Duelyst

A gorgeous tactics card game that's simple to pick up but has significant depth.

Duelyst is a turn-based multiplayer and single-player strategy game, where players engage in quick matches with thoughtful decision-making and strategic positioning. With over 800 cards across 6 factions, assemble your battle deck and test your mettle against other players online in ranked ladder and draft mode tournaments. Enjoy infinite depth, lightning-fast matches, and a classic pixel art aesthetic with impressive spell and effect animations.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Reviews

84%

Audience ScoreBased on 101 reviews

gameplay9 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

Duelyst features beautiful pixel art and smooth animations, enhancing the overall visual experience.
The game combines tactical gameplay with card mechanics, allowing for deep strategy and positioning on a grid, which adds a unique layer of complexity.
It is praised for being free-to-play friendly, with generous rewards and a balanced business model that does not heavily favor pay-to-win mechanics.

Some players feel that the game can be pay-to-win, especially at higher ranks where access to powerful cards is limited without spending money.
The matchmaking system can be frustrating, as new players often face opponents with significantly more experience and better decks.
There are complaints about the monetization strategies, particularly the key and crate system, which some find to be a cash grab.

gameplay
18 mentions
50 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
17 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is praised for its engaging mechanics and strategic depth, combining modern free-to-play collectible card game elements with unique faction abilities and tactical decision-making. Players appreciate the balance between casual accessibility and mechanical complexity, enhanced by beautiful pixel art and a user-friendly interface. While some elements may borrow from other games like Hearthstone, the innovative mechanics, such as the replace and redraw systems, contribute to a satisfying and varied gameplay experience.
- “It makes for a nice mechanical pairing and allows for a number of different strategies.”
- “Top-notch tactical gameplay.”
- “The factions are unique and have interesting mechanics that reward good planning and decision making.”
- “Modern free-to-play CCG mechanics as far as deck building goes.”
- “You want to use this mechanic a lot and usually at the beginning of your turn.”
- “Duelyst makes good use of its digital card game mechanics by allowing you to essentially conjure up cards with interesting effects that just add cards to your hand.”
graphics
13 mentions
38 % positive mentions
38 % neutral mentions
23 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are predominantly praised for their lush pixel art and vibrant animations, which enhance the overall aesthetic and gameplay experience. While some users initially found the graphics to be somewhat simplistic, they were pleasantly surprised by the level of detail and animation, particularly in spell effects and character designs. Overall, the pixelated style is well-received, contributing to the game's charm and appeal.
- “Beautiful graphics and awesome mechanics.”
- “The strategy needed due to the infinite possibilities between the game board, placement of 'cards', and of course the kick-ass pixel graphics!”
- “Duelyst's art style and visuals are amazing, and the pixelated game board is quirky and fun, while the 2D character art is just awesome.”
- “The graphics may seem a bit dodgy at first impression but there is a surprising amount of animation put into spell and death effects.”
- “So here is what I learned about this game: CCG video games are very expensive for digital items that are represented in 8-bit graphics, and the developers seem to choose to charge a lot of real-world money, prioritizing quick paychecks over building a huge fanbase.”
- “On the lowest graphics settings.”
story
9 mentions
22 % positive mentions
44 % neutral mentions
33 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game is highlighted by its engaging narrative and well-rounded characters, particularly praised in the context of a visual novel format that captivates players. However, the quest system is criticized for being time-consuming and unfriendly to newcomers, as it forces players into competitive scenarios without a casual mode, making it challenging to progress against more experienced opponents. Overall, while the story is compelling, the quest mechanics may detract from the experience for less skilled players.
- “One of my favorite visual novels so far, the characters are all well-rounded and the story really pulls you in and drags you along to find out more. Definitely a recommendation to any anime fan.”
- “The quests are rewarding enough that you can acquire new cards with relative ease.”
- “And since there's no casual mode where non-competitive decks exist, you consistently have to try to complete the quests while playing against people with literally thousands of games played, near complete if not complete collections of cards. Since the player base is still relatively small for the game, you basically only encounter excellent-to-amazingly good players once you have gotten past silver, which can happen by mistake, and you are now stuck in gold.”
- “Perhaps work it in as a story.”
- “One of my favorite visual novels so far, the characters are all well-rounded and the story really pulls you in and drags you along to find out more, definitely a recommendation to any anime fan.”
grinding
3 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be somewhat tedious, especially in comparison to similar titles like Shadowverse and Faeria. While the action remains fast-paced and complex, free players may experience some pay-to-win pressure, although grinding for a legendary card in each faction can be achieved in about 8-12 hours.
- “Action is fast-paced and complex, but card collecting and crafting is somewhat tedious compared to Shadowverse and Faeria.”
- “Longer-term free players may feel some pay-to-win oppression, but hopefully not too much, as a legendary is rewarded for each faction by grinding your way through, which takes about 8-12 hours for each of the 6 factions.”
monetization
3 mentions
33 % positive mentions
-33 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The monetization in the game includes microtransactions for cosmetics and weekly value offers, which some players find to be somewhat expensive. Additionally, there is a minor complaint regarding the chest and key system, suggesting it may not be well-received by all users.
- “There are microtransactions for cosmetics and weekly value offers.”
- “There are microtransactions for cosmetics and weekly value offers and other items.”
- “Monetization feels somewhat expensive.”
- “A minor gripe about the monetization is the chest/key system.”
music
2 mentions
50 % positive mentions
-100 % neutral mentions
150 % negative mentions
The music in the game is described as epic and beautiful, enhancing the overall experience and contributing to its unique atmosphere. However, some users express skepticism about the community's reception of critiques regarding the music, suggesting a disconnect between player experiences and community feedback.
- “The music in this game is repetitive and lacks variety, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- “I found the soundtrack to be uninspired and forgettable, which really detracted from the overall experience.”
- “The audio quality of the music is subpar, and it feels like it was an afterthought rather than a key component of the game.”
character development
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the character design and animation, highlighting the appealing pixelated style of both characters and summoned minions during battles. Overall, the character development is positively received, particularly for its artistic choices.
- “I love the character design and animation.”
- “I've only been playing for three hours, and I must say that the character design is great. I especially like that in battle, the characters and minions (summoned with cards) are pixelated, but not because of bad graphics.”
stability
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
Users report significant stability issues, including frequent freezes and disconnections, which have negatively impacted their gameplay experience, particularly in competitive matches like gauntlets.
- “I've lost matches, including in the gauntlet, due to freezes and disconnections.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
- “I experience constant lag and server issues that ruin the gaming experience.”