Shadow Era

About

Shadow Era is a single player and multiplayer strategy game with fantasy and dark fantasy themes. It was developed by Wulven Game Studios and was released on April 4, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

As the first full-scale trading card game on mobile, Shadow Era has had a long history of innovation. The gorgeous card art, balanced gameplay and cross-platform accounts quickly earned it a place as one of the best indy card games. With the release of Shadow Tokens, ownership of the game was given to the players, with the opportunity to receive great rewards.

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79%

Audience ScoreBased on 47 reviews

graphics4 positive mentions

monetization3 negative mentions

The game features beautiful artwork and a deep strategy system, making it visually appealing and engaging for players.
It is genuinely free-to-play, allowing players to progress and build decks without needing to spend money, with many viable decks using common cards.
The community is welcoming and active, with a small but dedicated player base, and the game offers various play modes including a campaign and PVP.

The game suffers from poor balance and design issues, including a frustrating resource mechanic that forces players to destroy their own cards for resources.
New players may find the experience overwhelming due to slow card acquisition and a steep difficulty curve in the campaign, making it hard to compete in PVP.
There are significant technical issues, such as bugs in the campaign and a lack of intuitive gameplay mechanics, which detract from the overall experience.

gameplay
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
60%
20%
The gameplay of this card game has been criticized for its poor mechanics, including a resource system that forces players to sacrifice their cards, leading to a lack of strategic depth and interaction. Many reviewers noted the unintuitive interface and poorly implemented AI, which detracts from the overall experience. While some see potential in the game's mechanics and artwork, the overwhelming consensus is that significant improvements are needed for it to be enjoyable.
- “Mechanics are easy to grasp and similar to MTG.”
- “Gameplay takes some getting used to, but it brings a new way of thinking about strategy and combinations.”
- “It has nice mechanics, art, and campaigns, although I wish there were more sets by now.”
- “At face value, this is a badly made mobile app ripoff of Magic: The Gathering Arena. Bad mechanics, weak artwork, and terrible design and balance aside, this game seriously makes you pay cash for cards that you then have to destroy during a match if you want to have any hope of winning.”
- “The attacking player gets to decide basically the outcome of everything; there is no interactive defense or counters that you can do. The offensive player can dictate terms, which makes for very shallow gameplay.”
- “The AI is extremely poorly implemented and makes the worst choices you could imagine. It is also very bugged and has some exploits of its own where it bypasses game mechanics and can abuse these bugs against the player. It's kind of crazy that some of these are still in the game as they are completely game-breaking.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
30%
30%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the artwork on the cards as visually pleasing, while others criticize the low-resolution graphics and unintuitive interface. Many users find the overall presentation lacking, citing issues like grainy art and jarring screen shakes that detract from the experience. Despite some positive remarks about the card designs, the general consensus leans towards disappointment in the game's visual execution.
- “The artwork is very nice, and the effects are quite appealing.”
- “The graphics and art on the cards are quite pleasant and not too overbearing, making for a visually pleasing experience overall.”
- “There is nice artwork on the cards, which adds to the visual appeal of the game.”
- “At face value, this is a badly made mobile app ripoff of Magic: The Gathering Arena. Bad mechanics, weak artwork, and terrible design and balance aside, this game seriously makes you pay cash for cards that you then have to destroy during a match if you want to have any hope of winning.”
- “Low-res graphics?”
- “I can give the game a pass on being ugly, as graphics can be swapped out as development continues, but the dialogues are presented with screen shakes that are jarring enough to induce nausea. There's no tutorial to be found anywhere obvious, and the gameplay interface is unintuitive. The cards and everything else are too difficult to see, in part due to the low-quality, grainy art.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the high replayability of the game, as each hero and deck offers a unique gameplay experience, allowing for diverse strategies and personal playstyle exploration.
- “Every hero and deck plays completely differently from each other, adding a lot of fun and replayability while giving you the choice to find your own playstyle.”
- “The variety of strategies and character builds keeps the game fresh, encouraging you to replay it multiple times.”
- “With numerous paths and outcomes, each playthrough feels unique, making you want to dive back in for more.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The monetization model is considered straightforward and traditional, though some users report issues with microtransactions not functioning properly, particularly on Linux/Proton systems.
- “Monetization isn't bad; it's old-school and simple.”
- “The microtransactions are so excessive that they completely ruin the experience for me.”
- “The monetization model feels predatory and takes away from the enjoyment of the game.”
- “It's frustrating how much you have to spend to unlock basic features in the game.”
story
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The story aspect of the game is perceived as simplistic, primarily serving as a means to facilitate daily quests rather than offering a compelling narrative. Players find themselves stuck after a few hours due to slow card acquisition, but the campaign's structure allows for extended gameplay with multiple missions across various difficulty levels for each hero.
- “There are 20 missions (each with three difficulty levels) for each of the 32 heroes, so I can just chill out in the campaign game for many hours to come.”
- “The campaign is simple; its only purpose is to complete tough daily quests easily, in my opinion.”
- “You get stuck in the campaign after a few hours, and the rate at which you receive new cards from daily quests is really slow.”
- “There are 20 missions (each with three difficulty levels) for each of the 32 heroes, so I can just chill out in the campaign for many hours to come.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The music in the game is described as repetitive but not overly annoying, contributing to an overall positive experience. While it may not stand out, it complements the gameplay without detracting from it.
- “The graphics and art on the cards are quite pleasant and not too overbearing, and the music is repetitive but not too annoying, making the game handle itself well.”
- “The music is repetitive but nothing too annoying.”
- “The music lacks variety and quickly becomes tiresome.”
- “The soundtrack feels generic and fails to enhance the gaming experience.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players note that grinding for gold in the campaign is limited, as once an opponent is defeated, they cannot be challenged again for additional rewards, effectively capping the potential for gold accumulation.
- “You cannot earn gold in the campaign once you have beaten that same opponent, so there is no possibility for grinding gold in the campaign past a certain point.”