Indies' Lies
- February 25, 2022
- ErabitStudios
- 24h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io StoreIndies' Lies is a roguelike deck-building game where you craft a deck, spark talents, discover runes, and assemble your team with partners' cards! Play unique stories for every character and explore a world caught in the clash of gods. Fun for Beginners, Depth for the Experienced With the hope to introduce fun of the deck building strategy to more players, we have adjusted and optimized traditio…
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a diverse set of characters, each with unique story modes and abilities, providing a lot of content and replayability.
- The art style is visually appealing, and the game mechanics, such as the card replacement system and multi-character combat, add depth to the gameplay.
- The developers are actively updating the game and responding to community feedback, showing a commitment to improving the overall experience.
- The English translation is poor, leading to confusion about card effects and gameplay mechanics, which detracts from the overall experience.
- The game is often criticized for being too easy, lacking the challenge that fans of the genre expect, especially compared to similar titles like Slay the Spire.
- There are several UI and design issues that make navigation and understanding game mechanics cumbersome, which can frustrate players.
- gameplay50 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising its depth, strategic elements, and unique mechanics, while others criticize the overwhelming complexity and translation issues that hinder enjoyment. Many players appreciate the variety of strategies and character designs, but feel that the game borrows too heavily from "Slay the Spire," leading to a lack of originality. Overall, while the core mechanics are engaging, the execution suffers from balance issues and unclear tutorials, making it a hit-or-miss experience for players.
“This game is spectacular, and very well thought out mechanically.”
“Solid gameplay hours, varied strategies, maps, and events.”
“The core gameplay is pretty fun, and I enjoyed the character designs and general aesthetic.”
“Feels like the devs are afraid to do something unique, making the gameplay boring.”
“A lot of the same mechanics are present here, while adding new ones.”
“While the game has a very defined art direction, it does nothing in service of clarity of gameplay as every element on screen has the same level of visual amplitude, meaning it's very hard to differentiate between all the elements on screen; stuff just gets lost in the visuals.”
- story48 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 79 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game features a unique story mode for each of its numerous characters, providing depth and customization, but suffers from poor translation and spelling errors that detract from the experience. While some players appreciate the character-driven narratives and the additional lore, others find the story mode to be a tedious extension of the main gameplay, lacking coherence and engagement. Overall, the story aspect is seen as a mixed bag, with potential for depth overshadowed by execution issues.
“It has tons of characters, and when you beat the normal game with a character, you unlock their story mode, which means you get a unique story for each of the 20 or so characters.”
“Fantastic game, the story mode adds so much depth to the characters in addition to adding customization to each one.”
“By playing each individual character, you'll unlock not only more cards for them, but also a whole other game mode that delves into the character's backstory and provides a bit of world-building as well.”
“There's a story mode, which is hard to read and follow because the translation isn't great, and it takes away from the main appeal of the roguelike.”
“I don't think there was any point where I had trouble parsing what a card or ability or effect did, but the story and flavor text is often difficult to follow.”
“The idea of a 'story mode' that you unlock for each character is pretty interesting... until you realize that it's just a reskin of the more traditional roguelike mode with way more text thrown in.”
- graphics16 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by vibrant and appealing anime aesthetics, with enjoyable character designs that contribute to its charm. However, the visual clarity suffers due to a lack of differentiation between elements on screen, making gameplay somewhat confusing. Additionally, the transition from 2D animated art to a 3D polygon map feels disjointed, detracting from the overall visual coherence.
“The graphics and animations are very nice, and the difficulty scales in yet another customizable way.”
“Enjoyable deckbuilder with cute anime aesthetics.”
“Really fun game with a great art style and a diverse set of characters that change up the game.”
“It doesn't really have anything special to distinguish it from the rest, and the art style is basically 'Slay the Spire,' except with no creativity in designs.”
“While the game has a very defined art direction, it does nothing in service of clarity of gameplay as every element on screen has the same level of visual amplitude, meaning it's very hard to differentiate between all the elements on screen; stuff just gets lost in the visuals.”
“The problem isn't necessarily in the quality of either (granted the 2D art is better, in my opinion at least), but more of the fact that the transition between the two art styles leaves an awkward taste in my mouth.”
- replayability11 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 9 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is significantly enhanced by its new difficulty system, which allows for tailored experiences through a talent tree and rune customization, offering diverse runs with unique talents and party members. However, some players feel that despite the initial charm and the presence of multiple characters, the overall replayability can diminish due to certain mechanics, such as the lack of item drops at higher difficulties. Overall, while the game provides a solid foundation for replay value, opinions vary on its long-term engagement.
“The difficulty system, which is similar to the heat system in Hades, offers much more replayability and better scaling for your specific needs.”
“Each run gives you different talents, party members, and options to make it extremely replayable and full of life many hours in.”
“There's a talent tree and you can put runes on your cards to add different effects, and there's a ton of replayability.”
“At higher difficulties, enemies stop dropping items (this game's version of STS potions), which again diminishes replayability as now you have a core mechanic of the game turned off.”
“The classic STS card unlocks are also there, but it's not the only type of progression, which adds more replayability to the game.”
- music6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it mediocre and repetitive, suggesting it might be better enjoyed on mute with alternative soundtracks. While the soundtrack is described as fitting and lovely by some, others note a lack of diversity that detracts from the overall experience.
“Cute characters, understandable mechanics, music - what could go wrong?”
“Lovely soundtrack”
“Gameplay is okay, but the music is mediocre. Play this game on mute with another game's OST if you want to enjoy yourself.”
“The weakest point is probably the lack of music diversity, but that doesn't mean the music itself isn't fitting or unenjoyable to listen to.”
“Many mechanics are copy-pasted, some enemies have an uncanny valley level of similarity, and even the music is reminiscent of STS.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that grinding is a significant aspect of the game, with some players expressing that it requires a substantial time investment to progress. However, many argue that this grind is inherent to the roguelike genre, emphasizing that the repetitive gameplay loop is a core feature rather than a flaw. Overall, opinions are mixed, with some players enjoying the grind while others find it excessive.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“The game is designed to be grindy and repetitive, and to judge it based on the components that make a roguelike a roguelike is utterly ridiculous.”
“When it comes to the gameplay loop, I've been noticing people complaining about the grinding required to progress and get to harder content/more stuff, but for some reason, people keep forgetting that's literally the roguelike genre; 'do a little bit, die, and get a little bit deeper, run after run.'”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been criticized for various bugs, including soft freezes and errors, particularly in story mode. While these issues are present, they appear to be somewhat limited in scope. Overall, players have noted a need for improvements to enhance the experience.
“There are a number of bugs, from soft freezes to errors. This has been mostly limited to the story mode, which is not that great.”
“Slightly crooked, slightly buggy, obviously imitating Slay the Spire.”
- character development2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers praise the character development for its impressive designs and aesthetic appeal, noting that it enhances the overall enjoyment of the gameplay. The unique character designs contribute to an engaging and addictive play style.
“The character design is incredible, and the play style is addicting!”
“The core gameplay is pretty fun, and I enjoyed the character designs and general aesthetic.”
