Neurodeck
- March 18, 2021
- TavroxGames
- 14h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on Epic Games StoreNeurodeck is a single-player Role Playing game with stunning visuals and deep gameplay mechanics, taking about 14 hours to beat. As you progress, deckbuilding and meditation alter your gameplay, while exploring a subconscious maze reveals cards and improvements. Focusing on mental health, characters and places from your past provide insights, enhancing replayability and offering a unique gaming experience.
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game features a unique psychological theme that creatively incorporates phobias into its deck-building mechanics.
- The art style and animations are well-received, with many players appreciating the visual representation of phobias.
- The gameplay offers a fun and addictive experience, with a variety of strategies available depending on how players build their decks.
- The game feels unfinished, with limited content, only two characters, and repetitive gameplay that lacks depth and variety.
- Many players have reported balance issues, particularly with certain bosses being unfairly difficult and card mechanics feeling unbalanced.
- The narrative and thematic elements are criticized for being shallow and not effectively addressing the complexities of mental health.
- gameplay80 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it lackluster and unbalanced, particularly in terms of mechanics and resource management. While some appreciate the artistic focus and the interesting enemy design, others criticize the lack of clarity and depth, leading to a steep learning curve and a feeling of boredom. Overall, despite some improvements and a solid core, the gameplay experience is seen as needing further refinement and polish to fully engage players.
“Gameplay works smoothly, visuals are beautiful and the theme really works for me.”
“Many interesting game mechanics: the shark phobia was a real challenge - it behaved like a shark would, eating your cards.”
“The good - gameplay is fun and addicting.”
“The gameplay is really weird (but bad weird).”
“It is plain boring and has failed gameplay-wise.”
“Totally uninspired, unreasonably slow and empty gameplay based on likewise empty gimmick.”
- graphics38 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of Neurodeck are generally praised for their unique art style and strong visual presentation, creating a cohesive aesthetic that resonates with the game's psychological themes. While many appreciate the beautiful animations and distinctive artwork, some critics argue that the graphics serve more as an aesthetic choice rather than a deep narrative element, with concerns about the portrayal of mental health issues. Overall, the visuals are a highlight, though they are accompanied by some minor glitches and a perception of simplicity in gameplay.
“The enemies represent exotic phobias — the most uninspired thing you can fight in someone's psyche; but the visuals and animations are really nice, surreal, and well-done.”
“Gameplay works smoothly, visuals are beautiful and the theme really works for me.”
“Great theme, great graphics & animations, great music & sound design!”
“I, personally, just couldn't get past the graphics, the gameplay feeling stale, and the early access feeling of it all even though this is supposed to be a full release.”
“Neurodeck is a roguelike deck builder with a psychological aesthetic pulling from social and environmental phobias focused from a woman's perspective; however, what I just said is only in the presentation aspect. What sounds like a deep concept is only surface level, and beyond the pretty pictures, you have a deck builder that doesn't really try to tell a unique story, though it is uniquely in the position to try if it chooses, but it's not going to.”
“It's brand new, so a few graphic and interface glitches, hopefully soon taken care of, nothing major.”
- story24 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The story in Neurodeck is criticized for its lack of depth and cohesion, with only two characters whose narratives feel repetitive and poorly integrated. While the game presents a unique psychological aesthetic, it ultimately fails to deliver a compelling or emotionally engaging storyline, leaving players wanting more context and connection to the characters' experiences. Overall, it seems better suited for fans of deck-building mechanics rather than those seeking a rich narrative experience.
“This is a fantastic idea that lays a foundation for storytelling, raising awareness, and education.”
“A game like this would probably benefit by adding even a skeleton of a story, just for the emotional investment and context.”
“Putting them in some kind of order that relates to the traumatic experiences in her life would make me far more invested in her story (for example, she fights tokophobia when her mother asks her why she hasn't settled down and had a family yet).”
“There are only two characters, and the second character's story is copy-pasted from the first character, even in places that make no sense at all.”
“It feels very much like this was a cookie-cutter deck builder, and the story and content were just pasted on afterwards.”
“Narrative: story elements lack a sense of cohesion.”
- music10 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is praised for its chill artistic direction and cohesive aesthetic, effectively enhancing the ominous atmosphere. Reviewers highlight the strong soundtrack and sound design, noting that it complements the game's visuals and overall theme, making a striking first impression.
“Decent soundtrack, complementing and enhancing the ominous feeling the game was going for.”
“Great theme, great graphics & animations, great music & sound design!”
“It has strong visuals and music with an overall cohesive aesthetic that makes a striking first impression.”
- replayability8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players find it lacking and boring, others appreciate the variety of events and character builds that enhance replay value. There are indications that the game has improved over time, leading to a more favorable perception of its replayability.
“There is also a fair amount of replayability here, with there being different events to partake in as well as different ways to build your deck and character.”
“Last time (4 months ago) when I played this game was boring and not so replayable, but now I like all and even want more content ^_^”
“I can't tell about replayability and duration yet, but for now I like the game.”
“Something important for roguelikes is the replay value, and there's very little in this.”
“Last time (4 months ago) when I played this game, it was boring and not very replayable.”
“There is also a fair amount of replayability here, with different events to partake in as well as various ways to build your deck and character.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is characterized by a dark and chilling aesthetic, enhanced by striking art and animations that evoke a sense of horror. While some players appreciate the engaging, gentle horror vibe, others find the colorful elements jarring against the darker battle scenes, leading to a mixed reception regarding the overall coherence of the atmosphere.
“Love the dark atmosphere; the art and the animations can give you chills.”
“The overall atmosphere is mildly engaging if you're into the quiet, almost gentle horror vibe.”
“The colorful elements are clearly intended to treat your fears, but I personally found them a tad jarring in comparison to the dark atmosphere of the battles.”
“They're very colorful, clearly in lieu to them supposedly being ways to treat your fears, but I personally found them a tad jarring in comparison to the dark atmosphere of the battles; along with too plain to make up for that.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game exhibits significant stability issues, including frequent soft locks, crashes, and minor glitches that disrupt gameplay. While the overall experience is enjoyable and visually appealing, the incomplete content and overly sensitive interface contribute to a frustrating user experience.
“It's fine, card game like any other except this one has massive soft locks and a few glitches still in it.”
“It's buggy (my game has irreparably crashed, twice in 3 hours of play), incomplete (not all of the content is available yet, can't get all the achievements), and the interface is too sensitive (every click triggers a game action, I mistakenly play cards a lot).”
- emotional6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is described as very touching, evoking strong emotions, though some reviewers feel it could enhance its emotional impact by incorporating a more developed storyline. Comparisons to "Iris and the Giant" suggest it has similar themes, but it is perceived as less emotionally resonant.
“A very touching game.”
“A game like this would probably benefit by adding even a skeleton of a story, just for the emotional investment and context.”
“It's filled with phobias and stuff, and it reminded me a lot of 'Iris and the Giant', but in a less touching way.”
