complex or varied experience.
- “A well-crafted card battler with interesting mechanics centered around the rules of solitaire.”
- “The enjoyable gameplay combined with the crisp and colorful presentation makes this a really enjoyable experience.”
- “Easily the best game yet by Grey Alien Games, thoroughly enjoyable solitaire game that's snappy, thoughtful, and varied gameplay mechanics with a compelling story and strategic combat.”
- “The core gameplay is just as dull as the original pyramid card game.”
- “The gameplay feels repetitive and boring, and the storytelling felt bland.”
- “It is basically a solitaire with a simple battle mechanic on top, which really doesn't make much of a difference.”
graphics
92 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
46%
4%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the beautiful art style, engaging visuals, and good sound design that enhance the gameplay experience. However, some players note a lack of variety in character graphics and artwork, leading to repetitive visuals throughout the game. Overall, while the graphics are generally well-received, there are criticisms regarding the limited diversity in character designs and artwork.
- “Nice little time-killer, good-looking graphics make straightforward and addictive gameplay so much better.”
- “Beautiful art style with a compelling storyline that is reminiscent of fighting fantasy books of yesteryear.”
- “The visuals are excellent and the plot setting is unique and interesting, love the basis in British folklore.”
- “You're pretty much seeing the same character graphic in each scene, and there are no other characters to talk to during the story.”
- “You'll be looking at a lot of the same artwork for the entire game.”
- “The mage's artwork also doesn't change significantly throughout the game, and it's the artwork you'll be seeing on screen the most.”
music
76 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
38%
4%
The music in the game has received a mixed but generally positive reception, with many praising its atmospheric qualities and ability to enhance the overall experience. Some users noted that the soundtrack is particularly impressive compared to previous entries, while others found certain elements, like the battle music, to be repetitive or reminiscent of older games. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's immersive journey, with a blend of classical and ambient sounds that complement the visuals and narrative.
- “The music was great and really captured the atmosphere of the long mysterious journey, the ancient ruins, and the mystical sites of power that our protagonist visits along the way.”
- “The art is gorgeous, the music is atmospheric, and the balance of resources keeps you engaged at every moment.”
- “This is a lovely game, masterfully crafted with gorgeous hand-drawn art and great music.”
- “The music was okay; a whole lot of male choir doing possibly-Latin 'ominous Gregorian chants' over various dramatic instrumentation.”
- “To my ear, I would swear parts of it sounded incredibly similar to the music from the old original 'Puzzle Quest' soundtrack, or perhaps it was 'inspired by.' I'm no expert and I haven't sat down to compare note-for-note, but for me the resemblance was very noticeable.”
- “The music is a bit bland, but apart from that - absolutely recommended.”
atmosphere
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
30%
10%
The atmosphere of the game is described as a blend of gritty and mystical elements, enhanced by excellent music and hand-painted visuals that create an engaging fantasy setting. While some players appreciate the atmospheric depth and challenge, others find it can become stale over time due to a lack of character interaction and dynamic storytelling. Overall, the game offers a compelling atmosphere that appeals to those who enjoy strategic gameplay within a richly crafted world.
- “The music was great and really captured the atmosphere of the long mysterious journey, the ancient ruins, and the mystical sites of power that our protagonist visits along the way.”
- “Ancient Enemy combines calm solitaire/TCG mechanics with slick hand-painted visuals and a nice fantasy atmosphere to offer many hours of fun.”
- “The art is gorgeous, the music is atmospheric, and the balance of resources keeps you engaged at every moment.”
- “The battles felt challenging and fun, but it does add a touch of stress to the atmosphere—definitely not as cozy as regency solitaire.”
- “I didn't really jive with the gritty atmosphere and missed the pretty artwork from the other two, but this is just an aesthetic preference.”
- “Atmosphere goes stale after a while, because there's only so much time one can be impressed by wandering through lifeless land.”
replayability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
29%
43%
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players find it enjoyable with modes like nightmare mode adding challenge, many others feel it lacks significant replay value. Fans of solitaire may appreciate the replayability due to its strategic elements, but others criticize it as having little incentive to revisit after completion.
- “For those that want a bit more challenge, nightmare mode gives it some replay value.”
- “Use your solitaire and strategy skills to battle your way through to the end, with excellent replay value.”
- “Really fun, glad I saw someone playing it on YouTube, has a lot of replay value if you like solitaire; the RPG system is fun and interesting.”
- “Fair warning though, it has almost no replayability.”
- “An overpriced mahjongg/solitaire 'game' with no replayability.”
- “I haven't replayed the game (as I've only just finished it), but it feels like it lacks a replayability factor.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
Players express frustration with repetitive grinding, as they encounter the same enemies multiple times, leading to a tedious experience. However, some reviews highlight that the game features a well-paced campaign with a good ramping up of complexity and no significant grinding issues. Overall, while the art style and battle music may become monotonous, the game is still considered enjoyable, especially when on sale.
- “The same few enemies and monsters are fought again and again and again very tediously.”
- “The same few enemies and monsters are fought again and again and again very tediously.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
Reviews indicate that character development is lacking, leading to a disconnection from the overarching story. While the game features appealing background art and character design, these elements do not compensate for the insufficient depth in character development.
- “I struggled to care about the overarching story; there is not enough character development.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
The monetization strategy of the game heavily relies on unremovable ads, which has drawn significant criticism from users. Many players find this approach intrusive and detrimental to the overall gaming experience.
- “Unremovable ads.”
- “Unremovable ads.”
- “Unremovable ads.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find it challenging to engage emotionally with the game's RPG-lite development, indicating a lack of depth or connection in the emotional narrative.
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users praise the game's optimization, highlighting its impressive implementation and superior performance compared to similar titles, particularly noting it as better than STS.
- “The implementation execution is awesome, and the performance is great - both better than STS, in my opinion.”