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Shards of Order

Shards of Order Game Cover
91%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay
Most mentioned negative aspects:replayability, grinding
91% User Score Based on 318 reviews

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Shards of Order Game Cover

About Shards of Order

Shards of Order is a single player tactical role playing game with horror, fantasy and dark fantasy themes. It was developed by Fardust and was released on July 28, 2026. It received very positive reviews from players.

Shards of Order is a dark fantasy RPG that throws out the rulebook for deckbuilding & card-based combat. There are no turns and no mana points. Every enemy acts on a visible countdown, and every card you play winds those counters down, shifting the whole flow of the fight. Time is your most valuable resource. Misjudge, and your team is sure to crumble. Master the art of shared deckbuilding; there …

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Reviews

91%Audience ScoreBased on 318 reviews
story86 positive mentions
grinding9 negative mentions
  • Unique and engaging deckbuilding RPG with a non-roguelike continuous story mode that offers a fresh take on the genre.
  • Well-designed combat system using a time-based mechanic that provides strategic depth and puzzle-like encounters.
  • Excellent art direction, atmosphere, and music that strongly contribute to an immersive dark fantasy setting and compelling narrative.
  • Some balance and difficulty issues, with certain fights being frustratingly hard or trivial due to overpowered combinations.
  • The narrative and story pacing can be uneven, with some parts feeling rushed or underdeveloped and limited replay value after completion.
  • Various bugs, UI quirks, and technical issues such as awkward respec mechanics and missing clarity on some game mechanics and enemy intents.

  • story

    177 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    49% positive mentions, 49% neutral mentions, 2% negative mentions

    The story is a dark, immersive, and competently written narrative set in a grim fantasy world, featuring a mostly linear progression with occasional meaningful choices and varied quests. It effectively blends deep lore and character development with the deckbuilding mechanics, creating an engaging RPG experience praised for its atmosphere and presentation. While some find it lacking depth or originality, many appreciate its pacing, worldbuilding, and the integration of story-driven gameplay distinct from typical roguelike card games.

    • “The story is competently written, fairly interesting and quite immersive.”
    • “Characters and writing are well done, the world feels fleshed out and the story is actually engaging.”
    • “If you are looking for a story-rich single-player RPG, Shards of Order is an absolute must-play.”
    • “The story and writing are trying to be too edgy and nebulous for their own good; the story arcs for most of the characters you'll meet lead to nowhere. The best way I can describe it is 'son, we have Dark Souls writing at home.'”
    • “A) The story doesn't have much depth to it, and neither do the choices you make.”
    • “Overall the story was a few steps above being an afterthought, and I got the impression, especially towards the end, that it was just a means to deliver the gameplay.”

  • gameplay

    149 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    44% positive mentions, 53% neutral mentions, 3% negative mentions

    The gameplay offers a deep and innovative deck-building experience centered around a unique time-based mechanic that replaces traditional energy systems, creating engaging and challenging combat that requires strategic planning and synergy between cards, equipment, and skills. While some find the mechanics richly satisfying and the variety of character builds compelling, others note occasional balancing issues, a sometimes steep learning curve, and a somewhat linear progression that may limit replayability. Overall, the gameplay is praised for its originality, complexity, and integration with the story, making it a fresh and rewarding card-based RPG experience.

    • “The time mechanic (replacing the typical energy mechanic) is a breath of fresh air, and the narrow scope of the game with its few characters actually means each character will truly have some unique stuff going for them.”
    • “The gameplay is great as well; instead of energy you spend time, so instead of managing a finite resource that replenishes each turn, you're managing the timing of played cards against the enemy's actions.”
    • “Mechanically very interesting idea, linking card cost to enemy actions, makes for a better balance both for your heavy vs light attacks and enemy heavy vs light attacks.”
    • “But for some reason there is this mechanic that I do not fully understand - where when you are already barely hanging on and you go to redraw a new hand, it will do massive amounts of damage to all your characters and most of the time it just wipes them... that is not fun even slightly. You already have almost no healing mechanics and enough frustrating things to deal with as is.”
    • “Certain enemy mechanics can punish your whole deck, so experimenting with more elaborate builds doesn’t always feel worth the effort.”
    • “Progression gets painful a few hours in because the enemies scale much faster than you do, and many of them are hiding behind mechanics that you have to just RNG your way through for hours on end.”

  • music

    66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    55% positive mentions, 40% neutral mentions, 5% negative mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its high quality, dark fantasy vibe, and immersive atmosphere, with many users calling the soundtrack epic, haunting, and fitting perfectly alongside the art and story. Although a few found parts of the soundtrack generic or quiet, the overall consensus is that the music significantly enhances the mood and gameplay experience, making it one of the game's standout features.

    • “The music is so powerful that I went into combat, pressed alt + tab, closed my eyes, and just listened to the music.”
    • “The soundtrack was great (the first boss fight alone was a banger of a song).”
    • “The musical score is incredible (especially at the beginning of the game), the art looks cool with some nice monster designs, especially for the bosses.”
    • “Most of the game's soundtrack is far too quiet and too reserved (except for the boss themes), serving as just a lingering background sound.”
    • “Much of the later music is comparatively generic.”
    • “The one weak link is the music.”

  • graphics

    56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    59% positive mentions, 36% neutral mentions, 5% negative mentions

    The game features a distinctive, dark fantasy art style with hand-drawn visuals and atmospheric world-building that deeply engage players. The artwork, animations, and cohesive aesthetics are frequently praised as standout elements, complemented by an excellent soundtrack and voice acting that enhance the overall mood. While the graphics may not be cutting-edge, their unique style and high production value make for an immersive and memorable visual experience.

    • “The visuals are incredible, absolutely drew me in the whole time.”
    • “The art style alone is gorgeous and the story that it paints really helps it stand out.”
    • “Aside from the ace artwork, art direction and graphics, the sound/music and voice overs, and the very interesting world building and writing, there is a very compelling, well designed gameplay loop/mechanic here, that is not a typical deck builder.”
    • “Animation quality is rather basic, graphics are as well, though the hand-drawn style can be charming.”
    • “The game does not have top graphics, but gets the job done.”
    • “Some minor issues like the wrong character names or portraits shown during dialogue.”

  • atmosphere

    22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    64% positive mentions, 36% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game excels in creating a dark, grimdark atmosphere enhanced by excellent art direction, moody soundtrack, and sound design, which deeply immerses players in its world. Its atmosphere is often highlighted as a key strength, combining a gritty, compelling tone with strong visual and audio elements that complement the challenging deck-building RPG gameplay. Overall, the atmosphere is consistently praised for drawing players in and enriching the gaming experience.

    • “The artwork is excellent, the world is dark and atmospheric, and there are some wonderfully grim jokes.”
    • “The grimdark atmosphere of the game shines through in character design, sound design, and the way the game plays.”
    • “Amazing atmosphere, I got pulled into the world just seconds after starting playing.”

  • replayability

    17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    18% positive mentions, 64% neutral mentions, 18% negative mentions

    Replayability in this game is limited, with a short overall length of around 8-10 hours and no new game plus mode. While different character builds and skill trees offer some variety, the scope for replay is modest and may only appeal to players interested in experimenting with builds. Overall, replay value is minimal but acceptable considering the game's price and length.

    • “There's no form of New Game+ and I don't see why there would be; you just play this one again from start to finish, and you can take builds in very different directions if you want replayability.”
    • “The various skill trees offer you – in theory – countless replay value.”
    • “The same way, like I mentioned, you have to be careful not to fill your deck with cards that might get in the way; another aspect of replayability is trying other builds (meaning a different focus on your skill tree), which is not huge, but enough if you care about trying different builds and replayability.”
    • “The game has no real replay value and can be completed in a few hours.”
    • “Short game, no replay value really.”
    • “There is little to no replayability value, but it's still well worth it for the price.”

  • grinding

    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Grinding in the game is widely considered tedious and punishing, with repetitive combat that lacks meaningful resting or alternative routes. The absence of dedicated grinding areas and the need for frequent, cumbersome respecs further contribute to the frustration. Overall, progression through combat feels more like a chore than a rewarding challenge.

    • “Having to repeat 2 or 3 fights, because there is no way of resting or going in a different direction, is just tedious.”
    • “There are no "grinding areas" present in the game either, so that also does not resolve this issue.”
    • “That makes grinding feel punishing rather than rewarding.”

  • character development

    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    20% positive mentions, 20% neutral mentions, 60% negative mentions

    Character development is supported strongly by atmospheric and visually striking character designs, enhancing the grimdark tone, though some users find the storytelling and NPC development lacking depth. The game offers multiple choices and development options, adding a layer of challenge and customization for players.

    • “The grimdark atmosphere of the game shines through in character design, sound design, and the way the game plays.”
    • “Interesting world but bland storytelling and no NPC character development.”
    • “The ambiance and the character design do a lot of the heavy lifting here, because these characters rank very high in the creep factor.”
    • “The game is challenging, with numerous choices and character development options.”

  • optimization

    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    40% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 60% negative mentions

    The game’s optimization allows for varied and unpredictable encounters where players often face bosses without perfectly tailored decks or equipment, adding challenge and spontaneity. Performance is stable with no significant bugs or issues reported in version 1.0f20. However, some players felt that certain design choices, like character voice acting, could impact engagement but do not affect technical optimization.

    • “You arrive at a boss with a deck that isn’t optimized for that particular fight, equipment that doesn’t help, wounded characters, and a hand selected by RNGesus who decided today is your turn to be nailed to the cross.”
    • “With version 1.0f20 I did not encounter any bugs or performance issues.”
    • “You arrive at a boss with a deck that isn’t optimized for that particular fight, equipment that doesn’t help, wounded characters, and a hand selected by RNG who decided today is your turn to be nailed to the cross.”
    • “You can end up killing the creature because you didn’t know in advance how the encounter was scripted and hadn’t optimized your deck around repeatedly drawing that one card.”
    • “The final boss was a little lackluster in gameplay, maybe because I had no kind of crazy or optimized build.”

  • humor

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game's humor is a unique blend of dark fantasy and zany moments, creating a world full of characters who are both funny and emotionally impactful. It balances a wry, despair-tinged style reminiscent of games like Disco Elysium with occasional hilarious elements, including over-the-top items. Overall, the humor complements the setting and storytelling effectively.

    • “Setting: dark fantasy apocalyptic interspersed with some zany humor here and there.”
    • “All of the characters in the world were funny, sad, individual, at times heart-wrenching.”
    • “Wears its inspirations on its sleeves from a game design perspective, from great games like Disco Elysium's conversation style and wry blend of despair/humor & sending the plot forward.”

  • stability

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The game currently suffers from numerous stability issues, including bugs, glitches, missing content, exploits, and occasional frame freezes, which significantly affect the experience. However, there is optimism that future updates will address these problems and improve overall stability.

    • “I'm writing this on v1.21, so if the bugs, glitches, missing text, and exploits are properly fixed in the future, I would give this game a solid 10/10. But for now, here is my rating.”
    • “It is buggy at times, with clearly cut content. The build I found with the soldier armor in late game just lets me one-shot everyone. I could go on; it has problems.”
    • “There are frame freezes.”

  • emotional

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game delivers a rich emotional experience, featuring characters who are funny, sad, and deeply individual, often evoking heart-wrenching moments.

    • “All of the characters in the world were funny, sad, individual, at times heart-wrenching”
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Play Times

10h Median play time
12h Average play time
6-20h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Shards of Order is a tactical role playing game with horror, fantasy and dark fantasy themes. Common tags for Shards of Order include turn-based, indie, card battler, party-based rpg, exploration and others.

Shards of Order is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 12 hours playing Shards of Order.

Shards of Order was released on July 28, 2026.

Shards of Order was developed by Fardust.

Shards of Order has received very positive reviews from players. Most players liked Shards of Order for its story but disliked it for its replayability.

Shards of Order is a single player game.

Similar games include Tainted Grail: Conquest, Knock on the Coffin Lid, Deep Sky Derelicts, SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech, Banners of Ruin and others.