Prismata

83%
Game Brain Score Based on 629 reviews
  • gameplay
  • story
  • graphics
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Prismata is a fantasy real-time strategy game that combines elements of card games and tabletop strategy. The free-to-play edition offers a radically fair experience with no pay-to-win advantages, featuring single-player campaign, casual matches against human or AI opponents, and competitive multiplayer. With a variety of game modes and AI personalities, Prismata provides a challenging and engaging experience for strategy fans.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

83%
Audience ScoreBased on 629 reviews
gameplay39 positive mentions
monetization4 negative mentions
  • Prismata offers a unique blend of turn-based strategy and card game mechanics, providing a fresh experience without RNG, making every match a test of skill.
  • The game features a well-designed single-player campaign that effectively teaches players the mechanics and strategies, along with challenging puzzles and AI opponents.
  • The developers are responsive and dedicated to improving the game, ensuring a fair and balanced competitive environment with no pay-to-win elements.
  • The graphics and overall presentation may feel dated or simplistic, which could deter some players from fully engaging with the game.
  • The learning curve is steep, and new players may find it challenging to compete against more experienced opponents without significant practice.
  • The player base is relatively small, which can lead to longer matchmaking times and a lack of variety in opponents.
  • gameplay154 mentions

    The gameplay of this game is characterized by its unique blend of turn-based strategy and collectible card mechanics, offering deep, deterministic gameplay without randomness or pay-to-win elements. While some players appreciate the intricate mechanics and strategic depth, others find the experience overly complex or lacking excitement, with a steep learning curve that may deter casual players. Overall, the game is praised for its solid mechanics and engaging single-player content, though its visual presentation and certain design choices have received mixed feedback.

    • “Pure gameplay, all information visible, no RNG, no grind, cosmetic purchases only, no bullshit!”
    • “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.”
  • story126 mentions

    The game's story is generally viewed as mediocre, 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 plot for being predictable, simplistic, and often tedious, with characters that lack depth. Overall, the campaign offers a mix of story-driven missions and puzzle challenges, but it struggles to maintain player interest beyond the initial stages.

    • “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 uninteresting and bland (narrated tutorial) - no sci-fi art or design innovation, no narrative innovation, characters are forgettable, and the story is full of worn-out sci-fi tropes.”
  • graphics48 mentions

    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 the variety of unlockable visuals, others criticize the aesthetics as lacking detail and appeal, especially compared to more polished competitors. Overall, the visuals are seen as a secondary aspect to the solid gameplay mechanics, with hopes for future improvements from the developers.

    • “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.”
  • monetization23 mentions

    The monetization model of the game is primarily focused on cosmetic microtransactions and unlocking additional single-player content, which many players appreciate as it avoids pay-to-win mechanics. However, some users express concerns about the presence of lootboxes and the overall setup resembling gambling, leading to mixed feelings about the fairness of the monetization approach. Overall, while the game is praised for its ethical stance on in-game purchases, there are calls for clearer communication regarding its pricing and monetization 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.”
    • “I'd rather just be able to buy the game outright than have a bunch of microtransactions built in like this.”
    • “My only complaint is that even though the microtransactions are purely cosmetic, they are still set up like gambling games which I disapprove of.”
    • “Unfortunately, the game contains an abusive free-to-play lootbox/'premium currency' monetization scheme, which I am not willing to accept in a $25 indie game, much less an early access indie game.”
  • grinding12 mentions

    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 or pay-to-win mechanics. Many players find grinding tedious and repetitive, detracting from the overall enjoyment, while others appreciate games that offer a more streamlined experience without the need for extensive grinding.

    • “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.”
  • music10 mentions

    The music in the game is generally described as pleasant and fitting with a sci-fi theme, featuring a high-quality soundtrack that enhances the overall experience. However, some users find the music to be 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 particularly exciting for all players.

    • “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.”
  • optimization9 mentions

    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. Overall, it runs smoothly on various systems, allowing for multitasking without performance issues, making it a solid choice for fans of resource management and build optimization.

    • “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.”
  • humor7 mentions

    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, others feel that the humor can be hit or miss, often requiring a deeper understanding of the characters to fully appreciate it. Overall, the humor adds a lighthearted touch to the gameplay, though its effectiveness may vary among players.

    • “A truly unique, polished, humorous, and fun little strategy card game.”
    • “But the two dudes 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.”
  • replayability5 mentions

    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.

    • “Amazing replay value, intricate yet intuitive battle system.”
    • “Incredible depth, replayability, and fair monetization.”
    • “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.”
    • “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, but it lacks the depth to keep me coming back.”
    • “The game offers strategic depth and very little randomness, but ultimately, it doesn't provide enough incentive for replayability.”
  • character development1 mentions

    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 feels quite sexist.”
    • “The character development is shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with anyone.”
    • “There are missed opportunities for meaningful growth; characters feel static and uninteresting.”
  • atmosphere1 mentions

    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 environmental detail really detracts from the game's atmosphere, leaving it feeling lifeless.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

67hMedian play time
52hAverage play time
23-81hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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