Duelyst II

About

Duelyst II is a single player and multiplayer tactical turn-based strategy game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Dream Sloth Games and was released on December 16, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

DUELYST II is a free, fair, competitive tactics game. Build your collection of beautifully animated pixel art cards and put your skills to the test on the ranked ladder. Position your units on the battlefield and destroy the enemy General to claim victory in strategic turn-based combat. Construct a deck from hundreds of unique cards - use minions, spells, and artifacts to discover new strategie…

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73%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,404 reviews

gameplay83 positive mentions

monetization24 negative mentions

Unique mix of card game and tactical board game mechanics rewarding skill and strategy, with card positioning and sequencing being crucial.
Gorgeous pixel art and animations with a great soundtrack, contributing to an immersive experience.
Free-to-play friendly progression system with the ability to unlock cards and build competitive decks without spending money; active, engaged dev team improving the game.

Severe monetization issues with expensive card packs, slow resource gain, and pay-to-win elements making deck building very grindy and frustrating for free-to-play players.
Lack of hero (general) abilities and missing original game features reduce deck diversity and the uniqueness of factions, leading to a less satisfying experience.
Small player base resulting in bad matchmaking, long queue times, and frequent disconnections; additional quality-of-life and balance issues remain unsolved.

gameplay
224 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
59%
4%
Duelyst's gameplay is widely praised for its unique blend of collectible card mechanics with strategic, grid-based tactical movement, offering deep complexity and rewarding skillful play. While the original game's mechanics and balance are loved, Duelyst 2 has faced criticism for nerfed factions, removed iconic mechanics, some balance issues, and a less engaging meta, which dampens the experience for longtime fans. Despite flaws and monetization concerns, the core tactical card-play remains engaging and distinctive, making it a solid choice for fans of strategic CCGs seeking a challenging mix of deckbuilding and tactical positioning.
- “It was unmatched in its mechanics and complexity as a card game.”
- “The gameplay of a card game mixed with the grid-based strategic placement, movement and attacks makes for the best kind of collectible card game I've ever experienced.”
- “The presentation is attractive, the factions have distinctive flavour, the pace of the matches is excellent, the cards have interesting mechanics... there was a lot to enjoy about it before and all of that is still here.”
- “Eh, ruined a lot of mechanics of the old one.”
- “But for some reason, the new devs managed to break elements, causing some regression in the actual gameplay and concept.”
- “Duelyst 2 is a boring game; the game is so bland. One thing this game lacks is the fun and interesting mechanics and characters that made the first game spectacular.”
monetization
124 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
75%
19%
Monetization in the game is widely criticized as grind-heavy, predatory, and reminiscent of outdated, aggressive microtransaction models from the original Duelyst, with many players feeling misled by promises of a more cosmetic-focused, friendly system. While some note improvements and fair rewards for free-to-play players, the overall sentiment is that card acquisition is slow without spending, pricing is high, and the monetization undermines the game's long-term appeal and balance. Developer communication and promised changes have brought cautious optimism, but substantial reforms are still expected to address widespread player frustration.
- “Another consistent complaint I hear is the monetization practices of this game, which I do have a few gripes, but honestly, this game gives you a ton of stuff for free for just simply playing the game (like a real game should).”
- “Monetization seems like a big sticking point for some, but I've managed to recreate my old deck for almost nothing so can't say I had the same experience.”
- “That being said, I much prefer this version of the game, the balancing and drop rates are amazing, and there's no real need to buy packs with money, so that only leaves card skins as microtransactions, which is a definite plus.”
- “Most annoying of all, the balance philosophies of the dev team (and the community, at that) are ridiculously poor, their monetization is borderline predatory, and the community is - for lack of a better term - cringe.”
- “The predatory microtransactions will gate players from being able to build even mediocre decks, making the PvP a frustrating experience which swings between genuinely fair matches to playing against players who have pumped money into their deck.”
- “This is a game with an outdated, downright manipulative monetization setup, making use of drip-fed 'deals' to milk you of your $5 bills, a brutal card crafting system with no easy/not-manipulative way to directly get the cards you need, all while the prices in the cosmetics shop make the blood drain from my face.”
graphics
69 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
38%
4%
The game's graphics are widely praised for their beautiful, unique pixel art style, charming animations, and visually stunning hand-drawn artwork that enhance the overall aesthetic and atmosphere. While some users find the pixel art blocky or mismatched and note occasional graphical glitches or lower PC version quality, the majority appreciate the game's polished visuals, vibrant faction designs, and smooth animations that contribute to an engaging tactical card game experience.
- “The visuals and art style are gorgeous, each unit is animated beautifully.”
- “The game features beautiful hand-drawn artwork, which gives the game a unique and visually stunning aesthetic.”
- “When Duelyst was first released in early 2015, it garnered much anticipation from card game players due to its unique and exquisite pixel art style and highly creative gameplay.”
- “The graphic display is very nasty in the PC version on Steam.”
- “The downside is that it is a horrible-looking mismatch of different graphic styles and the turns are punishingly short.”
- “Some basic tutorials should be added like deck-building (min deck size required etc) and while the pixel graphics are fine, at least on 1440p they can appear a bit too blocky especially in contrast to other elements.”
music
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
42%
6%
The music in the game is widely praised for its quality, with many players appreciating both the new soundtrack and the inclusion of the original legacy tracks as an option. While some find the new music hit-or-miss or less fitting for the game's tactical nature, the overall consensus highlights the soundtrack as a strong, integral part of the game's aesthetic and atmosphere. The combination of beautiful art and memorable music significantly enhances the gameplay experience.
- “Duelyst is a turn-based, deckbuilding PvP game with amazing style, intuitiveness, and music.”
- “Excellent tactics CCG with incredible music, deckbuilding and art direction.”
- “The new soundtrack goes so hard but if you prefer the legacy soundtrack you can enable it in the settings.”
- “The new music is really hit or miss, landing on miss more than not.”
- “I am obligated to note that after hearing the faint whisper in my subconscious say 'attack', I immediately realized you have literally copy-pasted the music from Stick War Legacy into the background music of the game.”
- “Im not sure if it's a tribute or not, but it was a huge turn off to know that someone was either extremely lazy in the making of the music.”
story
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
78%
8%
The game lacks a dedicated story mode, which many players feel would add depth and engagement. Progression through quests and rewards is slow, grindy, and often unsatisfying, especially for free-to-play users, with mission rewards seen as insufficient to build competitive decks. While daily quests offer variety, their low-value returns and lengthy requirements contribute to a lack of motivation and a tedious experience.
- “The artwork is not only pleasing to the eye but also helps to convey the game's story and characters in a compelling way.”
- “Progression is spot on, you're encouraged to do solo quests to learn and earn gold which can be used to buy orbs containing new cards.”
- “I've never read that but maybe if there would be solo mode, with missions, something that Artifact from Valve had, I would definitely dive into it.”
- “There's no story.”
- “A story mode would definitely help to flesh them out, but that probably won't happen.”
- “I either just described Duelyst or the plot to the movie Matilda... I'm not sure.”
grinding
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
Grinding in this card game is widely regarded as excessive and tedious, especially for free-to-play players, with high resource costs and long hours required to acquire key cards. While some find the grind manageable with regular play, many criticize the game's monetization and crafting systems for creating an unfair and frustrating progression experience. Overall, grinding is seen as a significant barrier to fully enjoying the game.
- “The resource costs for high rarity cards are obscene for free-to-play players, and cosmetics provide further incentive to whale on this game to get ahead, making honest grinders hate the very existence of this game's unfair grinding system and horrendous region balancing.”
- “Broken matchmaking, snail-paced progression, and a very grindy crafting system with minimal reward for your time spent playing. In short, unless you are into that sort of thing, I would not recommend it. Except for the legacy deck builder to duel and have some basic fun with a friend—I would recommend staying away from this if you value your sanity.”
- “This really needs a rebalance because the way it is now really throttles any creativity. Even worse, most of the counterplay to these decks is gated behind cards with crazy crafting costs, meaning hours of grinding to obtain them or just paying money until you buy enough packs for a chance to get them.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is currently poor, with frequent freezes, glitches like missing in-game text, and random disconnections during matches. While the core gameplay remains enjoyable, significant bugs and server issues detract from the overall experience.
- “Sometimes it almost seems like the game completely freezes, even if I play a practice match against AI.”
- “Barely playable, has a lot of glitches such as in-game text not found as well as randomly kicking you out of a game in the middle of a duel.”
- “Overall very buggy and disappointing, I loved the Duelyst games but not in this condition.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional experience of the game is bittersweet, combining nostalgia and heartbreak for long-time players with opportunities for mature reflection on competition and loss. The supportive and friendly community, along with lighthearted interactions like tipping opponents, adds a wholesome and enjoyable emotional layer.
- “After playing the original for so long, and having to step away from gaming only to come back and find it gone was heartbreaking.”
- “If you have mature emotional regulation and can have an adult's introspection about how to enjoy losing in games then you can move past whatever it is about the game that bothers you.”
- “The community (outside of Reddit) is pretty wholesome and fun.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is noted for its chaotic and funny cards, but many of these have been removed, reducing synergy and strategic depth. While some faction gimmicks are considered weak, the overall tone still includes amusing elements.
- “Very funny”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization is currently lacking, resulting in frequent matches against a small pool of highly optimized players with vastly superior decks, leading to unbalanced and frustrating gameplay. Users hope for improvements to matchmaking and deck optimization in future updates.
- “You will get matched with the same one of the 10 active players every game you play and you will get stomped because they have vastly more powerful cards and optimized decks.”
- “Hoping they get it better optimized and will update my review when that happens.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's replayability is limited due to an outdated monetization system, which diminishes the incentive to invest time or money despite recent improvements in playability.