Prismata

About

Prismata is a single player and multiplayer turn-based strategy game with fantasy and science fiction themes. It was developed by Lunarch Studios and was released on March 8, 2018. It received positive reviews from players.

Prismata is a turn-based strategy game made by Lunarch Studios. It borrows familiar elements from RTS games, CCGs, tabletop strategy games, and combines them in a simple but innovative way.

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83%

Audience ScoreBased on 636 reviews

gameplay40 positive mentions

monetization5 negative mentions

Prismata offers a unique blend of turn-based strategy and card game mechanics, providing a deep and engaging gameplay experience.
The game has no RNG, ensuring that outcomes are determined purely by player skill, which is refreshing compared to other card games.
The single-player campaign and various challenges serve as excellent tutorials, helping players learn the mechanics and strategies effectively.

The game can be overwhelming for newcomers due to its steep learning curve and the complexity of strategies involved.
The graphics and visual presentation may feel dated or simplistic, which could deter some players.
The player base is relatively small, making it difficult to find matches at times, especially for new players.

gameplay
155 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
68%
6%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by its unique blend of turn-based strategy and collectible card mechanics, offering deep, deterministic gameplay without randomness, which some players find engaging while others perceive as overly complex and lacking excitement. While the mechanics are well-designed and provide a rich strategic experience, the lack of variance and comeback mechanics can lead to a repetitive and punishing experience, particularly in competitive play. Overall, the game is praised for its intricate mechanics and smooth gameplay, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of strategic games, despite some criticisms regarding its art and monetization model.
- “Gameplay is smooth and it never overwhelmed me.”
- “Incredibly rich, strategic gameplay where multiple small decisions can easily add up to a win in the end.”
- “The gameplay has an absurd amount of depth but isn't too difficult to figure out at a basic level.”
- “The experience is purely mechanical with no excitement whatsoever, just like the robots that the cards try to portray, simply lifeless.”
- “The gameplay itself is very repetitive.”
- “The single player content fails miserably at teaching the concepts of the game and consists mostly of endless hours of frustrating trial and error - without teaching you why you keep failing and thus it won't improve your gameplay.”
story
127 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
73%
6%
The game's story is generally viewed as basic and uninspiring, often serving primarily as a tutorial for gameplay mechanics rather than a compelling narrative. While some players appreciate the visual novel style and the engaging artwork, many criticize the dialogue as tedious and the plot as predictable, with a mix of sci-fi tropes that fail to innovate. Overall, the campaign provides a structured introduction to the game, but its narrative depth and character development leave much to be desired, making it more of a functional backdrop than a captivating experience.
- “The story, art, and characters were engaging.”
- “The campaign serves as a good introduction and has a surprisingly decent storyline.”
- “The story is actually well written in a B-movie kind of tone with some of the weirdness actually being extremely charming.”
- “The story seems pretty lame from what you do get to see, and the main character is an annoying prick most of the time.”
- “It's basically a visual novel with various puzzle scenarios with a threadbare storyline carrying the process.”
- “The campaign is mostly consistent of 'here is this new counter card, use it on this new enemy' so there is little room for exploring fun builds and utilizing some overpowered build you saw last mission.”
graphics
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
63%
10%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players finding them adequate but not particularly impressive, often describing them as minimalist or reminiscent of older titles. While some appreciate the unique art style and clean visuals, others criticize the aesthetics as bland or "cheap." Overall, the visuals may not appeal to everyone, especially younger gamers seeking more flashy designs, but they are deemed sufficient for the game's strategic depth and gameplay mechanics.
- “The graphics and presentation are fantastic, and it runs well on my lackluster hardware, so that's a plus.”
- “Very interesting strategy game with good graphics!”
- “At first I didn't really like the art style of the game, but after just an hour of playing I had already fallen in love with everything about this game.”
- “Game artwork and UI is quite awful and resembles games from the early 2000s.”
- “Now it's worth noting, though you can see it for yourself from the screenshots, graphically the game leaves a bit to be desired.”
- “If talking about the cons of the game, graphics definitely stand out - the art may seem a bit 'cheap' and the play screen may seem bland and generic.”
monetization
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
66%
21%
The monetization model of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating that all microtransactions are cosmetic or related to single-player content, thus avoiding pay-to-win mechanics. However, concerns were raised about the presence of in-game ads and the perception of gambling-like elements in the microtransaction system. Overall, while some players commend the fair approach to monetization, others criticize the implementation and clarity of the pricing structure.
- “This game also deserves the 'fair F2P' stamp; all in-game purchases are either purely cosmetic or unlock more handcrafted single-player story content.”
- “Finally, the 'microtransactions have no gameplay effect' is a great way to monetize the game.”
- “Incredible depth, replayability, and fair monetization.”
- “The fact that there's still in-game ads for the content we bought and didn't receive is egregious.”
- “Unfortunately, the game contains an abusive free-to-play loot box/'premium currency' monetization scheme, which I am not willing to accept in a $25 indie game, much less an early access indie game.”
- “I'd rather just be able to buy the game outright than have a bunch of microtransactions built in like this.”
grinding
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
Reviews on "grinding" in games highlight a mixed experience: while some titles require significant grinding for skill development and resource harvesting, others, like Prismata, are praised for being genuinely free-to-play with no grinding necessary. Many players express frustration with tedious mechanics that feel repetitive and detract from enjoyment, contrasting with games that offer a more streamlined experience without the need for extensive grinding or pay-to-win elements. Overall, the sentiment leans towards a preference for games that minimize grinding and focus on strategic gameplay.
- “Great card game with no grinding and randomness.”
- “No grinding required, no pay to win, no bull poop!”
- “Prismata is genuinely free to play, no grinding; you can buy cosmetics but you also get points for them if you just play.”
- “This game is mostly tedious and of little fun.”
- “Basically, they managed to combine the repetitive, tedious harvesting resources part of RTS games with the most basic combat that you might find in a CCG.”
- “The strategy genre seems to have taken a back seat in recent days, mostly giving way to virtual card games with tedious unlocking mechanics to get you to pay money.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The music in the game is generally described as pleasant and fitting for its sci-fi theme, with a high-quality soundtrack that enhances the overall experience. However, some users find the music repetitive and generic, leading to moments of annoyance. While the soundtrack is not extensive, it is appreciated for its quality, though it may not be exciting enough to keep players engaged consistently.
- “The music is pleasant and sci-fi themed.”
- “With a good soundtrack and effects in keeping with the game itself.”
- “While not extensive in quantity, the quality of the soundtrack is pretty high.”
- “The writing is subpar, with generic sci-fi music that eventually just gets annoying.”
- “For anything else in the game, be it music, graphics, or the story in the campaign, I have to say that it's good enough, but not particularly exciting.”
- “Music sounds like it's from Creeper World 3.”
optimization
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
45%
33%
The game's optimization is highly praised, featuring a well-designed UI with keyboard shortcuts and helpful information. While fatigue significantly affects performance, players can recover their ratings with better rest. The game runs smoothly on high settings, even with demanding multitasking, and offers tools for players to enhance their performance, making it rewarding yet challenging.
- “The UI is surprisingly well optimized, with keyboard shortcuts for most actions and helpful info for anything you could think of.”
- “The game does provide the tools for improving your performance.”
- “Many of the matches I played simply force you to only play one way, and if you make one unoptimized card selection, it can easily cost you the match.”
- “It's recommended if you like the resource management and build optimization of Starcraft, but find unit micromanagement frustrating.”
- “This can be very rewarding when you win, but when you lose, there isn't anything to blame but your own poor performance.”
humor
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as a mix of unique and polished elements, with some players finding it genuinely funny and engaging, particularly in the context of character interactions and dialogue. However, some reviewers noted that the humor can feel off or requires more familiarity with the characters to fully appreciate. Overall, the game features a blend of lighthearted moments and quirky storytelling that adds to its charm.
- “A truly unique, polished, humorous, and fun little strategy card game.”
- “But the two characters are funny nutters, and things fall apart pretty fast, so at that point, it felt quite riveting.”
- “I haven't played that much of the story yet, but what I've seen was beautiful pictures with an incredible love for detail (every character has multiple hand-drawn faces) and stereotypical, though sincerely funny dialogue.”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
Overall, the game offers significant replayability due to its strategic depth and intricate battle system, appealing to players who enjoy varied gameplay experiences. While some users express concerns about the desire to replay missions against tougher AI, many highlight the game's balance and fair monetization as factors that enhance its replay value. The combination of diverse mechanics and minimal randomness contributes to a rich and engaging experience that encourages multiple playthroughs.
- “Strategic depth, very little randomness in the game, but still a lot of replayability.”
- “Amazing replay value, intricate yet intuitive battle system.”
- “Incredible depth, replayability, and fair monetization.”
- “I'm not keen on the replayability factor here because I'm not certain I really want to replay the same missions only against a tougher AI.”
- “It has the variety and replayability of Dominion without the noticeable first player advantage or deck tracking/memorization requirements, it has the build orders and resource management of Warcraft without the dexterity requirements, it has the card interactions and combat management of Hearthstone or Magic without the grinding or pay-to-win.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development has received criticism for being unengaging and tied to a lore that many find boring, with specific concerns raised about sexist character design impacting the overall experience.
- “I found the lore and story boring, especially because the character design is quite sexist.”
- “The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with anyone.”
- “There is little to no growth for the characters throughout the game, which makes the experience feel stagnant.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is negatively impacted by poorly drawn icons and UI elements, which detract from the overall immersive experience.
- “The icons and UI elements are poorly designed and fail to create any sense of atmosphere.”
- “The overall ambiance feels flat and uninspired, making it hard to immerse myself in the game.”
- “The lack of detail in the environment really detracts from the overall atmosphere.”