Nowhere Prophet

Nowhere Prophet is a unique and thoughtful single-player deckbuilding card game set in a fascinating Indofuturistic world. It features compelling convoy management with hints of The Oregon Trail, and a highly innovative 'living card' mechanic.

77%Game Brain Score

gameplay, story

grinding, optimization

72% User Score Based on 1,524 reviews

Critic Score 83%Based on 8 reviews

Platforms

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About

Nowhere Prophet is a deck-building, strategy game set in a post-apocalyptic world. As the leader of a convoy, players must navigate desolate landscapes, battle hostile factions, and manage resources to keep their followers alive. With procedurally generated levels, each playthrough is a unique journey towards the fabled Crypt.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

72%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,524 reviews

gameplay186 positive mentions

grinding42 negative mentions

Unique art style and compelling atmosphere that immerses players in a post-apocalyptic world.
Engaging tactical gameplay that requires strategic thinking and resource management.
Variety of cards and factions that encourage different playstyles and strategies.

Difficulty spikes can feel unfair, with the AI often having better cards and strategies than the player.
Permadeath of cards can lead to frustrating gameplay, as losing key followers permanently impacts deckbuilding.
Long run times can make it tedious, especially if a run ends abruptly due to bad luck or overwhelming opponents.

gameplay
607 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
64%
5%
The gameplay of "Nowhere Prophet" is characterized by its unique blend of deck-building and tactical combat, featuring mechanics such as card permadeath and a "wound" system that adds strategic depth but can also lead to frustration due to its punishing nature. While many players appreciate the engaging art style and the complexity of the mechanics, some criticize the balance and the reliance on RNG, which can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game offers a challenging and varied gameplay loop that rewards strategic thinking, though it may not appeal to everyone due to its steep learning curve and occasional clunkiness.
- “The core gameplay loop of deck-building, resource management, and combat remains engaging throughout, with increasing difficulty keeping players challenged.”
- “The mechanics feel fresh, the different convoys and leaders all encourage you to play different engaging play styles, and the theme is gorgeous through and through.”
- “Great game, interesting mechanics, good art, but sometimes a little too far on the frustrating side regarding some of the starting decks, occasional unpredictability and 'there was nothing I could do, dude' from opponents.”
- “The gameplay, which I had hoped would offer challenging and engaging survival mechanics, instead felt repetitive and tedious.”
- “Simply put: the game uses punishing mechanics that aren't fun, and too many runs feel hopeless.”
- “A number of reviews criticize the follower card death mechanic (a card that's been destroyed in battle first takes a wound and is then removed from your deck permanently) for being unfair, for feeling random and out of the player's control, for just being a huge feels-bad moment when your heavy hitter that you rely on gets got and you feel like your run is over.”
story
244 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
57%
2%
The story of the game revolves around a "technopath" navigating a post-apocalyptic world, where players engage in a quest filled with unique factions and narrative-driven events. While the initial plot and atmosphere are captivating, many players find the story repetitive over multiple runs, leading to a lack of engagement as they encounter similar text prompts and limited narrative progression. Despite its intriguing setting and well-crafted lore, the game struggles with pacing and clarity, which can detract from the overall experience.
- “The story is deep, compelling and profoundly different from the usual sci-fi dystopia.”
- “This game tells a story in a world that I could have never imagined and it amazes me; the art style is amazing and the gameplay is decent but not perfect.”
- “The game also has something else, something I was not expecting from a roguelite: a truly wonderful story and world, built through the events and factions you fight, recruit followers from, and bargain with for supplies on your perilous journey to the fabled crypt.”
- “I feel a distinct lack of agency when playing the game on the hardest difficulty and a lack of challenge when playing the lower difficulty, leading to overall boredom and sluggishness with the repetitive story prompts.”
- “Many of the story parts are also repeated, making for boring walls of text in an already grinding card game.”
- “The story gets dull after a while, so after many hours I just stopped reading the dialog and skipped to the gameplay.”
graphics
242 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
38%
2%
The game's graphics are characterized by a unique and visually appealing art style, often described as comic-like or inspired by pixel art, which effectively complements its thematic elements and world-building. While many players appreciate the aesthetic and find it immersive, some critiques point to a lack of detail and quality in certain visual aspects, suggesting that the graphics may not meet the expectations of all players, particularly on PC. Overall, the art style is a standout feature that enhances the gameplay experience, despite some technical limitations.
- “The art style is incredible and the gameplay is unique!”
- “The game's visuals utilize a striking pixel-art style that effectively portrays the harsh realities of the flux.”
- “Overall, the game has tons of replayability, the story is interesting, and the art style is amazing.”
- “The visuals, while serviceable, didn’t do much to add to the experience.”
- “While there are options to change the resolution for the game, all this does is scale up the simplistic low-quality vector art assets used to make the game, which makes little or no difference to the graphics quality.”
- “Considering this is being evaluated as a PC game, having the graphics phoned in like this isn't going to result in a high quality, visually impressive game that PC gamers are used to seeing.”
music
152 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62%
36%
2%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its captivating and atmospheric qualities that enhance the overall experience, while others find it underwhelming or repetitive. Many highlight the soundtrack's ability to complement the game's art style and setting, creating an engaging ambiance, though a few note a lack of variety in options. Overall, the music is often described as a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's immersive world.
- “The synthwave soundtrack has a hypnotizing, timeless effect, and it complements perfectly everything that happens on the screen.”
- “The art direction and music are both phenomenal, and the core idea is incredibly compelling.”
- “The aesthetic is right up my alley and the soundtrack is absolutely amazing.”
- “I was hoping for a soundtrack that would complement the world and heighten the tension, but instead, it felt underwhelming and forgettable.”
- “On the contrary, the music (few) and sound effects, even though appropriate to the game world, didn't impress me.”
- “It's also hurting for options beyond music and SFX volume sliders.”
replayability
116 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
61%
3%
The game offers a mix of high replayability and some limitations, with many players praising its various modes, modifiers, and unlockable content that enhance the experience. While some find the replay value to be immense due to strategic depth and procedural generation, others note that it can become repetitive over time, particularly with limited variation in encounters. Overall, it is generally regarded as a highly replayable title, especially for fans of deck-building and rogue-like genres.
- “The game is brilliant: atmospheric, stylish, challenging, and highly replayable!”
- “The intense strategic nature of combat and RPG elements combined with the procedurally generated branching paths and decision-making give this game a real depth of play and a ton of replayability.”
- “Nowhere Prophet is infinitely replayable, as is chess: if your misguided choices bring doom upon you and your followers (and they will: this is no 'power-trip' RPG), then dust off your reincarnated self and get back on the wheel of samsara.”
- “Only replayable a few times before it gets stale, but I really enjoyed the first fifty or hundred hours; after that, I spent another equal amount of time just exploring the various options.”
- “The main con is the lack of mechanics that would support replayability - here you just have 3 difficulties, some stuff to unlock during initial gameplays, and that's it; achievements are also not very motivating.”
- “Right now, the biggest limiting factor is the replayability.”
grinding
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
95%
The grinding aspect of the game has been widely criticized for being tedious and repetitive, with many players feeling that it detracts from the overall experience. Achievements often require excessive grinding, leading to frustration, while combat and resource management can feel monotonous. Despite some innovative mechanics and a strong aesthetic, the grind-heavy nature of the game has left players seeking to avoid its core components.
- “The resource management is important, but not tedious.”
- “The gameplay, which I had hoped would offer challenging and engaging survival mechanics, instead felt repetitive and tedious.”
- “Every fight is a tedious process of picking off the endless stream of enemy units while trying to grind down the actual leaders' HP.”
- “Its a slow, grinding, difficult game that encourages ending battles ASAP rather than playing your cards and auto-skipping the numerous walls of text; essentially, the game hurts itself by making the player seek to avoid its two main components of combat and learning the lore.”
atmosphere
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
26%
7%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its stunning art design, immersive music, and rich lore, creating a unique and engaging experience. Players appreciate the stylish and atmospheric setting, which enhances the storytelling and gameplay, making it feel alive and compelling. Despite some criticisms regarding gameplay mechanics, the overall ambiance and thematic elements are considered standout features that contribute significantly to the game's appeal.
- “Great atmosphere, lore, descriptions of everything, music and art design on top of the mechanics.”
- “The art is gorgeous, the atmosphere is punk and the gameplay is slick: everything you touch reacts with a very satisfying speed and the matches are fast and intense.”
- “The game is brilliant: atmospheric, stylish, challenging and highly replayable!”
- “The atmosphere, the storytelling, the attachment you get to every single one of your cards, things I absolutely adore, and make me want to push through the annoying parts; however, the bad parts of this game just make it hard to enjoy.”
- “The story, the atmosphere, the music, everything flows well, sound effects are really cool, art style is unique, the battles can be fun, but the game, in my humble opinion, wants to be more than it is.”
- “However, the core gameplay, the feel/atmosphere, the polish, and seamlessness of the user experience leave much to be desired.”
humor
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the humor in the game, noting it adds a lighthearted touch to the experience, although some feel the combat lacks the same comedic flair found in similar games like Hearthstone. Overall, the humor contributes positively to the game's charm, making it enjoyable and engaging.
- “It'll sound funny, but this game is a nice kick in the pants that says 'hey, don't get complacent.'”
- “And easy is just that - laughingly easy.”
- “I like story, friends to make my journey funny.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The game is praised for its solid optimization, featuring quick load times and minimal bugs, contributing to a smooth gameplay experience over extended play sessions. The gentle difficulty curve encourages experimentation, leading players to eventually focus on optimized strategies and builds. Overall, the aesthetic consistency and performance enhance the enjoyment of the game.
- “Performance was superb with really quick load times, a nice art style and setting with fun gameplay.”
- “Artwork is nice and aesthetically consistent with rock solid performance and few if any bugs so far (have yet to have any issues 30ish hours in.)”
- “The initially gentle difficulty curve appears to allow experimentation prior to the inevitable need to focus on tighter/smaller builds with optimized synergy.”
- “I was designing an adventure optimization deck-building tactical-puzzle game I'd love: a thinking artist's hybrid of my favorites (Banner Saga, This War of Mine, Mini Metro, Niche, Neoscavenger, Unreal World, Slay the Spire, Darkest Dungeon, and Battle Brothers when I can stand the gore), but I stopped, because Nowhere Prophet is that game, and without the animated violence.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game effectively intertwines strategic decision-making with emotional weight, as players face meaningful choices that impact the narrative and their followers. This blend of tactical gameplay and emotional consequences enhances the overall depth of the experience.
- “These choices, along with the consequences they carry, add weight and emotional depth to the narrative.”
- “When you're not scouring through the intricacies of resources and leading your followers across harsh landscapes, you're tactically weighing every small cost, every attack, in a way that's both strategically and emotionally meaningful.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Character development is effectively conveyed through simplistic designs that reflect the characters' personalities and desperation, enhanced by a limited color palette that underscores the oppressive environment and themes of scarcity.
- “The limited color palette emphasizes the oppressive heat and ever-present threat of scarcity, while character designs manage to convey personality and desperation despite their simplistic appearance.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express frustration over the game's stability, highlighting significant bugs that detract from the overall experience, questioning the value of the purchase given these issues.
- “How do people pay 20 bucks for games that are so buggy?”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization model is praised for its absence of microtransactions, allowing players to enjoy the game mechanics reminiscent of classic titles like old school Magic: The Gathering without any additional costs.
- “No microtransactions, just the great game mechanics I remember from old school MTG.”