The Royal Writ

About

The Royal Writ is a single player tactical role playing game with fantasy, medieval and historical themes. It was developed by Save Sloth Studios and was released on August 7, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

In The Royal Writ, you don't just play cards - you command them on the battlefield. Place your loyal subjects strategically as they advance toward the enemy, dealing damage. But beware: any card that reaches the enemy base before victory is permanently destroyed and removed from your deck for the rest of your run. Sacrifice isn't just a risk - it's an essential strategy that creates memorable sub…

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86%Audience ScoreBased on 241 reviews

gameplay48 positive mentions

grinding2 negative mentions

Unique and innovative deckbuilding mechanics mixing lane-based positional strategy with roguelike elements, refreshing within a crowded genre.
Charming and whimsical art style with smooth, delightful animations plus a fitting, catchy soundtrack that enhances the atmosphere.
High replayability with two distinct acts offering different gameplay experiences, challenges, hardships, and numerous synergies for diverse playstyles.

Steep difficulty spike and harsh, punishing mechanics in the second act, including a very difficult final boss that can feel unfair and discourage experimentation.
Lack of clarity and poor explanation for many game mechanics, card effects, status ailments, and boss abilities, leading to confusion and trial-and-error gameplay.
Frustrating RNG elements and some unbalanced cards/relics result in runs sometimes feeling unwinnable due to bad luck rather than strategy.

gameplay
146 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
64%
3%
The gameplay offers a fresh and innovative deck-building roguelike experience with distinct mechanics across two acts, creating high replayability and strategic depth. While the core combat loop—combining card collection, unit positioning, and evolving challenges—is engaging and complemented by charming visuals and audio, some mechanics can be confusing or punishing, with a steep learning curve and occasional balance issues. Overall, the game blends familiar elements with unique twists, though newcomers may struggle initially due to limited tutorials and unclear card interactions.
- “The game starts with a tutorial which gives a general overview for the most important mechanics but you will still discover a lot of additional mechanics which allow for elements, rules and combinations I have never seen in a video game before (and I played my fair share).”
- “The thing that I found cool is that the game is divided into two acts and the mechanics in each act are distinct, which allows you to replay both of them and it feels genuinely different.”
- “Its combination of strategic positioning, evolving mechanics, and replayable structure creates a gameplay loop that is both challenging and rewarding.”
- “At first, I didn't much enjoy the Royal Writ due to the poor tutorial and too many insufficiently explained mechanics all thrown at me at once.”
- “Many cards and bosses have unique mechanics that are not described well enough to intuit how they interact with other cards/mechanics.”
- “A lot of cards have weird phrasing on their abilities that make them difficult to parse what they actually do and how they interact with other cards/mechanics; it feels a lot like how early Yu-Gi-Oh cards read, before problem-solving card text.”
music
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
37%
5%
The music in the game is widely praised for its charm, high quality, and strong integration with the art style and gameplay, often being described as catchy, joyful, and memorable. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a key factor elevating the overall atmosphere and emotional impact, with influences reminiscent of classic games. Although some find it occasionally repetitive, the music consistently enhances the game's whimsical and cozy vibe, making it a standout aspect of the experience.
- “The audio design complements this tone, with music and sound effects that enhance the atmosphere without overshadowing the gameplay.”
- “The art, the lore, the effects, the music... it all blends together so nicely into a cozy, whimsical game with a lot of heart.”
- “The music and art makes this game, holy crap is it good.”
- “My only complaint would be the music as it can tend to be a bit repetitive, but that's honestly the only flaw I can find with this game.”
- “The art is simple, cute and expressive, and the music is fine.”
- “I think maybe it is meant to be in time with the music, but seriously, I just want to see the number update right away.”
graphics
56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
32%
5%
The game's graphics receive widespread praise for their unique, charming, and detailed art style reminiscent of picture books and medieval codices, complemented by lively animations and a fitting, jaunty soundtrack. Reviewers highlight the visual creativity, character progression in artwork, and overall presentation as major strengths that enhance the gameplay experience. The aesthetics consistently attract and engage players, making the graphics a standout aspect of the game.
- “I am glad I stumbled upon it nonetheless and was immediately intrigued by the fantastic art style which reminds me of picture-books with many small details in the background! It's a joy to observe the original character design and detailed animations!”
- “The characters even have visible progression in their artwork and abilities, which is incredibly cool and reflects the huge effort put into the details.”
- “Presentation is fantastic: visually, it features a unique and charming art style that I can’t get enough of.”
- “Got fooled by the unique art style and bought it.”
- “It may be that you intend it to be an old school rogue-like where you had to figure out the effects on your own, but the art style does not give that impression.”
- “The only thing I can appreciate is the music and the aesthetics.”
story
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
45%
8%
The story is a charming, whimsical tale centered on a crow king's kingdom expansion, blending playful, storybook-like art with darker undertones and a neat two-act structure that refreshes gameplay. While relatively short, it is well-written, integrates smoothly into the gameplay, and offers interesting character development and thematic depth, enhancing the overall atmosphere without feeling obtrusive. Players appreciate its quirky, fun narrative and replay value, especially due to the engaging bosses and evolving card mechanics.
- “I really appreciate the two act structure of the game; I haven't seen many roguelike deckbuilders with a complete story and a major twist that changes all of your cards and a lot of the gameplay.”
- “You play as a pampered and idiotic bird king who sets out to conquer the land on a whim, combining aspects of storybook fairytales and at times fairly dark scenarios.”
- “From the great music, through the funny story, to the joyful but challenging boss mechanics and slick art, it is a wonderfully crafted, all-encompassing piece of art.”
- “That's actually the whole story.”
- “The story is not that long, but endless mode solves this problem.”
- “The story is meh.”
humor
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in this game is widely praised for its clever, witty writing and charming, often dark comedic tone that blends well with its whimsical art style. Players appreciate the funny character names, amusing card transformations, and humorous events that add levity to challenging gameplay. Overall, the game’s humor enhances its unique atmosphere, making the experience both entertaining and memorable.
- “The card transformations are hilarious.”
- “Funny writing and great style!”
- “Many events made me laugh the first time :)”
replayability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
60%
10%
The game offers high replayability through distinct acts with unique mechanics, diverse card pools, and escalating difficulty modifiers. Additional challenges, unlockable cards, and new modes keep gameplay fresh and rewarding, providing a deep, strategic loop that remains engaging beyond the main story. Players appreciate the well-designed structure and variety that encourage multiple playthroughs.
- “I have only played a few hours, but so far there's a huge amount of replayability with two 'acts' providing quite distinct experiences, including different mechanics and card pools, challenges offering twists on those experiences, and ramping difficulty modifiers for each act.”
- “Its combination of strategic positioning, evolving mechanics, and replayable structure creates a gameplay loop that is both challenging and rewarding.”
- “A very fun, easy-to-learn hard-to-master gameplay loop keeps each run feeling fresh, and additional new game+ challenges give the game lots of replay value.”
- “There's still a fair bit of replayability with more cards to unlock, synergies to figure out, and a new 'hardship mode' that adds ways of making the game harder, but there isn't another act, which is kind of sad.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive and well-crafted design, with exceptional music, sound effects, and art that enhance the overall experience without overshadowing gameplay. Many users appreciate the well-written story and find the game's tone captivating and enjoyable.
- “The audio design complements this tone, with music and sound effects that enhance the atmosphere without overshadowing the gameplay.”
- “Art is amazing, story is actually really well written and I just like the whole atmosphere of the game.”
- “Also a random note that I can't say enough of - the design, the music, and the atmosphere of this game is 10/10.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express disappointment with excessive grinding, criticizing it as an outdated and tedious method to artificially extend gameplay rather than offering meaningful challenges.
- “I'm extremely disappointed that some devs in 2025 still believe that grinding and artificial difficulty is acceptable as a way to pad their games.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The character development is praised for its original and detailed designs, with a visually engaging art style reminiscent of richly illustrated picture-books. The detailed animations and background elements enhance the overall experience, making the characters intriguing to observe.
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game evokes genuine emotional attachment, making the loss of cherished units feel truly heartbreaking and impactful.
- “Losing your treasured unit is actually kind of heartbreaking.”