Guardians of Graxia
- November 1, 2010
- Petroglyph Games
"Guardians of Graxia" is a card-based board game set in the floating islands of Graxia. As a strategic turn-based game, players place and move unit and spell cards on a tiled map, with the goal of completing skirmishes or defeating the final boss, Draknal Trueblood. Four powerful Guardians are available to lead your armies into battle in this fantasy-themed game.
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game features a unique blend of strategy and card mechanics, providing a deep tactical challenge.
- The visuals and sound effects are well-designed, enhancing the overall experience.
- The game offers a variety of special abilities and strategic possibilities, making each battle different.
- Gameplay is painfully slow, with long wait times for AI turns and animations.
- There is a steep learning curve, and many mechanics are poorly explained, leading to confusion.
- The game lacks variety in content, with only a few missions and no deck customization options.
- story22 mentions
- 5 % positive mentions
- 82 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The game's story is minimal and largely forgettable, conveyed through basic pop-up text boxes with no engaging elements. Players criticize the campaign for its brevity, consisting of only five missions, and note that the lack of variety and depth in the narrative detracts from the overall experience. Additionally, the difficulty spikes and repetitive gameplay further diminish any potential investment in the story.
“It's a lot of fun, however I found as soon as I got to the second mission the difficulty just jumped out of the floor and into the sky.”
“The campaign is a measly six missions!”
“The story is forgettable and told via pop-up text boxes with no other in-game elements.”
“No multiplayer, no replay value, no involvement with the story either (was there even one? I cannot remember).”
- gameplay21 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The gameplay is criticized for being painfully slow and overly complex, with too many mechanics that create confusion and frustration. Players find the reliance on card sacrifice mechanics and the lack of customization limiting, while the AI's sluggishness and arbitrary campaign events further detract from the experience. Although some appreciate the strategic elements, the overall execution leads to a tedious and often frustrating gameplay experience.
“Once you understand the mechanics, it's easy enough to play, but not so easy to win!”
“Gameplay seems a bit complex at first.”
“This one runs well, offers a fun spin on the gameplay, and is actually quite challenging at times.”
“Battles, gameplay, even movement are painfully slow.”
“There are too many mechanics going on at once, making the game confusing and awkward.”
“Each stage in this game drags out for what seems like a goddamn eternity, models and animations are plain ugly, the outcome of battles is overly dependent on the luck of the draw and thus AI tends to gain an unfair advantage here and there, all resulting in a really frustrating and daunting gameplay.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the beautiful artwork and sound effects that enhance the experience, while others criticize the visuals as outdated and poorly executed, likening them to a low-quality project. Despite the appealing design of certain elements, many users express disappointment in the overall graphical quality, suggesting it lacks the polish and attention needed for a more engaging presentation.
“The visuals are nice, bringing the design of the cards to life, and the sound effects for the monsters and spells hit very nicely.”
“Certainly worth it on sale considering I have had no bugs or issues at all, and it is quite challenging. The artwork is just beautiful; I really wish it would get some revival attention and tweaking.”
“The graphics are very nice; I like the setup and it could have been so much more had it received some love and attention instead of the typical abandonment.”
“The graphics are ugly - hilariously, wisps are just a ball of light.”
“The game has none of the benefits of a collectible card game (namely, constructing a deck), has a very limited number of cards on offer (after playing a few games you will have seen them all), actually has less in it than the board game it was derived from (just to prove there is, in fact, a god that hates you), and has the graphical quality of a high school dev class project.”
“It has old graphics, is clunky and a money sink, but has better balance than Graxia.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly due to slow gameplay, unresponsive AI, and arbitrary campaign events that disrupt strategies. The lack of depth in collectible card game (CCG) and tactical elements further contributes to a monotonous experience, making progress feel laborious and uninspired. Overall, the grind is seen as a significant drawback that detracts from the enjoyment of the game.
“The most tedious is epic creature, which requires a large creature to kill 15 units by itself.”
“Cons: gameplay is slow, AI takes forever to do anything, campaign missions have arbitrary events that will ruin your battle plan without any warning that only get worse as the campaign progresses, CCG elements are shallow with no customization or even a card viewer, tactics elements are shallow with low variety and boring grindy levels, the in-game UI is almost good but gets frustrating at times as you fight with popups that get in the way of what you're trying to do, the story is forgettable and told via pop-up text boxes with no other in-game elements.”
“Fricken tedious!”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted as a standout feature, with players finding it genuinely funny despite its poor graphics, such as the whimsical depiction of wisps as mere balls of light. However, some users note that the challenging gameplay can overshadow the humor, making it feel excessively difficult at times.
“I do not get why this game is so underrated... but it's so funny to play!”
“The graphics are ugly - hilariously, wisps are just a ball of light.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is significantly enhanced by DLCs that introduce 16 additional maps and two new guardians, including some with random terrain. However, the lack of multiplayer options and a compelling story detracts from its overall replay value, with some players expressing a desire for competitive modes to increase engagement.
“The DLCs add another 16 maps (some of which generate random terrain) and two more guardians, providing a lot more replayability.”
“This game is crying out for a head-to-head mode, which would have made it a more balanced and fun experience, as well as adding to its replay value.”
“No multiplayer, no replay value, no involvement with the story either (was there even one? I cannot remember).”
“This game is crying out for a head-to-head mode which would've made it a more balanced and fun experience as well as adding to its replay value.”
- music1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally considered forgettable, failing to leave a lasting impression on players after they finish playing.
“The soundtrack is fairly forgettable, leaving little memory of any aspect of the game once closed.”
