Beneath Oresa
- November 2, 2022
- Broken Spear Inc.
- 18h median play time
Get on Steam"Beneath Oresa" is a fast-paced roguelike deckbuilder set in the city of Oresa. Choose your hero and companion, each with unique abilities, and dive into tactical arenas to face various perils. With a variety of cards, upgrades, artifacts, and factions, each playthrough offers a unique experience as you turn your enemies' positioning to your advantage. Your chosen duo and playstyle will be key to navigating the challenging depths of Oresa.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features stunning graphics and animations, making combat visually engaging and enjoyable.
- The unique mechanics, such as the auto-discard bonuses and the companion system, add depth to the gameplay.
- The game offers a challenging experience that rewards strategic thinking and planning.
- The game suffers from crashes and stability issues, which can disrupt gameplay and lead to lost progress.
- There is a lack of variety in characters and cards, leading to repetitive gameplay and limited deck-building options.
- The absence of a tutorial or clear explanations for mechanics can make it difficult for new players to understand the game.
- gameplay164 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally praised for its engaging mechanics, beautiful visuals, and a variety of character abilities that enhance replayability. However, many players note issues with balance, clarity of mechanics, and occasional bugs that can disrupt the experience. While the game draws inspiration from established deckbuilders like "Slay the Spire," it offers unique elements such as a zone mechanic and companion systems, though some feel it lacks depth and variety in deck-building options.
“It's exactly my kind of deckbuilder: gorgeous cell-shaded graphics and animations, dynamic combat, challenging enough with a nice learning curve and a lot of different playable characters and mechanics.”
“The gameplay is fun and challenging, and the visual style is just *chef's kiss*.”
“The mechanics and cards are fun and interesting, and while inspired by games like Slay the Spire, it's not derivative enough to not feel really fresh.”
“It's really an issue of characters' core mechanics and their companion abilities that are just wildly unbalanced.”
“The game is much more involved than other games in the genre, with mechanics more densely packed together, but it feels like the gameplay is plodding and underwhelming, hampered by balance issues.”
“Ultimately, being forced to take a card every fight, the 'limited' card mechanic, getting all ranged enemies in combats, and not being able to target who you want to block with your faction mechanic, etc., the game ends up being extreme levels of RNG and not very fun.”
- graphics121 mentions
- 61 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their stunning art style and fluid animations, often compared to the aesthetics of Borderlands and Moebius. Players appreciate the vibrant visuals and dynamic combat animations, which enhance the overall gameplay experience and set it apart from other deckbuilders in the genre. Despite some minor performance issues, the game's visual presentation is consistently highlighted as a major strength, making it a visually immersive experience.
“It's exactly my kind of deckbuilder: gorgeous cell-shaded graphics and animations, dynamic combat, challenging enough with a nice learning curve and a lot of different playable characters/mechanics.”
“The art style and animation are fluid and wonderful to look at.”
“The graphics are high-quality, and I find the style retro and creative.”
“I would love to be able to recommend this game because it is fun and the graphical style is cool; however, sadly I can't unless they fix all the crashing.”
“Overall a very good but kind of lopsided experience; you can tell that talent and passion was put into the visuals, designs, and mechanics but not so much what's 'under the hood', so to speak.”
“In summary, Beneath Oresa may have flashy graphics, but its gameplay is plodding and underwhelming, hampered by balance issues and an apparent fear of the player getting to do the cool, broken things that are a fundamental draw of the genre.”
- story36 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely criticized for being minimal or non-existent, with many players expressing a desire for more narrative depth and character development. While some appreciate the implied lore and world-building, they feel that the lack of direct storytelling and character interactions detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the consensus is that the game would benefit significantly from a more engaging and structured narrative.
“The game doesn't tell me a ton of story, but there is a lot of world-building and implied story that I really enjoy.”
“I think the lore, story, and setting are really cool.”
“Just needs a proper story and character interactions/cut-scenes, and it's perfect.”
“The story is barely there, if at all.”
“There is absolutely no story, no dialogue or lore or plot or anything.”
“The story elements are present but not expanded upon in a way that invests the player, which is unfortunate.”
- music20 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its atmospheric quality and integration with the overall aesthetic, while others find certain tracks to be dreary or annoying. Overall, it contributes significantly to the immersive experience, complemented by excellent art and animations, though some users noted technical issues affecting sound playback. Despite some criticisms, the soundtrack is generally regarded as fitting and enjoyable, enhancing the gameplay experience.
“It is an absolute blast to play because of the music, the atmosphere, and most especially the wonderful mechanics I don't think I've seen in other deckbuilders.”
“Magnificent atmosphere, excellent animations and music, mysterious universe explorable by the card description and sound/visual construction gives a fantastic immersion experience.”
“Great artwork together with superb music and sound effects all combined with the top-notch 3D scenarios/animations, well-designed UI and in-game tutorial make for an enjoyable game.”
“The music is a little dreary at times, some of the animations are cheesy, it's probably not as well-balanced and polished as, say, Slay the Spire, and I'm not yet sure whether the setting is well-done or skin-deep. So far I haven't really found a character I really like, the runs are too linear, it's not quite as difficult as people say but still pretty hard, there are no keyboard controls for playing cards, some UI animations take too long...”
“Sluggish, boring music, generic card mechanics but good looking and with a lot of depth. I really need good pacing or I just get bored.”
“Music is, in my opinion, a mixed bag with some tracks being borderline annoying and some tracks being really nice.”
- replayability17 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 41 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is highlighted by its diverse character roster, unique card combinations, and companion systems, which offer varied gameplay experiences. However, some players feel that the lack of additional content, narrative depth, and multiplayer options limits long-term engagement, suggesting that while there is potential for replayability, it may not be as robust as other titles in the genre.
“The diversity in characters and different bosses you encounter make it very replayable.”
“The randomization in cards on offer is why these games are so infinitely replayable.”
“The companion system and wealth of characters makes gameplay run to run feel varied and gives a lot of replay value.”
“Each run feels similar and the lack of variety hinders replayability immensely.”
“Awesome game that lacks replayability.”
“The devs mention it has 'infinite' replayability due to the RNG nature and ability to pick different combinations of heroes, but for what it has now, unless you are very determined to get through the game with a particular combination, there's no good motivation to keep going and that feels bad in the modern era of roguelikes and roguelite games.”
- optimization11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has seen significant improvements since its early access phase, with many players reporting enhanced stability and performance following recent patches. However, some users still experience issues, particularly on low-spec setups, with occasional crashes and graphical hiccups. While it runs well on devices like the Steam Deck, performance can still fluctuate dramatically on less powerful PCs, leading to frustration for some players.
“They've added so many new characters to the game since I last played, and the performance and stability issues are gone.”
“Okay, so this is a recommendation for Steam Deck; it runs smoothly on Steam Deck and has much fewer crashes (none so far) compared to my PC (Intel chipset).”
“The performance is good after the v0.3.0 patch; it runs smoothly on Linux/Proton with my GTX 1050 Ti (below minimum requirement).”
“I came back to this game after playing it a bit in early access, then bouncing off it after release due to crashing and performance issues.”
“Very fun game, but not optimized for low-spec setups (no graphic card/internal GPU user, netbooks).”
“The coding is also not up to par with the rest of the game; with very little optimization and bad code, you can expect it to run a fair bit worse than you'd expect and to crash more than is honestly acceptable.”
- atmosphere10 mentions
- 90 % positive mentions
- 10 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its vibrant environments, beautifully designed cards, and immersive soundtracks, creating a rich and engaging experience. Players appreciate the combination of stylish animations and a mysterious universe that enhances gameplay, while some suggest that a deeper narrative could further enrich the atmosphere. Overall, the game's atmosphere is described as both captivating and enjoyable, contributing significantly to the overall experience.
“The beautifully designed cards and vibrant, immersive environments add a rich layer of atmosphere to the gameplay.”
“Magnificent atmosphere, excellent animations and music, mysterious universe explorable by the card description and sound/visual construction gives a fantastic immersion experience.”
“Simple & fun card game with really cool combat animations and atmosphere.”
- grinding8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 88 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and exhausting, often feeling that the slow meta progression and limited deck diversity detract from the overall experience. While some appreciate the potential for a great game, many express frustration with the repetitive nature of grinding for character unlocks and the need to familiarize themselves with numerous icons. Overall, the grinding is seen as a significant barrier to enjoyment, with hopes for future improvements.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Hopefully this gets patched and the game becomes fun, but as of now it's just tedious.”
“Even said, the meta progression is so slow and grindy that I'm exhausted playing this starter character and am going to hang up this game for the next hot Slay the Spire homage.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game currently suffers from significant stability issues, including crashes, freezes, and bugs related to specific mechanics, which can disrupt gameplay. While players acknowledge the potential for improvement and express enjoyment despite these problems, the overall experience is hampered by the game's early development stage and lack of content. Developers are reportedly focused on addressing these stability concerns, which could enhance the game's future performance.
“Crashes, freezes, hangs, etc. would forfeit runs.”
“I've not played a game this buggy in the past 15 years.”
“There have been some freezes, although no data has been lost (game restarts current fight on load, and I haven't had crashes reoccur).”
- character development5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is visually stunning, featuring top-tier animations and unique character designs that enhance the gameplay experience. While players appreciate the polished aesthetics and engaging mechanics, some express disappointment over the lack of a deeper narrative or backstory, which could have added more emotional investment to the characters. Overall, the character design and animations are highlights, but the absence of a compelling storyline leaves some players wanting more.
“Every class and its own gimmick felt unique and interesting to discover and learn; the whole 'duet' system is a nice feature, and every single aspect of the game felt polished and cared for.”
“I love the character design and animated battles for this game and just can't stop playing it.”
“The most gorgeous games of the genre, with the man man Hectos having one of my favorite character designs ever.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the game's smooth animations, which evoke a strong positive emotional response, enhancing their overall experience.
“When you do that in this game, the animation looks smooth and gives a very positive emotional response.”
