- February 10, 2022
- Smokingbear Studio
- 5h median play time
Castle Morihisa
While I can see what Castle Morihisa was going for, and appreciate many elements of the game, the overbearing difficulty kept me from enjoying it more. It may have mimicked the style of Slay the Spire, but it’s a long way from reaching the lofty heights of that game. But if you don’t mind an ego-bruising challenge and enjoy rogue deckbuilders, I’d still check the game out. Unfortunately, for everyone else, it’s probably going to prove too frustrating.
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Castle Morihisa is a single player role playing game with a historical theme. It was developed by Smokingbear Studio and was released on February 10, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.
Castle Morihisa is a roguelike strategic deck-builder. You need to build up your deck through constant battles, acquire powerful talents, and wield the power of the Fallen Heroes to unveil the truth behind the rebellion in Castle Morihisa. When facing difficulties, you could also ask for assistance from the Sengoku fallen heroes with different skills, which could give you an edge during the battle…
- Unique Japanese feudal fantasy theme with gorgeous art, music, and atmospheric design that sets it apart from other deckbuilders.
- Robust deckbuilding mechanics with multiple distinct classes, talent trees, and strategic depth rewarding thoughtful play and combo building.
- Accessible and enjoyable for fans of rogue-like deckbuilders and Slay the Spire, with good replay value and varied character playstyles.
- Balance issues causing some enemies and bosses to feel unfairly difficult, leading to frustrating and sometimes unwinnable runs.
- Limited long-term progression and meta-game incentives such as unlocks, varied game modes, or expanded story content result in reduced replayability.
- Gameplay can feel slow, repetitive, and occasionally bogged down by RNG, with some unclear or incomplete translations and UI shortcomings.
- gameplay45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
Castle Morihisa offers a familiar yet deep roguelike deckbuilding experience with distinct classes and unique mechanics like retaliate and finale, providing tactical depth and high skill requirements. While its gameplay is engaging and enriched by folklore-inspired elements, some find it repetitive, unpolished, and heavily influenced by Slay the Spire, lacking major innovations or variety in progression. Overall, it appeals to fans of challenging card-based gameplay who appreciate a strong thematic atmosphere despite balance and novelty shortcomings.
“A game with depth of gameplay, deckbuilding, RNG elements which are not unfairly balanced but still random enough to make you adapt on the fly, and a high skill curve.”
“The core loop follows familiar roguelike deckbuilding conventions, but what gives Castle Morihisa nuance is the presence of four unique classes—Monk, Onmyoji, Samurai, and Ninja—each offering its own mechanical twist.”
“Some subjectively noteworthy mechanic differences: different mechanics introduced such as the retaliate mechanic (one-time pre-attack thorns), sakura (building stacks grants a high-potency ethereal card), genjutsu (using 3 of the same card type gradually builds a very powerful ethereal card), finale (bonus effect if this is the last card in your hand of that card type: attack/defense/skill), etc.”
“The gameplay comes across as unpolished and battles quickly become repetitive.”
“Almost a carbon copy of Slay the Spire in terms of the mechanics of cards: attacks, defenses, tactics, skills.”
“Art is very, very good; gameplay is meh but the worst part is balance: some monsters are incredibly strong and some bosses are even impossible to beat.”
Castle Morihisa Review (Switch)
While I can see what Castle Morihisa was going for, and appreciate many elements of the game, the overbearing difficulty kept me from enjoying it more. It may have mimicked the style of Slay the Spire, but it’s a long way from reaching the lofty heights of that game. But if you don’t mind an ego-bruising challenge and enjoy rogue deckbuilders, I’d still check the game out. Unfortunately, for everyone else, it’s probably going to prove too frustrating.
60%Castle Morihisa
Castle Morihisa is a roguelike deckbuilder from Smokingbear Studio and Thermite Games set in a fantasy feudal Japan. It's not the most original game, but it does serve as a bit of a palate cleanser if you're looking for a roguelike deckbuilder with a different set of visuals.
70%‘Castle Morihisa’ Delivers a Challenging, Card-Based Experience (PC)
Castle Morihisa delivers a solid entry in the card-based roguelike genre. The numerous styles of deck you can construct provide a robust variety of play, and the challenges the player is faced with are just as creative and varied. While some losses felt a bit cheap, the triumph of victory always feels sweet.
75%
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Frequently Asked Questions
Castle Morihisa is a role playing game with historical theme.
Castle Morihisa is available on Nintendo Switch, PC and Windows.
On average players spend around 5 hours playing Castle Morihisa.
Castle Morihisa was released on February 10, 2022.
Castle Morihisa was developed by Smokingbear Studio.
Castle Morihisa has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its grinding.
Castle Morihisa is a single player game.
Similar games include Gordian Quest, Beneath Oresa, Vault of the Void, Breach Wanderers, NEOVERSE and others.